Plan – TransAm Trail

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PlanMichaelP2025-08-22T08:58:26-05:00<br>Getting Started

The TAT is NOT a single track ride with tight sections. It uses public roads and back country roads, both non-pavement and pavement. It does NOT cross any private land or locked gates. If you are using the official and original navigation, you will not have any trouble, unless something drastic has happened overnight and I do not know about it. www.TransAmTrail.com is the address for official navigation.

The TAT is a physical adventure, as riding all day for several days or weeks can become physical. All along the route, there are several people that have invited you to stop at their house, ranch, or place of business. They offer their service, be it water, shade, minor repairs, bed/ breakfast, or tent camping. These individuals are marked on my maps with locations, names, and phone numbers. They will be respectable to you, so ride with respect for them.

I am here to help you plan your adventure, so please feel free to contact me with your thoughts and concerns. A safe adventure through rural America is what the TAT is all about.

Our best to you, the TAT Team

Travel Advisory

Please take notice of these warnings and adjust your travel plans as needed.

It has come to our attention by several sources, including local forestry managers that there are GPS files being distributed claiming to be the Trans-America Trail that are taking riders onto private land in several areas, including the Hofmann Forest in North Carolina.

These GPS Tracks are NOT part of the official Trans-America Trail and are not associated in any way with the official TransAmTrail.com website.

TransAmTrail.com is the exclusive source for Maps, Roll-Charts, and GPS Tracks for navigating the official "Trans-America Trail" AKA: "The Trans-Am Trail ", and "The TAT ".

Riders relying on other sources of navigation are being warned by the authorities that CITATIONS ARE NOW BEING ISSUED in several areas, including the areas between Maysville, NC and Richlands, NC (see map below).

Local officials are pursuing through law enforcement in the proper jurisdiction to have the person or persons responsible for these GPS Tracks to remove these portions of these routes. Officials specifically named a website by "gpsKevin" as the source for the routes taking riders illegally onto private land.

These warnings DO NOT pertain to the official Trans-America Trail navigation, as offered on the official TransAmTrail.com website, as the navigation for the official Trans-America Trail is updated regularly with respect to public and private land use.

GPS Information

If you are just starting with GPS navigation, here are a few suggestions that will take some of the frustration out of the process.

Do your homework and read all you can about GPS.

Learn the difference between a GPS track and a GPS route; they are not the same.

Understand a waypoint as well as latitude and longitude numbers.

Your choice of GPS unit is dependent on the way you intend to use it, the memory of the unit, and how user friendly the unit will be. When looking at a particular unit, consider the following:

How many tracks will it store?

How many routes will it store?

How many waypoints per track?

Most of the newer units will have enough memory for this, while the older units may need an additional larger memory card. Learn what your unit will and will not do.

FAQs

1)  What is the "best" motorcycle to ride on the Trans-Am Trail?

You need a "Dual-Sport" motorcycle that you can handle through deep sand, mud, loose gravel, rocks and snow. It’s important to be sure your motorcycle is in good shape prior to your departure. A tune-up and safety check is a good idea (fresh oil, clean air filter, good tires, correct air pressure, etc.)

2) Does my motorcycle have to be street-legal?

Yes. Your motorcycle MUST be street legal in your home state.

3) When is the best time of the year to ride the Trans-Am Trail?

If you want to cross Colorado, Utah and Oregon, then your snow-window will be late June to early September. Keep in mind the desert heat in Utah and Nevada. Also, snow on the high passes of Colorado usually doesn’t melt enough to allow passage until later in June.

4) Can I ride from West to East?

The TAT Maps and TAT Roll Charts are specifically designed for navigation from East to West, regardless of which state or what part of the trail you decided to start in. My GPS tracks will allow you to navigate East to West.

5) How many miles should I plan to ride each day?

The average days ride is about 200-miles, and that’s a full day from 7AM to 6PM

6) What about fuel stops?

Gas is plentiful in the eastern sections of the Trans-Am Trail with nothing over 100-miles between available fuel stations, with an average of every 60-miles in-between stations. Several states have 190 miles between available gas.  It’s important that you review your TAT-Maps...