USA Four Corners Tour
Since 1984
Most challenging ride in SCMA catalog c. 7000 miles/11265 km.
Step out of comfort zone – Traditional or True X.
Be part of the legacy – over 2200 finishers, c. 60/yr.
Pick your own points of interest – visit relatives
Combines well with Best 15 US Roads or Three Flags Classic towards Triple Crown Award.
4 corners of the US in 21 days.
Our Ultimate Ride
Most riders have a regular day or weekend loop that they travel when they just want to go ride for a bit with minimal planning. Surprisingly, one in ten people has never traveled outside the state in which they were born, and more than half have visited 10 or fewer states. Motorcyclists are almost certainly underrepresented in that statistic, but almost all of us have some part of the USA that we have yet to ride. If you’re thinking there’s more of the country that you’d like to experience, a lap of the country riding the USA Four Corners Tour might be just what you’re looking for!
USA Four Corners Tour
The USA Four Corners Tour is a self-guided and self-paced ride of roughly 7,000 miles. It forms a lap of the continental United States by requiring stops in San Ysidro, California; Blaine, Washington; Madawaska, Maine; and Key West, Florida. Riders will have 21 calendar days in which to visit those four cities using a route of their choosing. A pace of 400 miles per day leaves plenty of time for sightseeing and side trips while accomplishing the Tour in 18 days with three contingency days.
For those seeking a more difficult quest and/or more exposure to the heartland states, we offer the True X version of the USA Four Corners Tour. The True X version adds a visit to Lebanon, Kansas, (the geographical center of the continental US) between each corner city after the first. This increases the ride distance to roughly 11,000 miles and correspondingly the time allowed for completion is increased to 26 calendar days. A pace of 500 miles per day would complete the Tour in 22 days with 4 contingency days but you are almost certain to consume at least one of those contingency days for cycle maintenance. As an extra incentive, those who complete the True X version in 21 or fewer calendar days will have the honor clearly identified in the True X Finisher’s List.
Four Corners Tour Rules
Please note there are two different USA Four Corner Tours: Traditional and True X. You decide, at your start point, which ride you want to do. Here is a FOUR CORNERS INTRODUCTION packet with a letter and one-page summaries of the Four Corners rides. Download and print the FOUR CORNERS FORMS you need to complete for your ride records. For certification later on, we will review your submitted package of either ride once we receive your Finishers Package and validate which ride was completed.
For the Traditional version of the USA Four Corners Tour, you have 21 calendar days to ride your motorcycle to each of the Four Corner cities of the United States listed below. You may visit the corner cities in any sequence and choose your own route.
For the True X version of the USA Four Corners Tour, you have 26 calendar days to ride your motorcycle to each of the Four Corner cities of the United States listed below while visiting Lebanon, Kansas, between each corner city. You may visit the corner cities in any sequence and via any route provided you make the mandatory stop in Lebanon, Kansas between each corner city. Under the True X rules, you would make a total of 3 visits to Lebanon, Kansas, and one to each corner city during the course of your USA Four Corners Tour.
If you finish the True X in under 21 days, your accomplishment will be uniquely identified in the Finisher list, in gold lettering.
Four Corners Tour Checkpoints:
- San Ysidro, California
- Blaine, Washington
- Madawaska, Maine
- Key West, Florida
- True X Only Lebanon, Kansas
- Geographic Center of the United States
- Lebanon Post Office or Lebanon Community Center
- Lebanon Service Station (Cenex)
- You need not return to the first corner city to complete the event.
- No time extensions will be granted under any circumstances.
Your ride commences with the date and time indicated on the Dated Business Receipt (DBR) from the USA Four Corners Tour city where you elect to start. The date and time from the DBR obtained in the final corner city will mark the conclusion of your Tour. Regardless of the time or time zone on the receipt, both the start and finish days will count as a full day against the time allotted to complete the ride. Be aware that your time allotment is measured in calendar days rather than 24-hour periods based off your start time.
All decisions are made by the Chair of the USA Four Corners Tour, or the SCMA Chairman and are final.
