Why this ride
A 127 km round trip from Al Qurayn - roughly 2 h 00 in the saddle. The stops in between: As-Seef, Al-Asfar Lake and back through As-Seef. It strings together lakeside roads.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Northern Oasis and Al-Asfar Lake
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 127 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 00
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Northern Oasis → As-Seef
This part of the ride is 19 km of Northern Oasis → As-Seef.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 19 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Northern Oasis
The northern edge of the Al-Ahsa oasis is where the groves thin out and you can see the join between farmland and desert. Al Qurayn, a town of about 12,000 people, lies right next to this point, with Julayjilah and Al Mutayrifi close behind, and the whole cluster is one continuous patchwork of date gardens, walls, irrigation channels and low flat-roofed houses. The label talks about a northern oasis, and from the ground the point is simply that the green does not stop abruptly: it frays into scrub, then dunes.
Read the complete Northern Oasis write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Northern Oasis is where the day begins. Next is As-Seef.
2. As-Seef
Al-Ahsa is the biggest natural oasis on the planet, and it looks like a mistake in the middle of the Eastern Province: a dark green carpet of date palms, millions of them, spread across a flat plain of pale desert. The oasis exists because springs rise from deep underground and water the whole area. Hofuf, the main city, and Mubarraz, its neighbour, sit within the palms, and the two together hold close to six hundred thousand people. UNESCO listed the oasis in 2018.
Read the complete As-Seef write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
As-Seef comes up about 19 km into the recorded legs. Next is Al-Asfar Lake.
3. Al-Asfar Lake
The Al-Ahsa oasis in eastern Saudi Arabia is a green island in a very large desert. Under the sand lie huge aquifers, and springs rise to the surface to feed an area of about eighty-five square kilometres of date palms, said to be the largest oasis in the world, with perhaps two and a half million trees. It lies not far from the Gulf coast, near the city of Hofuf, and it has been settled for thousands of years, from the Bronze Age through the ancient Dilmun culture and into Islamic times. UNESCO listed it in 2018 as an evolving cultural landscape.
Read the complete Al-Asfar Lake write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 58 km into the recorded legs you reach Al-Asfar Lake. Next is back through As-Seef.
4. back through As-Seef
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete As-Seef write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through As-Seef, late in the day. Next is Northern Oasis.
5. Northern Oasis
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Northern Oasis write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Northern Oasis. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Northern Oasis to As-Seef
Northern Oasis → As-Seef is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
As-Seef to Al-Asfar Lake
As-Seef → Al-Asfar Lake is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Al-Asfar Lake to back through As-Seef
Al-Asfar Lake → back through As-Seef is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through As-Seef to Northern Oasis
back through As-Seef → Northern Oasis is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Al-`Oyun village and Suq al-Qaysariyah · 233 km
- Qasr Ibrahim and Al-Asfar Lake · 117 km
- Al-Asfar Lake and Suq al-Qaysariyah · 213 km