Road advice needed in central AZ (Camp Verde to Globe)

[1moreroad]

From Camp Verde to Globe, is Fossil Creek Road any good?  Or should we stick with 260 to 87 to Pine, AZ?

From Pine, is it worth heading east to 288 and down (and is it paved)?  Or should we just head south through Payson to 188, stop at Tonto National Monument, and continue on to Globe?

TIA

[3banger]

Fossil Creek road is not paved, I ride 260 quite a bit, it's a fun road with lots of very fast sweepers with about 4000' elevation gain from Camp Verde to 87.  Also 288 is not paved except for a little piece at the south end.

[1moreroad]

Would you do 288 to 188 or is route 60 from Show Low to Globe far superior.  It would most likely force us on to I-40 towards the end of the trip longer.  So is 60 so much better that you would spend an extra 2 hours of interstate during a trip to do it?

[3banger]

I have not been on 60 yet.  188 is nice but not supper twistie, could be hot mid day as we get closer to summer.  I have not been on 288 since my maps show it as unpaved, if you ride it let me know how it is.  If your not planing to ride 191, it really is worth going out of your way for.

[DangerMoney]

I rode 288 last Fall on my R1200GS equipped with knobbies. Most of the section between Lake Roosevelt and Young had been paved and the section that wasn't is dirt packed as hard as concrete. The locals told us the UPS guys have to be able to get there!  I wouldn't hesitate to take a street bike on that section but there's a lot of dust on the surface of the road so I would be taking it easy in the corners.

The section between Young and 260 is another story. It's gravel/dirt with a lot of washboard. It can be done on a street bike but it would be slow going and not much fun.

[QuienSabe]

I have driven Hwy 60 from Globe to Show Low in my cage last summer. It is a good road with only a short stretch of twisties. I think about 2/3 of the way from Globe the the road winds down into a deep canyon, then up again on the other side.

[1moreroad]

Thanks for all the feedback.  I'm planning on following the advice here and sticking with 188.