This is partly because much of the regions most spectacular terrain is protected in national parks and wilderness areas where bikes arent allowed. Its 90 percent off-road, with less than 5 percent singletrack. Sign up here for occasional emails full of inspiration and information about bikepacking and bicycle touring. The SoCal Desert Ramble - Bikepacking.com The SoCal Desert Ramble, Southern California location California, USA We recognize Indigenous Peoples as the traditional stewards of this land. Researched and written by the founder of Bikepacking Scotland, and mostly accessible by public transport, each route includes all the information you need to help you plan your ride, with points of interest along the . Its roughly based on a classic extreme motorbike route, around 70% off-road. 10 - Bear Growl Gravel Grinder, Greenville. 400 gravel routes? After waffles and coffee at The Pancake Cottage, we pedaled out of town on Stage Road. Either way, planning your water stops is vital as there is very little drinkable water on the route. Planning a bikepacking route involves a lot of maps, trail knowledge and more. Theres more where this came from! Yavapai Backcountry Loop Pretty much any long ride is sure to involve some pavement and at least a bit of busy road riding. 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. This scenic 80-mile lollipop loop winds through parts of Joshua Tree National Park and can be completed in 2-3 days. The Local Overnighters Project is a unified effort to document and map one-night bikepacking routes all over the worldby locals, in their own backyards. Arroyo Seco Indians Road / Coast Ridge Road / Fort Hunter Liggett: The northern part of Los Padres National Forest features some nice options for short bikepacking trips. We called our trip the TransGabriel Challenge: three days, 78 miles and 18,000 feet of climbing by bike on dirt and gravel . It's well worth descending from the trail to towns along the way for coffee and snacks, and stocking up for the less populated second half. It's all about exploring the roads, gravel roads (or groads), and trails less travelled. The Baldy Bruiser packs in some of the finest dirt roading in and around Los Angeles. Its only 25 miles from Avalon to the north tip but the scenery is great and adding a visit to Avalon, maybe with an overnight stay is always fun. Though Ive spent plenty of time backpacking in the Sierra Nevada mountains, I havent done as much bikepacking there. We had a late lunch at the only caf in Two Harbors grabbed a bottle of Chianti and frozen burritos at the General Store, and skirted the coast to Parsons Landing where we camped on the beach. It not only takes in the best of Cuyamaca terrain but the single track and gravel roads in the adjacent Pine Creek and Hauser Wilderness areas. Original AR700 Coleman to Hinton, Alberta Route Details: 6 Days | 5 Nights | 720 km (447 mi) | +9,148 m (30,013 ft) | Start: Coleman | End: Hinton Also check out my review of the Apidura bikepacking gear I road on Santa Catalina, Cuyamaca, and the Stagecoach 400 HERE. "Fans of 650b gravel wheels may ask why the wheel size was removed from the scope of the MOG. Gravel Routes in California - Gravelmap Map Search Still, were lucky to have many open space preserves here in the bay, and motivated local bikepackers have managed to link them up in some creative ways. Youll be amazed at how remote this ride feels in places, and how glorious the views are. Your experienced riding buddy in digital form: 140 mobile-friendly pages packed with how to's, problem solving tips, and hard-earned wisdom from the trail and road. The beautiful and ancient Appalachian Mountains are the focus of this epic bikepacking trip, on the route of a famed annual race. This 168 mile route is a great multi-day touring option. Until then, this list of the 5 Best Bikepacking Routes in Alberta aims to help new bikepackers get started and inspire riders to get outside and explore new areas. I recommend joining the Facebook group if youre interested in learning more. Both challenge riders from low-elevation areas with a peak elevation of over 9500 feet. Vakantie tijd, ruimte om het hoofd leeg te maken! Brian and Dave continued to the coaston highway. I bivyed in tall brush along the Coast to Crest trail and broke camp early the next morning. 