For each required city:
Take a selfie showing you, your motorcycle, and an identifiable landmark of that corner city.
Obtain a DBR from a service station and ensure that the CITY, DATE, and TIME you obtained gas for your cycle are legible. Once verified, write your license plate number and motorcycle mileage on the receipt. It would be wise to take a photo of the DBR as well in case of loss or damage to the DBR and probably helpful to include your odometer reading in the photo.
Complete a Corner Form. Forms indicate your name, location, date, time, miles/kilometers, make, model, and license plate number of your motorcycle.
Upon returning home, make copies of all forms, DBRs and photos. Assemble a packet containing all completed Corner forms as well as the DBR and photo from each corner. You will mail the packet to the address shown on the Four Corners Certification tab when it’s available later this year.
Model packages are these:
Four (4) photographs (seven (7) photographs if True X) of your motorcycle at any of the USA Four Corner landmarks. The perfect photo is a one with you next to your bike, and landmark.
Four (4) computer-generated gas receipts (seven (7) receipts if True X) from a service station in each corner city or Lebanon, Kansas, if doing the TRUE X. These receipts MUST include the CITY, DATE, and TIME you obtained fuel for your motorcycle.
Hurricane Exception - The only authorized rule change is - if the state of Florida has blocked US-1 to the Florida Keys due to weather conditions, you may use that barrier in place of Key West and take the requisite photograph at that location. You would still need to obtain a DBR in the general vicinity of the closure.
When you have completed the ride members will be able to visit the USA Four Corners Certification tab on the SCMA website and request to have their ride completion certified. We will announce when the certification process including ordering swag is ready later this year.
You will be near the area of the Great Lakes Cabot Trail Tour running the Four Corners. Be sure and review this ride for your planning.
Certified Finishers will be invited to attend Finishers' celebrations.
Four Corners Tour History
The USA Four Corners Tour is the second longest-running, long distance riding tour the SCMA offers. In 1976 Joe Usatin came up with the idea to ride to each corner of the United States. George Keller, the first “route scout,” started out in 1977 but had repair delays due to hitting a coyote and was unable to test-ride the tour in 21 consecutive days. Board members Russ Trumbull and Ron and Dorothy Watkins also worked to plan the ride, with Russ Trumbull completing it in1979. The first USA Four Corners Tour was offered in 1984 and chaired by Seth Johnson.
How did the 21-days become the maximum number of days required to qualify as a USA Four Corners Finisher? Joe Usatin ventured out as the first rider in 1976 along with his nephew. When they reached their 4th corner, their elapsed time for their journey was 21 days. The SCMA has used that as the standard ever since.
Later, a board member had the idea of issuing a challenge to ride the Four Corners in a True X pattern. In 2011 Chuck Gatecliff of Brighton, Michigan, and Barry Bullington of Neoga, Illinois, decided to take up the challenge. Using Lebanon, Kansas, geographic center of the contiguous US, they began at one corner and rode to Lebanon, Kansas, then to another corner and back to Lebanon, then to a third corner and back to Lebanon, and finally to the 4th corner to complete a True X pattern across the continental USA. Although the distance almost doubles, it was decided to only allow an extra 5 days to complete the event. Riders have 26 days to complete the True X at an average distance of 11,000 miles.
Even though GPS now has “extreme corners” down to a finite science, the original destination corners of Blaine, Washington; Madawaska, Maine, Key West, Florida, and San Ysidro, California, were chosen because they were the most extreme corner cities that had a post office to be used to document a rider's proof of visit and now, they have travel accommodations such as gas stations, restaurants, and lodging. The freedom of the ride is that you can begin at any corner and there is no fixed route to follow. You can do your own route at your own pace as long as you do all four corners in 21 days or less. You can take time at the beginning or the end of the ride to visit friends, relatives or see more of the United States.
USA Four Corners Tour has proven to be a popular choice for riders from all over the North American continent and has drawn riders from Europe and Africa.
It is a challenging ride that will leave you with lasting memories!
Certify Your Four Corners Tour
Coming Soon!