Golden Gravel Trail
- Epic Ride
- New Route
- Staff Favorite
A nearly cross-country gravel route crossing eight states from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean, stringing together Ozark hills, Great Plains grassland, high alpine passes, red rock desert, and coastal rainforest into one unforgettable journey.
- Distance
- 3,805 miles
- Surface
- 30% paved
- 2+ months
- Route Type
- Point to Point
Ride the Golden Gravel Trail
Created for Adventure Cycling’s 50th anniversary, this free bikepacking route runs from the Mississippi River in Missouri, to the Pacific Ocean in Oregon, crossing eight states and the Continental Divide.
What to Expect
This route was built specifically for long-distance adventure, striking a balance between real challenge and accessibility rather than difficulty for its own sake. Riders move through nearly every landscape in the continental United States: forested plateaus, agricultural plains, high mountain passes, red-rock canyon country, sagebrush basins, and lush coastal forest. Expect long days on washboard and loose gravel, thin air above 12,000 feet, desert heat, and stretches of more than 100 miles between towns. This is a ride for fit, self-sufficient riders who are comfortable being far from help.
Free-roaming bison herds on the tallgrass prairie of Oklahoma set the tone early, and the Rockies bring the historic mining town of Pitkin, Marshall Pass, and the route’s high point at Cumberland Pass, at more than 12,000 feet. Farther west come the red-rock country around Moab, ancient petroglyphs, and the remote San Rafael Swell in Utah, then turquoise Bear Lake, the soaking pools of Lava Hot Springs, and the lava fields of Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve in Idaho. The ride finishes across Oregon’s Cascades and Coast Range at Port Orford, a small harbor town on the Pacific. At 3,805 miles, it’s also the longest primarily unpaved route Adventure Cycling has published.
The route begins at just 340 feet above sea level in Cape Girardeau and climbs into the rolling, steep-but-short hills of the Ozark Plateau before flattening across nearly 1,000 miles of Great Plains grassland.
From Pueblo, Colorado, onward, the character shifts dramatically into sustained alpine climbs and descents through Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho, easing briefly across the Snake River Plain before Oregon delivers the highest average climb per mile of any state on the route.
The full Adventure Cycling route includes detailed riding conditions and field notes for every climb and descent.
This route grows increasingly remote heading west. Resupply towns appear every 20 to 50 miles through Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma, but that distance stretches to 60 to 140 miles by the time the route reaches Oregon. The longest stretch without a town is a 180-mile span in Utah between Orangeville and Park City, and the longest stretch with no services of any kind is 137 miles between Huntington and John Day, Oregon. Bike shops are rare west of Pueblo, and cell coverage is unreliable across large stretches, so download your Ride with GPS route for offline use.
A westbound departure from Cape Girardeau in July avoids spring storms and high water crossings in the east, though riders should expect summer heat on the Plains and in the Utah desert, and early snow is possible by the time they reach Oregon’s Cascades in September or October. Eastbound riders departing Port Orford between mid-July and mid-August tend to hit a more favorable window across the whole route. In the Rockies, afternoon thunderstorms bring lightning above tree line, so plan to be over high passes by midday. Wildfire season, typically July through October, can close sections with little notice, especially between Colorado and Oregon, so monitor conditions regardless of direction.
Route Sections
Cape Girardeau, MO to Pittsburg, KS, 467.8 miles
From the Mississippi River, the route climbs into the Ozark Plateau on a mix of gravel and paved roads, passing through the Roger Pryor Pioneer Backcountry and along the Frisco Highline Trail before flattening into farmland on the approach to Kansas.
Pittsburg, KS to Elkhart, KS, 571.4 miles
This section crosses reclaimed mining land, the Osage Reservation, and the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve before continuing through the increasingly arid Oklahoma Panhandle back into southwestern Kansas.