90 mi. Instead of taking the main jeep road to the village of Two Harbors, we navigated singletrack and some hike-a-bike sectors along the Eastern side of the island. It is split up into 4 tiers and 10 segments. I came across this Catalina Bikepacking route while looking for a solo overnighter route during my winter trip out west. About . The utter bliss of bikepacking in the backcountry. Be sure to think about where you will sleep each night and how you will get food and water. Plenty of viewpoints to be enjoyed. Glacial valleys, thermal hot springs, bears this ride has it all. A match made in heaven. Think of bikepacking as a camping trip you take with your bike. Day 3: 76 miles | 6,900 feet. If youre bikepacking in California and have a route to recommend, please leave a comment at the bottom. Many riders cache water beforehand or use support. Gravel or mountain biking. The routes include scenic lakes, the Pacific Ocean, Joshua Tree National Park, and even an inland sea. The Baja is the finger of Mexico that extends 800 miles south of the border with the USA, with the Pacific on its west, and the Gulf of California to the east. Here are a few good places to start when looking for a bikepacking route in Central California: Tour de los Padres: This is a bikepacking event held annually on a variety of different routes in the region. The Wolf Bikepacking is offering 3 routes (180, 167, 167 km) for gravel bike. Bikepacking Boise to Elko: Big Skies and Endless Gravel in Idaho and Nevada. Gravel Bike with Shimano Dura Ace 6 years warranty & 30 days Return Policy Bikes directly from the manufacturer Discover here! The SF Peninsula Traverse is an easy-to-reach and easy-to-bail, weekend-warrior-compatible bikepacking route that will bring you deep in the forest where you will forget civilization, and high up on the ridgelines with expansive ocean and bay views. Quite different from the other expeditions here, this is a gentle but beautiful route thats ideal for bikepacking beginners: super-accessible, and dotted with campsites and accommodation, markets and eateries. You can find routes created by adventurers across the globe on bikepacking websites. This beautiful singletrack ride weaves through them and will feel like an endless geology and nature lesson. One of the astonishing things is that routes can be utterly wild yet almost 100 percent rideable on a gravel bike. Two alternative tracks are included for making the route shorter. Intrepid riders might be tempted to link the Triple Crossover with the Peninsula Traverse mentioned above, leaving just a couple sections on the peninsula that would need to be navigated carefully on busy streets. Bikepacking Scotland by Markus Stitz features 20 great multi-day off-the-beaten-track cycling adventures across the Scottish mainland and islands. With 67 miles of unpaved road, this route takes you through a desert landscape of rock formations, Joshua Trees, and some great viewpoints. I just bought a tour/gravel bike and am stoked for the bikepacking adventures to come. Is bike packing irresponsible in the time of coronavirus, even if it is totally self-supported? Desert rides should be planned in the spring or fall due to the extreme heat. It's about exploring places less traveled, both near and far, via singletrack trails, gravel, and abandoned dirt roads. The SoCal Desert ramble can easily link up with the southern end of Baldy Bruiser, and for those who want to keep heading south, the northern end of the epic Baja Divide. Its a perfect late autumn and early spring route; its rideable all through winter, but it can get super-cold at night. Oregon is blessed with ancient forests dripping with moss, stunning volcanic peaks, prairies, swimming holes and hot springs, and this route gives you them all. The Boboyan Divide Route. 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. Theres a lot of variety on this route, from coastal riding to ridgetop views, and singletrack trail to paved highway. Soledad Paso Robles Coalinga Loop: This 260 mile loop is primarily pavement, but includes a few excellent sections of gravel and the closed dirt Arroyo Seco Indians Road mentioned above. The winter, spring, and fall are the best seasons to tackle this route; given the extreme heat in the summer months. It happens to overlap with a bit of the Mendocino NF route I linked to above, and if thats any indication of the rest of the route, its probably tough! The loop nature of both routes, along with relatively easy food and water resupply, make both logistically simple. 103 mi. 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. Come and find yourself immersed in the endless network of lonely backcountry gravel and dirt roads, forested paths and charming towns. Hello! Noble Canyon is one of my favorite areas with serious climbing in Indian Creek and Deer Park and the payoff with flowing single track and technical rock gardens. Camping spots abound, so you can ride till you drop, and if you're lucky, youll see elk and moose, and maybe even the sockeye salmon that used to swarm to Redfish Lake. We inspire and inform through original bikepacking routes, stories, and coverage of the gear, news, and events that make our community thrive. My wife and I have gravel bikes with 42s and 47s. Gravel Bike California The State of Dirt Main Menu. Climbing is plentiful and sometimes steep, and surfaces are varied. 