Best Mountain Passes for Motorcycles
Hairpins stacked up a mountainside, thin air at the top and a view that makes you stop the engine: mountain passes are the reason many riders ride. This collection gathers the greatest climbs on every continent, from the Alps and the Rockies to the Himalaya and the Andes.
High passes open only part of the year, weather changes fast at altitude and the hairpins demand a smooth technique — check each guide for opening seasons and riding tips.
1
🇴🇲
Beartooth Highway
The Beartooth Highway (US-212) climbs from Red Lodge, Montana, over the Beartooth Plateau into Wyoming and down to Cooke City at the northeast gate of Yellowstone. It is one of the highest paved roads in the US and has…
2
🇴🇲
Blue Ridge Parkway
The Blue Ridge Parkway runs 469 miles along the crest of the Appalachians, from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. It was built for slow, scenic travel: no…
3
🇴🇲
Going-to-the-Sun Road
Going-to-the-Sun Road crosses Glacier National Park in Montana, climbing from the forests and lakes of the west side to Logan Pass on the Continental Divide and down to St. Mary on the east. It is one of the great…
4
🇴🇲
Million Dollar Highway
The Million Dollar Highway is the stretch of US-550 between Ouray and Silverton in southwest Colorado. It climbs out of the "Switzerland of America" through the Uncompahgre Gorge and over Red Mountain Pass, with tight…
5
🇴🇲
Skyline Drive
Skyline Drive runs the full length of Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, following the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains from Front Royal to Rockfish Gap, where it joins the Blue Ridge Parkway.
6
🇴🇲
Tail of the Dragon
The Tail of the Dragon is an 11-mile stretch of US-129 at Deals Gap on the Tennessee–North Carolina border, famous for its 318 curves. It is the most famous motorcycle road in America and a pilgrimage for sport and…
7
🇱
Ruta 40
Ruta 40 runs the length of Argentina along the eastern side of the Andes, from Cabo Vírgenes near the Strait of Magellan to La Quiaca on the Bolivian border — one of the longest roads in the world.
8
🇳
Grossglockner High Alpine Road
The Grossglockner High Alpine Road climbs from Bruck near Zell am See over the main ridge of the Alps to Heiligenblut, in the shadow of the Grossglockner, Austria's highest mountain. With 36 numbered hairpins, perfect…
9
Icefields Parkway
The Icefields Parkway (Highway 93 North) connects Lake Louise and Jasper through Banff and Jasper National Parks, running along the spine of the Canadian Rockies. Glaciers hang above the road, rivers run milky…
10
🇭
Sichuan–Tibet Highway
The Sichuan–Tibet Highway (the southern route of China's G318) runs from Chengdu on the Sichuan plain to Lhasa, crossing the eastern Tibetan Plateau and a long series of high passes. It is one of the most extreme and…
11
🇱
Ruta de los Volcanes
Costa Rica's Central Valley is surrounded by active volcanoes, and this route links them in a loop of mountain roads through coffee plantations and cloud forest before dropping to the Caribbean coast.
12
🇱
Route des Grandes Alpes
The Route des Grandes Alpes runs from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean, crossing the French Alps from north to south over a chain of legendary passes. Many of them are famous from the Tour de France, and the route is…
13
🇨🇭
Manali–Leh Highway
The Manali–Leh Highway crosses the Himalaya from the green valleys of Himachal Pradesh to the high desert of Ladakh. Over several days it climbs over a string of high passes, past nomad camps and through a landscape…
14
🇨🇳
Stelvio Pass
The Stelvio Pass (Passo dello Stelvio) on the SS38 is one of the highest paved passes in the Alps and the most famous hairpin road in the world. The northeastern climb from Prato allo Stelvio stacks dozens of numbered…
15
🇭🇹
Milford Road
The Milford Road (State Highway 94) runs from Te Anau into the heart of Fiordland National Park and ends at Milford Sound, one of New Zealand's most famous landscapes. It passes beech forests, mirror lakes and…
16
🇱🇮
Transfăgărășan Highway
The Transfăgărășan (DN7C) crosses the Făgăraș Mountains, the highest part of the Romanian Carpathians. Built in the early 1970s as a strategic military road, it is now one of the most spectacular mountain roads in…
17
🇵🇭
Ha Giang Loop
The Ha Giang Loop circles through Vietnam's far north, near the Chinese border, across the Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark. Limestone peaks, terraced valleys and switchback roads carved into cliff faces make it one of…
Track your ride on any of these roads
Speed, distance, curves and lean angle — saved on a map you can share. Free on MOTOVIP.
Join MOTOVIP Free →