Elkhart, KS to Moab, UT, 839.5 miles
The route crosses into Colorado through the Cimarron National Grassland, follows the Arkansas River Valley to Pueblo, and climbs into the Rocky Mountains over Marshall Pass and the route’s high point at Cumberland Pass before descending into the red rock desert around Moab, Utah.
Moab, UT to Montpelier, ID, 525 miles
This section crosses some of the most remote and rugged desert terrain on the route, including the San Rafael Swell, before climbing back into forested mountains toward the Utah-Idaho border.
Alternates:
- Sevenmile Canyon Alternate, 9.7 mi. A fully paved option that shortens the Moab to Green River stretch and still passes ancient petroglyphs.
- Unicorn Ridge Alternate. A paved option through otherwise rugged terrain.
Montpelier, ID to Payette, ID, 564.1 miles
The route continues through Idaho’s mountains and hot springs country, including Lava Hot Springs and the area near Craters of the Moon, before crossing the Snake River Plain toward the Oregon border.
Payette, ID to Port Orford, OR, 837.7 miles
This final section crosses into Oregon and climbs through the Strawberry, Aldrich, and Ochoco Mountains before finishing across the Cascades and Coast Range into Port Orford on the Pacific.
Alternates:
- Prairie City Alternate, 37.7 mi. A fully paved option through otherwise challenging terrain.
- Vale Alternate, 53.1 mi. About 85 percent paved.
Golden Gravel Trail Photos
Plan Your Ride
Given the route’s length, remoteness, and elevation range, we recommend spending real time planning direction, timing, water strategy, and gear before setting out on this one.
Trip Planning & Logistics
Cape Girardeau has a small regional airport with flights to a few hubs, and St. Louis, a couple of hours’ drive away, is the nearest major airport. Pueblo, Colorado, marks roughly the halfway point and the shift from flat to mountainous terrain, making it a good jumping-off point for riders tackling only one half. Farther west, the route passes within a day’s ride of both Salt Lake City and Boise, two larger airports worth considering for a partial trip. At the western end, the nearest major airport is Portland, several hours away, but regional airports in Eugene, Medford, and North Bend are closer. North Bend, about 55 miles north of Port Orford, is linked to the finish by a regional bus with bike racks.
Most riders take about 72 days to complete the full route at an average of 60 miles a day. Westbound riders ease into the climbing gradually and save Oregon’s steep grades for last, while eastbound riders tend to find a more forgiving weather window but face tough terrain early on. As a digital-only route, it’s available as a free download through Adventure Cycling’s shop as a Ride with GPS experience, which includes routing, detailed service information, riding conditions, and field notes for trip planning.
Adventure Cycling recommends a hardtail mountain bike with tubeless tires between 2.2 and 2.6 inches wide, or a gravel bike with the widest tires its frame allows. Full suspension isn’t necessary for most of the route, though a suspension fork and suspension seatpost help smooth out washboarded and rocky sections.
Campgrounds range from primitive Forest Service sites to full commercial operations, and dispersed camping is legal on most U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land along the route. East of the Rockies, a few stretches without camping will require a hotel night, while west of the Rockies, some stretches have no lodging at all, so plan and budget for a mix of both. Tourist towns like Crested Butte, Moab, and Park City can have expensive lodging and crowded campgrounds, so plan ahead in those spots.
This route relies on small towns for resupply, and riders should be ready to restock at anything from a rural gas station to a Walmart Supercenter. Water requires thoughtful planning in several stretches, especially the Utah desert around Moab and Green River, where riders may need to carry 7 to 8 liters at a time, and the arid stretch between Blackfoot and Arco, Idaho.
Check your digital route in Ride with GPS for service phone numbers, and call ahead for anything outside peak season.
This route crosses black bear country for much of its length, so store food properly away from camp; read how to be bear aware when bike camping. Moose in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho can be more dangerous than bears, especially during rut or calving season, and wild bison roam freely in a few protected areas along the route and should never be approached. Watch for loose dogs on rural roads in the east; here’s how to stop a charging dog. In fall, wear blaze orange during hunting season. Cell service is unreliable across large stretches, so a satellite communication device and a minimum group size of three are both strongly recommended.
