Bikepacking in the USA

Pedal into the quintessential old western setting of savannah rangelands along the East Loop of the Sky Islands Odyssey. Meander mellow dirt roads, double tracks, and a historic expedition trail around an island in the sky, the Santa Rita Mountains, through ever-changing landscapes of grasslands, forests, and desert in one of the most biodiverse regions in the world.

The Vapor Trail is a weekend bikepacking loop based on the longstanding 125-mile race that starts and finishes in Salida, Colorado. This incredibly scenic, high-altitude route utilizes two historic rail grades and ties in some of Colorado’s finest singletrack via the Colorado Trail, Monarch Crest, and Starvation Creek as it passes over high passes and through historic mining settlements.

Less than two hours from the mountain biking epicenters of Fruita, CO, and Moab, UT, lies a veritable paradise for the intrepid bikepacker – the San Rafael Swell. Rich in both geological and human history, this overnight route traverses stunning landscapes forged by dramatic tectonic uplift and erosion, and numerous remnants of the region’s bygone mining era, certain to entice even the most adventurous riders.

The Hey Joe Safari offers a broad strokes tour of the ever popular desert landscape around western Moab. This weekend bikepacking route follows rugged jeep tracks, bounces along slickrock expanses, explores prehistoric dinosaur tracks, winds through Utah cattle country, dumps you into the Green River’s Hey Joe Canyon via a 3rd class hike-a-bike, and culminates with 20 miles of the area’s most popular singletrack, the Magnificent 7 Trails.

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.

Wending its way through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, the Grand Staircase Loop is a three or four day bikepacking route following quiet and remote dirt roads over spectacular plateaus and canyons. With abundant scenery and wide open camping, the route was designed to bring awareness of to this beautiful and threatened area.