California

The Ojai Rim Loop is a stunning 67-mile overnighter route circumnavigating the city of Ojai in Ventura County, California. The route follows quiet vehicle-free dirt roads, multi-use paths, and a splash of singletrack, with a halfway point at Hines Peak at nearly 7,000 feet. Riders are rewarded with epic views of the Pacific Ocean and the Topatopa Mountains for nearly the entire ride, which can be packed into a weekend or extended for those wishing to soak up the experience…

The Lost Sierra Loop is a 105-mile bikepacking route that offers a splendid sampling of Northern California's finest gravel roads and singletrack trails. This three-day weekend loop takes riders through the remote and beautiful Plumas National Forest, with stops to resupply in some of the small communities that collectively make up the Lost Sierra...

Land of the Ancients is an overnight bikepacking route set in the shadow of White Mountain, California’s third-highest peak and the highest peak in the Great Basin Desert. Route highlights include the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, Wyman Canyon, abandoned mining operations, the ruins of White Mountain City, and the lonesome expanse of Deep Springs Valley...

The Great San Diego Triathlon is a short, fast, and wildly fun point-to-point bikepacking route that runs from the top of Mount Laguna down to the beach using mostly dirt. It incorporates backcountry singletrack, jeep trails, and gravel roads, and it stops by Three Sisters and Cedar Creek waterfalls, where you can lock your bike, hike in, and swim in two legendary San Diego swimming holes. This route is mostly descending, but don’t let that fool you. It’s still a surprisingly hard but rewarding couple of days on the bike...

Sardine Lookout Tower Overnighter is a mini adventure that gives riders a taste of the beautiful forests, meadows, and reservoirs around Tahoe National Forest. The cherry on top is staying overnight at a fire lookout tower that overlooks sweeping views, where you'll wake up to a sunrise experience like no other...

The Caldera 500 is a rugged and endlessly beautiful route that immerses riders in the Eastern Sierra. The full 500-mile version traverses five mountain ranges and three distinct biomes, always choosing the more challenging option at each junction. Expect to climb several long passes, including the day-long hike-a-bike up Mt. Patterson, and fly down the accompanying backcountry singletrack descents. See the route guide here...

The Owens Valley Ramble is an overnight loop that highlights the complex environmental, geological, and political history of California's Owens River Valley. Route landmarks include the Eastern Sierra foothills, Manzanar War Relocation Camp, Alabama Hills, Owens River watershed, and Inyo Mountains...

The Bay Area Triple Crossover weekend bikepacking route highlights the diversity of bay ecosystems, where each day feels distinct from the next. 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. Experience how nature and cities coexist on a route that threads the urban hubs of the San Francisco Bay Area...

Widely recognized as the birthplace of mountain biking, the Mt Tamalpais and Marin region is a special place where the ocean, coastal hills, and redwood forests converge. The North Bay Overnighter takes it all in over a 2-3 day bikepacking loop. Riders will dip in and out of the fog until they rise above the clouds, leaving no doubt why the San Francisco Bay Area is known for its microclimates...

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. Beginning in Reno, it blends burly desert jeep roads with classic Tahoe singletrack. Add mellow bike paths, remote forest roads, fantastic camping real estate, and an abundance of swimming spots... and it makes a wonderful introduction to this beautiful area.

The Anza-Hapaha Loop is a 2-3 day bikepacking route that connects several of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park’s magnificent dirt and sand roads, explores its wildflower, ocotillo, and cactus-rich desert, and snakes its way through the badlands of two geologically mesmerizing canyons.

For those seeking desert solitude tinged with a touch of the bizarre, we present the SoCal Desert Ramble. Prepare to immerse yourself amongst desert blooms and starry nights, slither your way along sandy washes, linger in counter-culture hangouts, ponder salty, decayed holiday resorts gone wrong, and marvel at the Dr. Seussian splendour of the gangly, anthropomorphic Joshua Tree…

Sandwiched between the misty beaches of the Pacific and the urban sprawl of the San Francisco Bay, stand peninsula mountains that beckon. 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.

The Baldy Bruiser packs in some of the finest dirt roading in and around Los Angeles. Connecting Big Bear Lake, Lake Arrowhead, Cleghorn Fire Road, Baldy Notch, Glendora Ridge Road, and Rincon-Redbox Truck Trail, it's a gorgeous backcountry ride that boasts a fearsome amount of climbing and some steep grades along its 145 miles length. If you're a city dweller in search of a hearty, long weekend adventure, then this is the challenge for you!

The LA Observer is a short foray into the city's neighbouring Angeles National Park, via the unexpectedly steep and rugged folds of the San Gabriel Mountains. Reaching over 5,000ft at times, it offers bouts of flowing singletrack and a medley of abandoned dirt roads, set to one sweeping panorama after another. Time your ride right and it also promises the chance to ogle at Los Angeles' endless sea of illumination at dusk, or even from the comforts of your tent at nightfall...