Always check Adventure Cycling Route Updates and Corrections before you go.
- How to Be Bear Aware When Bike Camping
- IMBA Rules of the Trail
- USDA Forest Service Maps
- Dispersed Camping Guidelines, USFS
- Dispersed Camping Guidelines, BLM
- How to Stop a Charging Dog
- Safety Concerns for Bikepackers
- Practical Advice for Riding the Golden Gravel Trail
- National Interagency Fire Center
Routes change. Bridges wash out, businesses close, and construction pops up overnight. We strive to keep routes updated as those things happen. When we learn about a change, we reroute around sections that have become dangerous or are temporarily closed for road work, bridge outages, or construction, and we update service information as businesses open, close, or move. Digital routes are updated as soon as we’ve reviewed a reported issue.
You’re often the first to spot these changes out on the road. Help us keep this route accurate for the next rider by reporting anything you notice with our Route Feedback Form.
This Route Is Part of Something Bigger
It’s one piece of the Adventure Cycling Route Network, began in 1976 and built on a simple mission: to empower people to travel by bike. Our team maps and maintains it; our members and donors make it possible.
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Frequently Asked Questions
It’s our flagship, staff-built route network. The one that started it all 50 years ago with the TransAmerica Trail, the route that launched bicycle touring and bikepacking in America. Every route in it is designed and researched by our own team of cyclists and cartographers: months of research and on-the-ground testing go into each one, so what you get is more than a line on a map. Each Adventure Cycling route has detailed logistics, terrain and elevation info, points of interest, camping and lodging, safety alerts, and history, all in one place. It’s the most in-depth of our three networks, available as digital routes and most as paper maps too. It’s the route network we update most regularly as conditions change.
They’re related, but not the same thing. The Adventure Cycling Route Network is made up of routes we’ve researched, ridden, and mapped ourselves, chosen specifically for a great touring or bikepacking experience. The U.S. Bicycle Route System (USBRS) is a state-by-state national system that we serve as technical experts for, made official through each state’s department of transportation. The two overlap in a lot of places, but an ACRN route carries our own on-the-ground vetting; a USBRS route carries official state recognition.
It depends! If you want a route we’ve personally scouted end to end, with services, camping, and terrain notes built in, start with the Route Network. The ACA Route Network has routes of many different lengths and can be a much easier starting place for someone new to bicycle travel. If you’re an experienced cyclist piecing together an officially designated corridor, or riding somewhere the two systems converge, the interactive USBRS map is a good resource to use.
The Adventure Cycling Route Network is a premium network because of everything that goes into it. Unlike the U.S. Bicycle Route System (built by state DOTs) or Short Routes (submittedby cyclists in their own communities), every Adventure Cycling route is researched, ridden, and vetted end-to-end by our own team. Unlike other routes, Adventure Cycling routes come with extensive information on riding conditions, terrain notes, camping and lodging info, logistics, safety alerts, and points of interest. We also keep it current as roads and services change. The price supports that ongoing research and maintenance work, done by a nonprofit whose whole mission is making sure the route in your hands is one you can trust.
Turn-by-turn directions with a bike icon aren’t the same as a route built for specifically touring or bikepacking. Every mile in the Adventure Cycling Route Network has been researched and ridden by our staff and researchers, chosen to avoid dangerous traffic, and mapped with what a touring cyclist actually needs — food, water, camping, hotels, bike shops — spaced out along the way. The Adventure Cycling Route Network was built for cyclists by cyclists, is regularly updated, and comes with the resources and information needed to plan your ride.
No. The network includes routes for a wide range of experience and difficulty levels, from a first multi-day trip to a cross-country expedition. What every route has in common is that it was chosen with a touring cyclist’s needs in mind, whatever kind of trip you’re planning.
