Dark Divide 300 (2024)

The Dark Divide 300 is a challenging mixed-terrain cycling route that traverses the expansive ancestral lands of the Squaxin Island Tribe, Nisqually Tribe of Indians, Cowlitz Indian Tribe, and Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, through what is known commonly as southern Cascade Mountain Range in Washington State, which is encapsulated in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

The route begins in Olympia, Washington, on the territory of the Steh-Chass band of the Squaxin Island Tribe overlooking the southern tip of the Salish Sea, and heads southeast into the Cascadian hinterlands via the Elbe Hills State Forest. It then leads riders deep into the back-country through a combination of unmaintained and forgotten forest roads and seldom-traveled scenic byways until reaching the Dark Divide Roadless Area, one of the most rugged and beautiful landscapes on the continent.

After traversing Juniper Ridge, riders head southwest again toward the Columbia River through the Monte Cristo Range and eventually the Yacolt Burn area before finishing in Portland, Oregon. Resupply is limited, cell phones are useless, and the terrain can be steep, rutted, and utterly unforgiving.