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. It is very well waymarked but that's no excuse not to take some backup navigation. Learn more. Read More Aug 21, 2021 Read More Canaan Valley and the Forks of Cheat Theres some semi-technical singletrack, plenty of rooty dirt, river crossings, waterfalls you wont get bored. Your obvious solution is to base yourself in Moab for at least a fortnight and immerse yourself in the endless riding opportunities. Ive traveled over 17,000 miles by bike and still cant stop planning my next ride (and helping you plan yours). The Bikepacking Journal is our biannual printed publication. The Orro Terra X GRX400 is a versatile, ride-anywhere journey companion that is suited to long days in the saddle and exciting bikepacking adventures. Expect to climb several long passes, including the day-long hike-a-bike up Mt. Routes are mapped and chronicled by a core group of experienced route designers and a thriving group of contributors from around the world. Hours. Even the legendary Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, which often crests above 10,000ft in its 2,700 miles, fits this category. Lets help get more bikepackers out there on our roads and trails. One of these days Ill get back to the area and try out some bikepacking routes! BikePerfect is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Wider handlebars: Gravel bikes intended for rougher terrain usually feature wide flared drop bars for better control. Gravel Routes - BikepackingPA Gravel Routes Map Gravel Routes List The Pennsylvania Grand Canyon The deepest gorge of the Keystone State. The island has about 40 miles of mostly dirt roads and trails open to "mountain biking," but I noted in pictures that several were riding their gravel bikes. It also features in the above-mentioned Tour de los Padres route as well. If you found this article helpful, please consider sharing so more people can benefit from it: For a short two or three day trip, Catalina island has several established campgrounds and lots of dirt/gravel roads. This 60-mile loop starts in Pasadena and takes you up to the mountains of Angeles National Forest; as you would expect, there is going to be some climbing involved. The switchback road ascends for three miles through eucalyptus forests with gradients reaching 14%. Read More Rothrock Gravel Overnighter An 80% gravel loop in the forests and farmlands of central Pennsylvania. 5% singletrack. The North Bay / Mount Tamalpais area is a prime candidate for Bay Area bikepacking routes, such as this overnight loop out of Fairfax. I absolutely love the Lost Sierra region for outdoor adventures of all kinds. Also an enthusiastic midpack club cyclocross and XC racer, he loves his role as a junior cycle coach on the Kent/Sussex borders, and likes to squeeze in a one-day unsupported 100-miler on the South Downs Way at least once a year. May 24, 2019 7 AM PT. With over a hundred miles of single track, it is perfect for weekend bikepacking. The bikepacking routes in southern California take you through the mountains and peaks, forests, high and low deserts, and badlands. Thanks! The mellow 16-mile ride left us time for cold plunges in the Pacific Ocean and hiking along the cliffs above Shark Harbor. The whoosh of truck knocked us into the gravel shoulder. Refresh Page Error: af0040c3b0ef48c89f828c7fc0d69813 Sign up to get the latest Ride Gravel news! 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. The 2020 Stagecoach 400 almost did not happen, not because of the coronavirus (we were a week before the stay at home order) but because of the biblical levels of rain, flooding, and landslides on the course. But back to the beer Vermont produces many of the top craft beers in the US, and this route proposes an agreeable daily itinerary to make the most of the many microbreweries, taprooms and restaurants that it deliberately links together by sweet gravel, singletrack and stretches of infamously degraded class 4 roads. A gravel bike for extensive trips. The TDLP website contains a wealth of information about the official route, as well as descriptions and GPS tracks for a number of shorter bikepacking routes in the Santa Barbara backcountry. Copyright 2023 Exploring Wild, All Rights Reserved, Route Guide: Central California Mixed-Terrain Bike Tour, Bikepacking Grand Staircase Loop in Southern Utah, Mendocino National Forest Bikepacking Overnight: Letts Lake Loop, California Bikepacking: Route Ideas in Every Region, Bikepacking Boise to Elko: Big Skies and Endless Gravel in Idaho and Nevada, Bikepacking Central Oregon: High Desert and Volcanic Geology from K Falls to Bend, Cycling the Alps 2 Ocean Trail in New Zealand: Overview + 4 Day Itinerary, Cycling Boise to Klamath Falls: Quiet Highways + Oregon Outback Bikepacking