Great Divide Bikepacking Route: Essential Q&A. As any endurance athlete will attest, the biggest challenge in long distance events is often voices of doubt that have the space and time to ferment in the mind, pedal stroke after pedal stroke. Wild plains, jaw-dropping mountain views, classic desert, pine forests and snowy passes its all here. Find our growing list of California bikepacking routes and content below. I started this route in Santa Rosa and I took the singletrack to cross Robert Stevenson State Park to find the downhill Hill Mine to Calistoga but the singletrack was horrible and the first part of the downhill was horri Ruta mixta a pie y en bicicleta recorriendo los principales lugares tursticos, puente golden gate y sausalito. My buddy was riding a fully loaded Surly Crosscheck with 35 mm tires and was challenged on the singletrack but on all other roads it worked well. Be sure to make reservations for campgrounds or accommodation in advance if needed, and be prepared to share the trails with plenty of hikers. I only recommend and link to products I know and love. You can email me for my GPX file. It also features in the above-mentioned Tour de los Padres route as well. Historical signage en route explains how the railroad was established to support the logging and mining industries. It's easy to see why the national capital region has emerged as a bikepacking hot spot. Sean has old school cycle touring in his blood, with a coast to coast USA ride and a number of month-long European tours in his very relaxed palmares. Riding through the ashes of the catastrophic wildfires that plagued California in Summer 2020, this overnight bikepacking route takes in a contrasting variety of charred and unburned ridgelines through Henry Coe State Park that will inspire your spirit and test your legs Set within the snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevada, the Tahoe Twirl circumnavigates the vast and mesmerising Lake Tahoe. This 168 mile route is a great multi-day touring option. I rode it in 2022 and was impressed. Whether you want to be out for ten days or just an overnighter, these routes will give you some idea of exactly whats out there. Bikepacking Boise to Elko: Big Skies and Endless Gravel in Idaho and Nevada. This 497-mile route takes you from San Bernardino, near Los Angeles to San Diego on the Mexican border. Where these two deserts collide, the land explodes into a geological spectacle of giant Monzogranite boulder formations, diverse displays of time folded mineral-rich rock and sand, and a unique array of desert flora and fauna. The next day we rode the smooth gravel on Isthmus Road to our campsite at Little Harbor. Heres how it works. We cycled through Catalinas varying biomes with verdant hills reminiscent of Ireland, sage and Indian paintbrush covered arroyos as in Wyoming, and even Baja desert-like trails weaving between Velvet Cactus and Peppergrass. . As I was thinking about how much pavement lay ahead of menearly 100 detour miles on highwaya large truck passed by me and its rear-view mirror almost clipped my head. Gravel Routes in California - Gravelmap Map Search The SF Peninsula Traverse is one of the standout local routes and includes a lot of the best bike-legal trail on the peninsula. The beautiful and ancient Appalachian Mountains are the focus of this epic bikepacking trip, on the route of a famed annual race. Given the proximity of the mountains, lakes, forests, and deserts, youre able to have a variety of options, so hop on your bike and enjoy the ride. Some riders may be more comfortable on a mountain bike with suspension than a drop bar rigid gravel bike. For anyone dreaming of a longer trip, or interested in riding from Sacramento to Tahoe (perhaps to link up with Tahoe Twirl or Bones to Blue!) Pack the Coast (bikepacking) - Morro Bay 10 - Truckee Dirt Fondo, Truckee. We share our tips and tricks for a successful bikepacking adventure. You will need to carry all your water with you for this trip since there are no reliable water sources along this route. Microwave Pizza Pockets, dill pickles, and hot chocolate were on the Chevron Station menu. Bikepacking.com and others have already developed several routes in this area, and there are many more options waiting to be explored. It offers an all-around, Powered by red Starbursts and Fat Tire Amber Ale, 11 of the Most Popular Bikepacking Trails in the US, Colorado Bikepacking Trails A Bikepackers Dreamland, How to Prepare For the C&O Canal and GAP Trail. Having been re-directed around Sandy Bandy and Rapture Ridge dirt, I road on Highland Valley road. Some of the best mountain biking trails close to my home are found in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park (40 miles east of San Diego). Its the foundation of the modern culture of bikepacking. The Wolf Bikepacking is offering 3 routes (180, 167, 167 km) for gravel bike. A gravel bikepacking bike gets bonus points for extra mounting points (braze ons, eyelets, barnacles, etc.) Baldy Bruiser The Baldy Bruiser is a burly 150 miles of dirt road and 44 track through the San Gabriel Mountains in the Angeles and San Bernardino National Forests. Expect to climb several long passes, including the day-long hike-a-bike up Mt. Its also about adapting safely on the fly when you are forced to reroute by massive rockslides, quagmires, deep sand or impassable rivers. Four hundred miles of lung-busting alpine climbs, desolate desert terrain where you need to carry many liters of water, wind-swept highways and peanut butter mud, and frequent hike-a-bikes in unrideable canyons and soul-sucking sand. Hello! One of the astonishing things is that routes can be utterly wild yet almost 100 percent rideable on a gravel bike. Starting in the beautiful San Jacinto Mountains, this path will take you all the way to the Pacific Ocean before circling back through Cleveland National Forest and the Anza Borrego Desert. Brian and Dave continued to the coaston highway. Traversing the spine of the continent and crossing the Continental Divide 30 times, theres no shortage of climbing, and the states it passes through are like a Top Trumps of North American landscapes. With these considerations in mind, I mapped out the following route favoring gravel roads, paths, and small roads: San Bruno - Pacifica/Linda Mar - Half Moon Bay - Pescadero - Big Basin - Skyline - Los Gatos Day 1: San Bruno to Half Moon Bay My adventure began with a ride to the Santa Clara Caltrain station. Wild camping is plentiful, and hosted options including cyclist-only lodgings! Some of the main features of