Sierra Cascades
- Epic Ride
Glaciated volcanoes, giant sequoias, and high Sierra passes, then a long drop into the desert, on one of the toughest paved rides in the country.
- Distance
- 2,389 miles
- Surface
- 95% paved
- 2+ months
- Route Type
- Point to Point
Ride the Sierra Cascades
This route runs south from the Peace Arch at the Canadian border in Blaine, Washington, to the Mexican border at Tecate, California, roughly paralleling the Pacific Crest Trail.
What to Expect
This is widely regarded as one of the network’s toughest paved routes, with a serious amount of climbing packed into its length. Riders move through glacier-capped volcanoes, dense conifer forest, busy national park and tourist towns, and finally the dry, open high desert, crossing 20 mountain passes and the Pacific Crest Trail 25 times along the way. Strong fitness, low gearing, and patience for long climbs are essential, as is comfort sharing park roads with heavy summer traffic.
The route traces the volcanic spine of the Cascades past Mount Rainier, Mount Hood, the Three Sisters, Crater Lake, and Lassen Volcanic National Park, with Mount Shasta looming over Northern California. In the Sierra Nevada, riders circle Lake Tahoe and climb through Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia National Parks, home to some of the largest trees on Earth. Southern California brings the Mojave Desert, the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains, and the rustic mountain town of Idyllwild before the finish at the Mexican border.
The route climbs and descends constantly, crossing 20 mountain passes, from the forested Cascades to the granite high country of the Sierra Nevada, before dropping into the Mojave and Anza-Borrego Deserts. Grades vary from long, steady climbs to short, steep pitches, and several Sierra passes reach high elevations where the air is thin. The full route includes detailed riding conditions and field notes for every climb and descent.
Services vary considerably along this route, from well-serviced college towns like Bellingham and Ashland to isolated mountain and desert stretches in eastern California, where towns are farther apart. Bike shops are concentrated in the larger towns, so carry spare tubes and basic tools. Cell coverage drops out in many mountain and national park sections, so download your Ride with GPS route for offline use.
Ride this route roughly June through September, since several Sierra Nevada passes close seasonally and may not open until early summer after a heavy snow year. Check the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) for current pass status before departure. Expect afternoon thunderstorms in the mountains, wildfire smoke in late summer, and hot, dry conditions through the Mojave and Anza-Borrego Deserts.
Route Sections
Blaine, WA to Mt. Rainier NP, WA, 484.0 miles
From the Peace Arch at the Canadian border, the route stays low through Bellingham before joining the Skagit River and State Highway 20 into the heart of the Cascade Range, sharing the road with the Northern Tier and Washington Parks routes until Yakima before continuing to Mount Rainier.
Mt. Rainier NP, WA to Crater Lake NP, OR, 452.5 miles
This section continues south through the Columbia Gorge and Hood River, skirting the Three Sisters through Bend before ending at Crater Lake. It intersects the Lewis & Clark Trail in Hood River and the TransAmerica Trail in Sisters.
Alternates:
- McKenzie Pass Alternate, 59.7 mi, a more scenic paved option with less traffic.
Crater Lake NP, OR to Truckee, CA, 459.6 miles
The route continues south to Ashland, Oregon, then crosses into California toward Mount Shasta, including an unavoidable 8.4-mile stretch on I-5’s shoulder, before passing through Lassen Volcanic National Park and ending near Truckee.
Truckee, CA to Lake Isabella, CA, 559.4 miles
From Truckee, the route circles Lake Tahoe’s western half before climbing into the Sierra Nevada, where several passes close seasonally. It passes through Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia National Parks before ending near Bakersfield, intersecting the Western Express in Woodfords.
Lake Isabella, CA to Tecate, CA, 485.6 miles
This final section crosses the Mojave Desert and climbs through the San Gabriel and San Gorgonio Mountains, passing Idyllwild and the Anza-Borrego Desert before finishing at the Mexican border in Tecate. It intersects the Southern Tier in Pine Valley.
Sierra Cascades Photos
Plan Your Ride
Seasonal pass closures, long waterless stretches, and relentless climbing make timing, resupply, and gearing the three things to plan before you go.
Trip Planning & Logistics
Bellingham, near the start, offers train, plane, and bus service, and Reno, Nevada, makes a useful midpoint access point near Truckee. San Diego is the nearest major hub to the Tecate finish. This route intersects the Northern Tier, Lewis & Clark Trail, TransAmerica Trail, Western Express, and Southern Tier, making it easy to combine with other routes. Most riders plan five to eight weeks for the full route. Several Sierra Nevada passes close seasonally, so check pass status before setting your dates.
This route is available in paper and digital formats through Adventure Cycling’s Shop and includes routing, detailed service information, riding conditions, and field notes for trip planning.
A touring bike built for sustained climbing is recommended, and low gearing matters more here than on almost any other route in the network. Pack layers for the temperature swings between high passes and desert stretches, extra water capacity for eastern California and the Mojave, and lights for tunnels and shaded mountain roads.
Camping and lodging are available at regular intervals near towns and national parks, though options thin out in the more isolated mountain sections. Reservations help during peak summer season, especially near Yosemite, Crater Lake, and Lake Tahoe, and some national park campgrounds set aside sites for cyclists. In the Sierra Nevada, store all food and scented items in the bear-proof lockers provided at campgrounds. Some campgrounds charge solo cyclists the same as a full tent or RV site, and Warmshowers hosts are an option in the larger towns.
Services vary from well-stocked college towns to isolated mountain and desert stretches. A 66.2-mile stretch on U.S. 395 and similar isolated sections in eastern California require carrying extra food and water, and the Mojave crossing near the end calls for maximum water capacity. Along the way, fruit stands around Hood River make for a sweet refueling stop in season. Check your digital route in Ride with GPS for service phone numbers, and call ahead for anything outside peak season.
Expect heavy summer traffic through the national parks, so wear bright clothing and ride defensively, especially on narrow mountain roads and the short I-5 shoulder stretch near Mount Shasta. Black bears are common in the Sierra Nevada, so follow food-storage rules strictly. Check wildfire conditions before and during your trip, carry plenty of water and ride early through the desert heat, and control your speed on long, steep descents.
Several Sierra Nevada passes close seasonally, so check pass status before setting your dates.
Always check Adventure Cycling Route Updates and Corrections before you go.
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.