Top RoadRUNNER Tours of 2024
At RoadRUNNER, we deliver authentic stories from the road. When you read our tour articles, you can trust that our seasoned motorcycle travel journalists have put every destination to the test, sharing all the juicy details—good and bad.
So how do we choose the best tours of the year? It’s a tough call. Location, photography, storytelling, adventure—it all matters.
With so many incredible travel stories from 2024, selecting the top rides is an unenviable task.
Here, in no particular order, are some of our favorites from the past year. If you missed them, now’s the perfect time to catch up. Enjoy the ride!
-Florian Neuhauser, Editor-in-Chief
The following tours were featured in print in 2024, and are available to read online with your WEB subscription.
Jasper, Arkansas Shamrock Tour®
Jasper is the perfect rally point to ride anywhere in northern Arkansas, and seemingly every road in this part of the state is a gem. SR 7, or Scenic Byway 7, leads into Jasper from the north and the south. It is rarely straight for more than a few hundred yards, climbing hills and plunging into valleys. If you don’t wear a massive grin within two minutes of riding your motorcycle around here, you’re doing it wrong.
Bloomington, Indiana Shamrock Tour®
An hour into the ride, the clouds began to lower and darken. As the temperature and atmospheric pressure dropped suddenly, we knew the next few hours wouldn’t go how we originally planned. By the time we made it to the Kentucky corn fields, the bottom fell off the clouds.
With very little traffic on the road and nowhere to pull over for shelter, we pressed on. Lightning erupted across the sky in every direction and the hairs on the backs of our necks raised. The next two hours were slow going as we dodged lightning strikes and attempted to stay dry in the saddle. We didn’t, and our four-hour ride turned into six hours.
Sebring, Florida Shamrock Tour®
Nestled inside the spiderweb of interstates and the paisley patterns of subdivisions that dominate so much of Florida’s landscape, there’s a big green hole. Bisected by a lone major north-south and east-west road, it’s as if old José Gaspar himself had marked the spot.
As our base of operations for this Old Florida Shamrock Tour®, Holly and I chose Sebring. Most famous for its international raceway, downtown Sebring is a historical district on the shores of Lake Jackson, with its streets radiating off from the circular town center where you’ll find lodging, dining, and entertainment options—all within foot access.
New Mexico: The Land (and Sky) of Enchantment
There is an inexplicable sense of magic in the air as soon as you enter New Mexico. This sacred land is a Southwestern gem, a place where the natural world, culture, and spirit are entwined. I wanted to find out what made this place so magical in the first place, so Caleb and I straddled a couple of Honda CRF450Ls, donned with Mosko Moto luggage, and set off into the high desert.
Tuscany, Italy—In Search of Iconic Images
Rolling sun-kissed fields of velvet green with winding unpaved roads, lined with tall cypress trees leading to idyllic hilltop farmsteads. Medieval walled cities packed with narrow cobblestone alleys and quaint little picture postcard shop frontages. Complete castles with battlements and ancient tower blocks creating silhouettes reminiscent of modern cities.
The Boys of Summer, Part 1: Massachusetts, Connecticut & New York
Superstition is a big part of baseball. Players wear weird bracelets and necklaces, have strange routines in the batter’s box or prior to pitching, and fans don their hats inside out and upside down to rally their team to victory when headed toward the end of the game a few runs behind. But maybe there’s a little magic in all of that.
The following tours were published as web exclusives in 2024, and are only available to read online with your WEB subscription.
Alaska: Exploring the Kenai Peninsula
Alaska is a bucket-list type of place and, motorcycle or not, it’s been on ours for many years. The Last Frontier is filled with nearly endless gorgeous mountain ranges, giant creeping glaciers, deep picturesque bays, and wildlife that can’t be found in the lower 48 states.
It’s been dubbed the last wilderness in the U.S., and it’s a particularly seismically active area where many of the mountains are still growing. Late August brings cool weather and very long days with ample time to explore. The sun doesn’t set until nearly 10 p.m. and the average temperature is in the low 60s.
Northern California: The Coast Range
From Ashland, take the Old Siskiyou Hwy (SR 273) over the mountains the way your folks did it before freeways, making the kids carsick. Some 25 miles on, you’ll descend into the dry canyon of the Klamath River.
Follow its sweeping turns to Scott River Rd and the idyllic Quartz Valley. Ever wonder how the pioneers decided they’d gone far enough? It was arriving at places like this.
Three Texans, Four Strokes, Five States
I felt like it was here that we started to get in the groove and vibe of the trip as we got zinging through the desert. Our destination for the night was Echo Park on the Colorado-Utah border.
I stumbled onto a picture of this place in my planning stages and was drawn to it. The views of the Yampa River Canyon along the way were spectacular and our camp spot perfect with sheer walls. Not too shabby.
California: Going Out to Get Back In (to Yourself)
I found myself on long, narrow roads that reach to some far-off place, alone. The desert passed by, Joshua trees eclipsing the sun. The silence of solo travel in a barren landscape. Out here, it is the in-between that matters, with the destination being somewhat unimportant. Bands of two-lane asphalt that dip and bend to far-away points across the immense valley. They are the kinds of roads that will have you talking to yourself.
Valley of the Gods—A Good Adventure for Father and Son
Our route touched on the iconic Monument Valley and took us through the magnificent Valley of the Gods before turning back northeast into the glorious San Juan Mountains of Colorado. Our team of riders all proved themselves worthy accomplices as we worked together, scrambling through rock-strewn sand washes and over rain-washed roads.