this trek include Mt Baldy Ski resorts, Lake Arrowhead, Baldy Notch, and Angeles National Forest. Im Alissa, your virtual guide, here to help you make your biggest, boldest adventure dreams a reality. The northernmost section (Arroyo Seco to Gorda) and southernmost section (from New Cuyama to Santa Barbara) are the highlights in my opinion. We rolled our loaded bikes onto the ferry, secured them at the back of the vessel as choppy waters were forecasted, and found a bench on the upper deck for the 90-minute ferry from Dana Point ($75 round-trip + $8 for the bike). And, those more astute noted that should there be an injury on the bike, the time of vital health care professionals and a hospital bed might be taken at a time needed for those critically ill from COVID-19. The Baja Divide connects the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez, historic Spanish mission sites rich with shade and water, remote ranchos and fishing villages, bustling highway towns, and every major mountain range in Baja California on miles and miles of beautiful backcountry desert tracks. on relatively low-traffic road and trail, this newly developed route might be just the thing. 103 mi. My wife and I have gravel bikes with 42s and 47s. Plenty of viewpoints to be enjoyed. 5% singletrack. Now with oral contraception, the buff herd is around 150 and is one of the main tourist attractions. / 166 km 2 days Hereford Express Overnighter comment 9 time Feb 27 compose Guest Routes Canada 84 mi. (800 KM) Days 10 % Unpaved 65% % Singletrack 3% % Rideable (time) 98% You can find routes created by adventurers across the globe on bikepacking websites. If youre interested in bikepacking in California, you might also find these helpful: Or, visit the bikepacking resources center for more pedal-powered info and inspiration. 35mm tires are fine Youll go from open swaying grasslands into steep-sided valleys, along ridges and even through cool groves of cottonwood trees - a welcome respite from the heat if you go in summer. YEP, Join the free Ride with GPS club account p/b paradise garage. Spring and fall will have a show of colors if you plan the right trip at the right time. You can get water and resupply at lake Arrowhead and in the Mt Baldy area. Only a small fraction of our trails and public land have been mapped and described from a bikepacking perspective. Truely a route to savor. Southern California is known for its perpetual perfect weather, but it can get hot in the summer. Read more The itinerary. Some of the best bikepacking routes are short trips found right in your backyard. Campbellford has the spectacular Ranney Gorge Suspension Bridge and Doube's Trestle Bridge is near Omemee. Both routes go through Truckee. Gravel & Bikepacking. Bikepacking & TouringRides and RoutesTips and SkillsBikes and PartsGear and Reviews, Hiking & BackpackingTrails and TripsGear and ClothingTips and AdviceTrip Planning Workbook, Adventure TravelExplore by RegionCamping and OutdoorsMindful Travel. Soon after Californias stay-at-home order was first announced, the bikepacking community began debating its consequences on planned adventures. For even more ideas based on trip journals from other riders, see the California page on BikeSleepBike (another project of mine that aggregates bike travel blogs). Length: 335 miles Climbing: 7,000ft Time to complete: 3-9 nights Three words: Gentle, exploratory, beautiful What bike: Gravel or hardtail. Congrats on the new bike and best wishes for some great adventures. I create technical resources, reviews, inspirational videos, how-to guides and more. After a long stretch alongside the winding Youghiogheny River youll eventually climb to the top of the Eastern Continental Divide at 2,392 feet, but its super-gradual - the gradient is rarely over 1 percent, as youd expect from a disused railway line. Is bike packing irresponsible in the time of coronavirus, even if it is totally self-supported? I love your blog and appreciate your willingness to share and write about this Awesome sport/ hobby. Find the best Gravel Bike trails in California (United States). The Baldy Bruiser packs in some of the finest dirt roading in and around Los Angeles. The LA and Southern California bikepacking trips are best for riding in the spring or fall. After years of riding and evaluating 650b it became clear that, like on the mountain bike, the one set up that was more confidence . The routes include scenic lakes, the Pacific Ocean, Joshua Tree National Park, and even an inland sea. For Issue 08, we invited several contributors to return and pick up where earlier trips and ideas left off and also feature a handful of first-timers whose perspectives weve long been eager to share Issue 07 Issue seven is a celebration of courage and discovery of what were capable of when we dont let others expectations define us Issue 06 examined a diverse range of topics, including embracing aloneness, rekindling a sense of adventure, grappling with failure, and many more Theres loads of gold in the hills and mountains of California. I came across this Catalina Bikepacking route while looking for a solo overnighter route during my winter trip out west. Perhaps, we now realize how much we take for granted. Go in spring, and you may see the desert bursting into flower. We have over 300 original and curated bikepacking routes in our global network spanning nearly 50 countries. For a region nearly covered in national forest land, northern California loosely defined here as the area north of Tahoe has surprisingly few documented bikepacking routes. It evokes the freedom of multi-day backcountry hiking, but with the range and thrill of riding a mountain bike. For example, Bikepacking.com has routes covering about 50 countries and totaling 85,000 miles complete with . Youll also find simple campsites more often than in the UK. Parsons Landing is the farthest north-eastern point on the island where bicycles are allowed26 miles from Avalon with 3,400 feet of climbing. For those wanting something longer, inspiration may be found from the HardCOEre 100. Resources and inspiration to support your wildest dreams: Affiliate Disclosure: This site participates in affiliate programs, including Amazon Associates. The various sites that catalog routes don't seem to have much to offer, but hoping the brain trust here has some ideas. The Great Divide is high-profile, well documented and almost 100% rideable. BIKEPACKING.com is dedicated to exploration by bicycle. This route boasts giant metal sculptures, narrow canyon walls, with picturesque rocks and geological formations.