Hey everyone!
I’m planning a bikepacking trip from Seattle to San Francisco in September, and I’d love to get your input on my route.
A few notes:
• I’m aiming for a mix of scenic roads, camping, and quiet stretches, but I’m okay with occasional busy sections.
• I’ll be riding solo with a Pinion gravel bike, carrying all my gear
• Total time frame: ~4-5 weeks, around 30 days of riding.
My questions are:
1. Any stretches I should definitely avoid or reroute?
2. Must-see spots or great campgrounds along the way?
3. Suggestions for food, water resupply in remote areas?
4. Any local tips for wind, traffic, or weather?
I’ve done a few shorter bikepacking trips, but this is my first longer tour in the U.S. so I’m super excited (and a bit nervous, haha).
Appreciate any tips, stories, or route suggestions – thanks in advance!
by Straight-Ad-8871
3 Comments
Can you post a more detailed route?
One potential issue I see is that it looks like you’re taking NFD-25 in Washington from the town of Randle south towards the Columbia River – that road is closed for the summer because of a landslide and washed out bridge. As an alternative I would recommend NFD-23 (which also leaves from Randle and takes you South to the Columbia.
Use the OGC Lite route for getting around the Olympics Peninsula. 101 out that way kind of sucks. There are quite a few nice jogs away from the highway, and the gravel roads towards Whynoochee are awesome.
Good for you! As a Californian I can try to comment on that section of your route.
From the Oregon – California border all the way down to Mono Lake is in the Sierra Nevada mountains, more or less. There is fantastic national forest land throughout that section, meaning you can “dispersed camp” outside of campgrounds for free in many places. But there’s a lot of highway riding in that section. I can’t speak to the traffic and roads conditions (narrow or with shoulder, etc) of each one, but I suggest using Google Maps street view to check out each highway and see if you’d feel comfortable riding it with some traffic.
Cutting west through the Central Valley and East Bay into the San Francisco Bay Area is also going to be a pretty populated area. Some people wouldn’t mind but it depends on what you’re looking for. I’ve actually wanted to ride into the Bay Area from the east but I’m put off by all the suburban sprawl. You’ll be picking your way along a patchwork of streets with traffic, but as it’s the end of your trip maybe you’ll be too excited to mind. 🙂
I wouldn’t expect to camp west of Mono Lake except in established campgrounds where you can find them, but that’s just me – I’m not comfortable stealth camping in populated areas and it’s not common (or legal) to do that in the U.S. If I were doing that route I would look for campgrounds (but be aware they may need reservations) or cheap motels from around Groveland westward.
Your finish in San Francisco will be fun! You can bike across the Golden Gate Bridge just for kicks, if you’re not tired of biking already. 🙂
I don’t have any definite reroute suggestions without looking in more detail at your route. But if you end up looking for alternate route ideas, here are a few in the same region that might give you some ideas.
Sierra Cascades Route by Adventure Cycling Association: road riding, presumably the lowest traffic option in the area between Oregon border and Mono Lake
Pony Express Route by Bikepacking Roots: Cuts west from Tahoe to Sacramento, another option for getting west from the Sierra mountains but would pass north of Yosemite so you’d miss that. Probably rugged in parts.
Trans Norcal bikepacking route (https://transnorthcalifornia.blogspot.com/): another way to get west from the Sierra, a challenging and rugged route, not for a road touring setup. From the end in Mendocino you could follow the ACA’s Pacific Coast Route south across the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco, which might be nicer than fighting through the East Bay’s suburban sprawl.
Bay Area Triple Crossover by bikepacking.com: there is some challenging trail on this route and I wouldn’t recommend it for a road touring setup, but if you get tired of traffic in the Bay maybe there is a section that could help you.
Oregon Outback by bikepacking.com: A great low-traffic gravel route a bit east of what you have planned.
Good luck to you! I did some of my earlier trips like this, piecing together my own routes in the western US. It’s a bit tough here because we don’t have good bike infrastructure, but it’s a great adventure and you’ll meet a lot of friendly people.