Pounding The Pavement: Yarnell Hill - SR89 North, Yarnell, Arizona: Part 1

Yarnell Hill is located on scenic Arizona State Route 89 which starts in Wickenburg and winds through various mountain passes to Sedona, Flagstaff and beyond.  For Phoenix Valley riders, the most popular and closest spot is the pass through the Weaver Mountains between the towns of Congress and Yarnell.  No matter what kind of bike they ride, just about any rider in the Phoenix area has some sort of story of something they did or saw on the mountain.

I'm reviewing this road in two parts because the way up is very different than the way down.  I'll be covering the way up in this article.  For me, 89 North through Yarnell is the appetizer for a day full of twisties when I do a loop around Bagdad, Prescott or Jerome.  This usually nicely paved piece of road climbs about 2,500 feet in roughly six miles and features lots of sweepers and decreasing radius turns. MotoGP wanna be's can easily hit triple digit speeds, but the price for a mistake is very high with metal armco barriers and steep drop offs waiting at the edge.  The fun way up for me is to pick a comfortable speed and not use the brakes in the turns, concentrating on good lines and smoothness.  It's a pretty entertaining way up without the danger of getting into too much trouble.  Speaking of trouble, if you're going to ride this road on the weekend, make sure you get up there early.  It's usually not very patrolled in the early hours but at the most traveled times, the cops are up there in force and are very enthusiastic about writing you notes that you have to sign...  All with good reason too, because of the amount of crashes and fatalities that happen up there.  If carving corners isn't your thing, it's also nice to take your time and enjoy the scenery.  There are a couple of nice spots to pull off to the side to take pictures. Watching other bikes and the occasional exotic car run up and down the mountain is pretty entertaining too.

If you are around the top at lunch time, I highly recommend stopping at the Ranch House Restaurant for a bite to eat.  The staff there is very motorcycle friendly! They'll even notice what you pulled up on and start asking you questions about your ride.  If you're in from out of town or a new local looking for spots to ride, make Yarnell Hill the jump off point (please, not litereally!) for your day's ride. Check out the video below of my recent ride up the "Hill."