Northwest Bikepacking Routes

A gravel/all-road route through Montana and Wyoming featuring heroic climbs, long stretches of glassy high speed asphalt, rolling gravel, days on rugged jeep thoroughfares, and a dash of singletrack— an opportunity to test "all-road" bikes against their promise of versatility. Three Ranges in Cowboy Country has all of what one might expect riding in the Rocky Mountains, but in less familiar territory.

The Cross-Washington Mountain Bike Route (XWA) is a 685 mile, mostly off-road bikepacking route from the Pacific Ocean to the Washington/Idaho border. The route features a mixture of singletrack, dirt roads, and a bit of pavement as it crosses the Evergreen State passing through an incredibly diverse array of landscapes and terrain.

An excellent and challenging 3-day singletrack loop right out Portland's backdoor. Silver Siouxon connects a handful of southwest Washington's best MTB trails, remote backcountry riding, expansive views of cascade volcanoes, deep old growth forests, scree fields, and rugged ridge rambles.

The Black Hills Pay Dirt bikepacking route is a 3-4 day self-serve roller coaster that flows through old pine forests and clear trout streams. It passes abandoned gold mines, dives into deep canyons, and climbs along cliff top vistas. There are plenty of uphill battles along the way, but they all lead to grin inducing descents to make you feel like your inner child again.

The Cascade Skyline is a three or four day bikepacking route that takes in Oregon’s most iconic scenery along classic gravel and dirt roads.

The Oregon Timber Trail is an iconic 670-mile backcountry mountain bike route spanning Oregon’s diverse landscapes from California to the Columbia River Gorge. Divided into four unique tiers that can be through or section ridden, it travels through a variety of landscapes, communities, ecosystems, terrain and, most importantly, mountain bike trails, with over 50 per cent singletrack to its name.

The Idaho Smoke ‘n’ Fire 400 bikepacking route is designed to explore an epic portion of Idaho’s backcountry set with big expansive views, geothermal pools, prolific river systems, mountain ranges, and abundant wildlife.

Alaska’s hardiest riders tackle this 250-mile combination of pavement and singletrack in a day and a half, but the route also offers an accessible and jam packed bikepacking loop for those visiting the Last Frontier. Stretching the race route out over a week gives riders plenty of time to soak in some of Alaska’s best singletrack and epic scenery.

The Central Oregon Backcountry Explorer serves as an introductory route to the Ochoco Mountains and the geologic wonderland of the John Day Basin. Ride twisty dirt, gravel and paved roads through old-growth ponderosa pine forests, past stunning volcanic landscapes, old pioneer mines and ghost towns, the Painted Hills, all the way to the friendliest hostel around. The availability of water, great camping, and fairly non-technical terrain makes this a great ride for all levels of experience, just watch out for goat head thorns!

The Butte Batholith Route is a 95-mile trail connecting a vast system of singletrack on and around the Continental Divide Trail—passing by the beautiful Highland Mountains and weaving throughout a unique batholith of granite boulders. This easily accessible route takes riders through some of the best singletrack found in Southwestern Montana.

The Elkhorn Crest Trail runs along the Elkhorn Mountain ridgeline in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon. This technical trail traverses sub-alpine forests and grasslands and offers panoramic views of Baker Valley and the Wallowa Mountains to the East, and the Blue Mountains to the West. Camp at one of the high mountain lakes, enjoy views of the rocky nearby peaks, and maybe even catch a glimpse of a herd of elk or resident mountain goats.

Linking up the best of Oregon's Big Country with forgotten wagon roads and rugged overland travel. Cross three mountain ranges, a desert playa, visit five hot springs, and enjoy the solitude of vast empty landscapes.

The Mount St. Helens Epic Weekender features around 80 miles of diverse and rugged terrain, connecting some of the Pacific Northwest’s most well-known and unique singletrack — including the Ape Canyon Trail, The Abraham Trail (Plains of Abraham), and the Lewis River Trail — and making an excellent weekend escape into the heart of Washington state mountain bike country.

The Olympic Adventure Route offers a great weekend bikepacking getaway on the Olympic Peninsula. The route is mostly singletrack through dense mossy forests with spectacular views of mountains and sea.

A lovely weekend dirt wander that takes in Montana's Whitefish Range, set just west of Glacier's staggering peaks and chock-full of dirt roads, singletrack, and stunning views. Named after a classic point along the GDMBR, the route climbs to the 5600' Red Meadow Pass and continues along a vehicle-free dirt road meandering in the laps of giants in Glacier National Park.

The Three Sisters Three Rivers route criss-crosses Oregon's Cascade Range from the dry desert forest trails of Bend and Sisters to the hot springs and alpine ridges of the Upper Willamette to the lush, western flanks of the Calapooya Range, blue pools, and hot springs of the North Umpqua Trail.

An inspiring, unfiltered look at a route along Alaska’s rugged, wilderness coastline that was 'ridden' in the summer of 2011 by Mike Curiak, Eric Parsons, Dylan Kentch, Steve "Doom" Fassbinder, and Roman Dial.