Distance: 50 miles out and back
Elevation gain: 6500 ft

A Best of the Best ride

(Note 9/22: In 9/22 the Mosquito Fire burned a large area with this ride at its very center.  I haven’t seen the damage, but the flora must be devastated.  Of course the rock formations and road contour will still be there.  jr)

This is one of the prettiest mountain rides in Bestrides.  For the first 22 miles, you’re treated to views of a large river canyon on one side of the road and stunning multi-colored rock walls on the other.  If you’re a rock lover, this and the Kings Canyon ride will be your favorite rides, ever.  And the road is one continuous lazy serpentine—downhill, it’s 25 miles of buttery-smooth slalom course.  The only thing that keeps it from being the ride of your life is that it’s also 25 miles of almost unvaried, fairly monotonous 4-6% climbing—never difficult, but a bit tedious.  Luckily you can take your mind off the monotony any time by looking at the scenery on either side of you.  No distractions here—no inns, no houses, no waterfalls—just you, the road, and the canyon.

A reader tells me that the end of this route before the turn-around is unplowed in winter.

The route couldn’t be simpler: from downtown Foresthill, CA, a small ridge-top mountain town with all the amenities, ride down Mosquito Ridge Road to the turn-off to Big Trees Grove.  Turn around and ride back.

Out of the gate you plunge into a joyous, easy 9-mile descent from the top of the ridge to the bottom of the American River canyon, with open views of the majestic canyon on your R and more and more colorful rock walls—red, blue, purple, yellow, gold, black—on your L.  The scenery will steadily improve for the next 14 miles.   The pitch is a consistent 4%, good for a descending speed of around 24 mph and mellow enough that you needn’t dread the climb back out.

Cross the big steel bridge over the river.  Now you climb, without interruption, until the turn-around point, at a slightly steeper pitch than what you just came down—5-6%, which will give you a sweet 30-mph descent when you turn around.  At 11 miles in, you reach a junction with a smaller road, named Blacksmith Flat Road (signed with a number, FR 23, but no name—there’s a sign on Mosquito Ridge Rd with the name after the turn-off, so you’ll see it when you’re returning), on the R.  If you take the southern loop option discussed under Adding Miles, you close the loop here, or go R onto 23 if you’re going counterclockwise.  But we aren’t doing that today.

Keep climbing up the south wall of the canyon, as the canyon vistas get grander and the rock walls get more varied and colorful.  The best scenery is from around 12 miles in to 14 miles in, so if you’re out for a shorter day try to make it that far, or drive to the bridge and start there.  At about 17 miles in, you reach the top of the ridge, swing R, cross the ridge into the canyon to the south, and ride along the northern wall of the new canyon.  The varicolored rock displays are all behind you, but the new canyon is, if anything, grander than the first one.

About 21 miles in, you ride out of the canyon and into standard prime Sierra forest, no better or worse than any other pristine Northern California woods, and the pitch shallows to imperceptible climbing.    Feel free to turn around—you won’t miss anything wonderful if you do.  Pass the oddly named Interbay Rd on the R and in a few miles you’ll be at Big Trees Grove.  The Grove has some nice giant sequoias, but you have to hike a 1/2-mile trail to see them, so unless you brought walking shoes there is little point in riding the 1/2-mile (paved) road to the picnic area, unless you need a drinking fountain or a bathroom—there’s one of each (but see Afterthoughts below).

Rock lover’s paradise

Turn around and ride home.  Soon you will notice something about the road contour if you didn’t notice it on your descent to the bridge: you don’t need brakes.  There are no hairpins.  Every curve, with the exception of one obvious 180 at 11 miles in, is rounded and lazy, so you never need to scrub speed.   You can ride from Big Trees to the bridge—15+ miles—and never drop much below 30 mph (minding that one corner).  You don’t have to brake, you don’t have to pedal if you don’t want to, you never speed up or slow down much—you just sit there, leaning the bike from side to side, carving esses.  Dreamy.

There’s a reason for this.  The road was built for logging, so it’s wide (for a two-lane), smooth, gentle of pitch, and lacking tight corners that would slow a logging truck down.  The downside of all this is that, while the road is almost without other traffic, you may meet loaded logging trucks and other large equipment.   But the road is roomy, the sightlines are good, and you can hear the trucks coming, so they aren’t a problem here, though having one pass you on the 10-mile climb back to your car, where the road can be narrower, does elevate the heart rate a bit.