Not at all. Alongside iconic long-distance routes like the TransAmerica Trail, the network includes shorter regional routes, so it works for a weeklong vacation or a two-month journey.
For many years, we focused on paved routes, but today the network includes plenty of unpaved gravel riding for bikepacking. In fact, Adventure Cycling mapped the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route in 1998, arguably the most impactful bikepacking route in the world. The Adventure Cycling Route Network also includes the Golden Gravel Trail, Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Route, Arkansas High Country Route, and more. Some routes are a 50/50 mix of pavement and gravel. Some routes follow paved and unpaved bike paths and rail trails. The Adventure Cycling Route Network has terrain for every cyclist.
We revisit our printed maps every three to five years, and push corrections to our digital route data as we learn about changes on the ground. If you have an Adventure Cycling Route in Ride with GPS that we’ve updated, you’ll get a notification when you open the route to update to the newest version of the route. Updating will ensure you have the latest data, information, and points of interest vital to being on route. For cyclists who have Adventure Cycling paper maps, we keep a list of route- and section-specific updates current on our Map Updates and Corrections page.
Change comes from two directions: our own staff research and reports from the cyclists actually out there riding them. If a bridge washes out, a shoulder disappears, a campground closes for repairs, or a town loses its only grocery store, that’s the kind of thing that triggers an update. You can help us keep our routes accurate; fill out our Route Feedback Form.
Most of our Adventure Cycling Routes come as waterproof print maps and digital Ride with GPS navigational data. Our print maps are the #1 longstanding popular resource for traveling cyclists. They are waterproof, highly detailed and always work. For long trips, many cyclists use a combination of print maps and digital routes.
If you’re already comfortable and familiar with a GPS navigational aid such as Ride with GPS or a Garmin, our digital data packages are an excellent choice. We do not recommend GPX data for beginners since there are a few extra steps to installing and troubleshooting.
Once you purchase a digital route, you’ll get an email with a link to unlock it in the free Ride with GPS app — no separate subscription required for basic navigation. From there you get turn-by-turn voice directions, curated points of interest like campgrounds and bike shops, and field notes on the history, geography, and climate along your route, all available 100% offline. If you’drather use a dedicated GPS device, you can export the route as a GPX file to load onto a Garmin, Wahoo, or similar device.
To export GPX files of your Adventure Cycling digital route, use your laptop or desktop to open the email you received after purchasing your digital route. Click on the link that allows you to access your Digital Route. Finally, click on EXPORT ALL at the bottom of the screen. This is the only way to export files that include the route line, points of interest, and services. Files will be exported as one ZIP file.
Adventure Cycling uses abbreviations across its paper and digital routes to indicate particular services, land or road types, route names, direction of travel, and route type. Please see our key to abbreviations.
If you have questions on how to purchase a digital route or about the route content, please contact Adventure Cycling: cartography@adventurecycling.org or 406-721-1776.
If you have questions on how to use your Digital Route in Ride with GPS, please check the Ride with GPS support page or email them at info@ridewithgps.com.
If you’re new to Ride with GPS, please check out the following resources:
Our print map panels aren’t always oriented northwards for space and layout reasons. Refer to the north arrows to help orient yourself if you’re not sure.
No. The Routes and Mapping Department does not do custom routes for individuals. Check out the routes we’ve already mapped, and use the interactive map to piece our route networks together, forming a route that gets you from a point A to point B of your choice.
It started with a single route. In 1976, we mapped the TransAmerica Trail, and more than 4,000 cyclists crossed the country together for Bikecentennial — the nation’s bicentennial cycling celebration our founders organized. That one route became the seed of a network we’ve spent the decades since expanding. Today it’s more than 58,000 miles of mapped routes across the U.S. and Canada, from classic epics like the TransAmerica Trail, Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, and Pacific Coast, to shorter regional routes.