Route, How NOT to Bikepack the New Mexico Off-Road Runner, Black Mountain Overnight: Mini Bikepacking Adventure in the SF Bay Area, Idaho Smoke n Fire 2022: Rewarding and Fun Despite Tough Last-Minute Reroute, Bikepacking Bones to Blue: Singletrack Trial By Fire around Lake Tahoe, Pinyons and Pines Bikepacking Race: Dust, Rocks, and Sunshine in Northern Arizona, Tour de los Padres 2022: Burly Bikepacking Adventure in Central California, The Big Lonely 2021: High Desert Bikepacking with a Snowy Twist, Smoke n Fire 2021: Third Times the Charm, Idaho Smoke n Fire 2019 (and 2020) Bikepacking Adventure, Bike Nonstop US 2019: Lessons Learned From 3500 Miles at the Back of the Pack, Bike Routes Across America: Top Touring and Bikepacking Routes Compared, Oregon Bikepacking: 6 Scenic Routes For All Styles and Experience Levels, 6 Epic USA Bikepacking Routes with (Mostly) Non-Technical Riding, 7 Long Rail Trails in the US (Perfect For Bike Touring). Bikepacking in southern California often means desert landscapes and everything that comes with them: sand, rocks, rattlesnakes, hot summer days, and cold winter nights. Be sure to make reservations for campgrounds or accommodation in advance if needed, and be prepared to share the trails with plenty of hikers. More here. Described by Logan Watts as an epic medley of singletrack, doubletrack, sand and tarmac, youll never forget the rocky, technical climbs, the sand, the canyons, the views and the nights under desert stars. Wending east it's a combination of smooth or bumpy gravel roads, disorderly non-serviced roads and forest trail as you ride through the little visited Georgian Bluffs and then onto the Bayview Escarpment. Sandwiched between the misty beaches of the Pacific and the urban sprawl of the San Francisco Bay, stand peninsula mountains that beckon. Thanks for reading! After a brief highway section, I joined a Laguna Beach duo in Anza to pedal and push our rigs the next 3-hours through a mud-slog. Possibly one of the most exciting MTB bikepacking routes in the USA, this was designed from scratch for two wheels and is over 50% singletrack. Camp high if you can and be sure you never set up camp in a wash due to potential flash floods. There are also a few restaurants along the way you can stop at for a meal or snack. 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!) Length: 335 miles Climbing: 7,000ft Time to complete: 3-9 nights Three words: Gentle, exploratory, beautiful What bike: Gravel or hardtail. Distance: 40 miles. Riders embark from the iconic Golden Gate Bridge and then cross the San Francisco Bay three times on a multi-day journey through coastal prairie, chaparral, redwoods, rolling hills, and marshland. Sardine Lookout Tower Overnighter is a mini adventure that gives riders a taste of the beautiful forests, meadows, and reservoirs around Tahoe National Forest. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Bikepacking Central Oregon: High Desert and Volcanic Geology from K Falls to Bend. Brendan Collier, the founder of the Stagecoach 400, and Meg Knobel, who has taken over the reins as Master of Stoke, decided to move ahead with the race, though with a warning. The Bay Area Triple Crossover weekend bikepacking route highlights the diversity of bay ecosystems, where each day feels distinct from the next. Day 4: 66 miles | 3,300 feet. It would make a lot of sense to extend that loop to the south and include the famous trails of the Marin Headlands, perhaps linking up with this North Bay Overnighter. Learn more or say hi. Puis ces . Descending Black Canyon in the darkness and waves of orange blossoms scents was glorious. In emails to the riders, Brendan essentially said, We dont really recommend you ride the Stagecoach this year with epic rains and hypothermic friendly weather. Shop Grizl 21 items Availability Show Filters New Compare Grail CF SL 7 Shimano GRX RX810 GS, DT Swiss Gravel LN $2,699.00 Financing available for this product -13% Compare Grizl 6 Shimano GRX RX400 GS, DT Swiss Gravel LN Trail Sale: Limited time only $1,299.00 This rugged island off the coast of LA was suggested by a reader, and looks like it would make an amazing 2-3 day bikepacking trip! We arrived just in time to catch Catalina Express back to Dana Point. . A string of national forests, state parks, and other public land can be linked together for days of access to backcountry dirt roads and 44 tracks with free dispersed camping. So Im a little surprised that while most other states in the western US are collecting established bikepacking routes at a rapid rate, bikepacking in California still seems to be in its infancy. Eventbrite - Trek Bicycle Fort Wayne presents Bikepacking Clinic-Trek Bicycle Fort Wayne - Tuesday, March 14, 2023 | Tuesday, April 11, 2023 at Trek Bicycle Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne, IN.