Back at the bridge, you’re looking at 9+ miles of climbing, and if you’re tired that can seem daunting.  But it’s not bad.  It’s never more than 4%, so you can maintain 6+ mph even with tired legs, there are no soul-crushing straightaways, the rock walls are a constantly entertaining distraction, and there’s a sweet 1-mile descent right where you need it most, halfway up.  The whole thing won’t take more than 80 minutes of leisurely spinning.

Shortening the route: The best scenery is around 12-14 miles in, so plan to go that far or drive to the bridge and start there.

Photo by Brian

Adding miles: If you want to ride on past Big Trees there is no reason not to.  Eleven miles further down the road is French Meadows Reservoir.  You can ride there and turn around, or you can do either of two loops, both more challenging that the ride I’ve mapped out here.  Loop 1 forks L a few miles after Big Trees Grove and takes Road 43, Robinson Flat Rd, which was or is largely dirt, until it runs back into Foresthill Rd, which you no doubt took to get to the town of Foresthill.  Just go L and follow Foresthill Rd west back to town and your car.

Loop 2 is tougher.  Ride to French Meadows Reservoir, cross the dam, and immediately turn R at the fork onto French Meadows Rd.  Follow it through some name changes back to its intersection with Mosquito Ridge Rd (by which time it’s named Blacksmith Flat Road, or Rd 23), which you passed 11 miles into your ride.   Go L and return on Mosquito Ridge Rd to your car.  This is a long, demanding ride with some fierce climbing, and is often done counterclockwise to cash in on that 15-mile descent after Big Trees.  The good folks of the Sierra Foothills Cycling Club have provided a detailed ride log.

You are a few car miles down the road from the back door to the Iowa Hill Road ride, and if you want more miles after any one of these three options, my hat’s off to you.

Afterthoughts:  Plan your water carefully on this ride, especially if you’re doing one of the bigger loops.  There are only two water sources, Big Trees Grove at our turn-around and French Meadows Reservoir 11 miles further on, and both taps are shut down off-season.   I take a third water bottle and drop it at the bridge for the return climb, but even this would be inadequate on a hot summer day.

Distance: 45 miles out and back
Elevation gain: 4290 ft

This ride, like all the riding in the Grass Valley/Nevada City area, has very little “wow” factor—no grand vistas, no towering monoliths.  But it is an exceedingly pleasant bucolic stroll, gradually ascending through foothill woods, meadows, and horse farms, with lots of variety to the contour.   The landscape is quite handsome, and particularly so in the spring when things are green.  The level of traffic is more than I would wish, even on weekdays, but it’s hardly a deal-breaker.  And you turn around in Grass Valley, a community I’m very fond of.

It’s 22 miles of almost uninterrupted up, but it’s all mellow—less than 100 ft per mile—and I don’t think of this ride as a lot of work.  The descent coming back down Rattlesnake Road has wonderful, whoop-inducing moments and is almost good enough to make the Best of the Best list.

There are six Bestrides rides in the Grass Valley/Nevada City area—Dog Bar, Red Dog/Pasquale, Willow Valley, McCourtney Rd. Etc.,Bittney Springs, and Lower Colfax.  They are all pleasant up-and-down strolls through nice woods.  Dog Bar has the best descent (on Rattlesnake), but it’s also the most built up.  Dog Bar goes to Grass Valley, which is a plus.  Both Willow Valley and Red Dog/Pasquale begin and end in Nevada City, which is a plus, and both  go through the prettiest woods.  Of the four, Willow Valley is the best and I’d ride it first, then any of the others.

(5/17 update: I rerode Dog Bar on a Sunday, and was disappointed by the level of traffic.)

From Clipper Gap, CA, take Placer Hills Rd. north.  This leg of the ride is more domesticated than Dog Bar—wider, busier, smoother (recently repaved)—but lovely, and, depending on your tastes, possibly your favorite part of the ride.  Take Dog Bar Rd. when it takes off to the L.   Almost immediately you will plummet for a mile down to a small bridge across the Bear River, the nearest thing to high drama on the ride.  At the far end of the bridge is a small dirt turn-out, and from there a footpath goes upriver to a spectacular stretch of river strewn with big boulders, perfect for swimming in the summer—all of which is a strong argument for starting the ride here, so you can switch to hiking boots and hit the river after the ride.

Nothing fancy—just a really nice road

From the bridge Dog Bar climbs pretty steadily to the end, but not one foot of it is steep, and there are plenty of rollers to give the legs some respite.  In fact, this may be the only ride in Bestrides.org where I feel like Mapmyride’s elevation gain total overestimates the work load (RWGPS says 3920 ft).

