Just got back from this route on Friday in Western NV and had a pretty good time! I named it Desert Walker as it follows two good water sources, Desert Creek and the East Fork of the Walker River.
I left my car near Wellington, NV and headed south until I got to Desert Creek road. The road starts off gravel, but ends up very rocky once you get into the canyon and the grade increases. I was happy to be on my hardtail with 2.6” Vittoria Mezcals. Desert Creek is surprisingly strong flowing, crystal clear, cold water. The road has about 5 water crossings but at the deepest they were probably 2 feet. I could see the crossings being treacherous in spring, so fall was a good time to do this route. After getting to the top of the climb, I descended on Risue road to NV338 and rode south until the left turnoff for The Elbow campground.
The Elbow was a very nice campground. Had pit toilets stocked with TP, campsites with picnic tables, fire rings, and some free firewood at some sites. I got a site right on the East Fork of the Walker and saw a bighorn sheep on the ridge above my campsite.
The next day I woke up and started heading north on various BLM(?) roads until getting onto East Walker Road which I was on the rest of the day. The second day had less climbing than the first, so I thought it would be easier, but I hadn’t anticipated all the sand I would encounter. I ended up having to do a good amount of hike a bike the second day because I just couldn’t maintain traction on some of the climbs. I’m a noob when it comes to sand, so maybe lowering my tire pressure could have helped some, but I think some hike a bike is unavoidable on this route unless you’re on a fat bike. I didn’t see a soul for the first 5 hours or so this day. It is SUPER remote and the roads a few miles NE of The Elbow campground definitely aren’t passable by a passenger vehicle.
I finally hit Walker SRA and saw a ranger driving around. I told him I’d just ridden in from the Elbow and asked how to reserve a campsite for the night. He was shocked I’d ridden in and said he thought I was the first person ever to make the trip on a bike. I headed to the visitor center and paid for my site and the employee there too was also shocked I’d ridden from The Elbow and also said she also thought I was the only person to have ever done it. I told her I was exhausted and filthy and was going to go clean off in the river, and she told me they had free warm showers! It was the best news I’d heard in a long time!
After showering and setting up camp, another ranger drove up and parked in my site. I walked up to the car and he asked if I’d really ridden in from the Elbow. It seemed word had gotten around among the employees about the crazy guy on a bike. These campsites were also very nice with shade gazebos, fire rings, free firewood, and picnic tables. I slept well this night.
There were a few options for routes back to Wellington on the last day, but after dealing with the sand on the second day, I decided to just ride the highway shoulders back instead of taking my chances in the desert. Traffic is very light in this area of NV and all the passing vehicles were courteous. I rode out on East Walker Road to NV 208, to Smith Gauge road which got be back to Wellington. This route took me through Wilson Canyon which was gorgeous but had very limited soft shoulder with a twisty road with limited sight lines. There was one point where I had oncoming traffic with a cement truck coming up behind me. The cement trucked beeped his horn a few times to warn me and I bailed off to the soft shoulder to make room and gave him a wave. Strange as it is to say, I was really appreciative he honked instead of passing me super close. If you ever read this, thanks cement truck driver!
I made great time riding on the highway back to Wellington. Made it back in time for a nice early lunch at Rosie’s. Would recommend!
I’d definitely ride this route again if I could find someone interested. I would not recommend doing this on a gravel bike, it’s too rough/rocky and the tires would be too narrow to deal with sand. My 2.6” were barely capable in the sand at times. Be 100% self sufficient as parts of the route are extremely remote, have no cell service, and is inaccessible by passenger vehicles. A satellite messenger is probably a very good idea.
Edit: I also know I’m not the first to do The Elbow to Walker SRA via bike as I read about Kurstin Graham doing it on his blog here: https://bikepackingnv.blog. Good site to check out for more NV bikepacking inspiration.
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Just got back from this route on Friday in Western NV and had a pretty good time! I named it Desert Walker as it follows two good water sources, Desert Creek and the East Fork of the Walker River.
I left my car near Wellington, NV and headed south until I got to Desert Creek road. The road starts off gravel, but ends up very rocky once you get into the canyon and the grade increases. I was happy to be on my hardtail with 2.6” Vittoria Mezcals. Desert Creek is surprisingly strong flowing, crystal clear, cold water. The road has about 5 water crossings but at the deepest they were probably 2 feet. I could see the crossings being treacherous in spring, so fall was a good time to do this route. After getting to the top of the climb, I descended on Risue road to NV338 and rode south until the left turnoff for The Elbow campground.
The Elbow was a very nice campground. Had pit toilets stocked with TP, campsites with picnic tables, fire rings, and some free firewood at some sites. I got a site right on the East Fork of the Walker and saw a bighorn sheep on the ridge above my campsite.
The next day I woke up and started heading north on various BLM(?) roads until getting onto East Walker Road which I was on the rest of the day. The second day had less climbing than the first, so I thought it would be easier, but I hadn’t anticipated all the sand I would encounter. I ended up having to do a good amount of hike a bike the second day because I just couldn’t maintain traction on some of the climbs. I’m a noob when it comes to sand, so maybe lowering my tire pressure could have helped some, but I think some hike a bike is unavoidable on this route unless you’re on a fat bike. I didn’t see a soul for the first 5 hours or so this day. It is SUPER remote and the roads a few miles NE of The Elbow campground definitely aren’t passable by a passenger vehicle.
I finally hit Walker SRA and saw a ranger driving around. I told him I’d just ridden in from the Elbow and asked how to reserve a campsite for the night. He was shocked I’d ridden in and said he thought I was the first person ever to make the trip on a bike. I headed to the visitor center and paid for my site and the employee there too was also shocked I’d ridden from The Elbow and also said she also thought I was the only person to have ever done it. I told her I was exhausted and filthy and was going to go clean off in the river, and she told me they had free warm showers! It was the best news I’d heard in a long time!
After showering and setting up camp, another ranger drove up and parked in my site. I walked up to the car and he asked if I’d really ridden in from the Elbow. It seemed word had gotten around among the employees about the crazy guy on a bike. These campsites were also very nice with shade gazebos, fire rings, free firewood, and picnic tables. I slept well this night.
There were a few options for routes back to Wellington on the last day, but after dealing with the sand on the second day, I decided to just ride the highway shoulders back instead of taking my chances in the desert. Traffic is very light in this area of NV and all the passing vehicles were courteous. I rode out on East Walker Road to NV 208, to Smith Gauge road which got be back to Wellington. This route took me through Wilson Canyon which was gorgeous but had very limited soft shoulder with a twisty road with limited sight lines. There was one point where I had oncoming traffic with a cement truck coming up behind me. The cement trucked beeped his horn a few times to warn me and I bailed off to the soft shoulder to make room and gave him a wave. Strange as it is to say, I was really appreciative he honked instead of passing me super close. If you ever read this, thanks cement truck driver!
I made great time riding on the highway back to Wellington. Made it back in time for a nice early lunch at Rosie’s. Would recommend!
I’d definitely ride this route again if I could find someone interested. I would not recommend doing this on a gravel bike, it’s too rough/rocky and the tires would be too narrow to deal with sand. My 2.6” were barely capable in the sand at times. Be 100% self sufficient as parts of the route are extremely remote, have no cell service, and is inaccessible by passenger vehicles. A satellite messenger is probably a very good idea.
Routes here:
Day 1: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44571635
Day 2: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/43958894
Day 3: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44632189
Edit: I also know I’m not the first to do The Elbow to Walker SRA via bike as I read about Kurstin Graham doing it on his blog here: https://bikepackingnv.blog. Good site to check out for more NV bikepacking inspiration.