There are four options for the last miles into Grass Valley.  If you’re keen to get to Grass Valley as soon as possible, stay on Dog Bar, which runs into La Barr Meadows Rd., which runs straight into downtown.  But there is a better alternative.  Two-thirds of the way up Dog Bar, Rattlesnake Rd. takes off to the R (clearly signed).  Rattlesnake is much the better ride: smaller, windier, steeper, a bit less built up, and less trafficked. When Rattlesnake dead-ends at Hwy 174, take 174 to the L and into Grass Valley.  That’s how I’ve mapped it.  The third and fourth: take either Auburn Rd. or Allison Ranch Rd., both described and mapped in our McCourtney Rd. Etc. ride.

For lunch in Grass Valley, you have lots of good choices, thanks to the town’s recent modest gentrification.  If you want old school, have a pasty (pronounced PASS tee), the traditional lunch of the Cornish miners who dug the gold out of the nearby hills.

Turn around and ride home.  Of our route choices, Rattlesnake is by far the best, a really fine slaloming descent, so go back this way however you went out.  The ride back is almost entirely downhill and a piece of cake except for the mile of climbing on the far side of the Bear River.  After the ride, drive back to that bridge on Dog Bar and go swimming.

Shortening the route: If you want tranquil, ride Dog Bar Rd. to Rattlesnake and return.  If you want exciting, ride Rattlesnake out and back.

Dog Bar Road

Adding miles:  There are 5 other Bestrides rides within easy reach of this ride—see the Adding Miles section of our McCourtney Rd. Etc. ride for details.

Our route takes you within a stone’s throw of the Iowa Hill Road ride.   From Clipper Gap it’s a pleasant ride on side roads paralleling Hwy 80 heading south to the Lincoln Hills ride.

A mile or so past the Bear River bridge on our outbound route, Magnolia Rd. takes off to the L (clearly marked).  It’s a manicured, picture-perfect road well worth riding until you near Lake of the Pines, when all sense of tranquility and isolation ends and you should turn around.

Distance: 43 miles out and back
Elevation gain: 6670 ft

This ride is hard work.  It’s notorious for a 2.1-mile stretch of 12-16% that’s as hard as it sounds, and there is significant climbing after.  The route is never flat, and much of the other climbing is 6% or more.  But the road contour has great variety and character, and the woodland scenery is top-notch.   See Shortening the Ride for a way to cut the climbing in half and keep most of the fun.  Perks include one large river crossing and one classic mountain store, but mostly this ride is about being in the woods.

Iowa Hill Rd. takes off from a small road called Canyon Way running along the eastern lip of Hwy 80 in Colfax. Because the big climb comes in this ride when you’ve barely turned a pedal, I like to warm up by riding around the Colfax area before heading down Iowa Hill Rd.  I typically park a few miles down Placer Hills Rd. and ride to Iowa Hill Rd.

On Iowa Hill Rd. proper, you’ll ride through 1/4 mile of buildings, then drop dramatically down for 3 miles to a crossing over the North Fork of the American River.  The scenery is already grand, there will probably be a car or two, and a few of the curves are truly dangerous.  Take the “5 mph” postings seriously.  There’s a campground on the river with decent bathrooms, but no public water—something to remember on the way back when you might be thirsty.  Across the bridge the 12-16% climb begins.  The summit of the climb is obvious.  From then on the road rolls upward, 75% up and 25% down, through lovely, lush woods.

Even the 15% stuff is pretty

Iowa Hill is actually a town of sorts, consisting of a few small buildings, a school (!), and an odd little store/bar that has soft drinks and water but no ice (and apparently no lights).  Immediately beyond the store the road forks, with a sign pointing L and reading “Foresthill.”  Follow it.  Much later, at an intersection the road changes its name to Sugar Pine Rd., but just stay on the main road until it dead-ends on Foresthill Rd.  Turn around and ride back.

They’re not kidding

The ride back from Foresthill to the big drop is a delightful romp.  Descending the drop itself isn’t.  It’s so steep you dare not allow yourself to get up any speed, because unless you’ve got disc brakes you’ll never scrub the speed necessary to make the turns, so you (or at least I) have to do the whole thing clamping down on the brakes.  Disappointing.  I do it at 11 mph, pausing to cool my rims.  The climb back up out of the canyon from the river is 3 miles of 6-8%, a lovely climb in other circumstances but a grind if you’re as tired as I am at this point.

Shortening the ride: You could just drive from Colfax to the top of the big climb, but it’s laborious even in a car and there’s an easier way: just drive up Foresthill Road, which is a wide 60-mph road, to the intersection of Foresthill and Sugar Pine Rd and ride Sugar Pine/Iowa Hill to the top of the big drop (you’ll know it when you see it), then turn around.  This will leave you with a ride of about 32 miles and 3000 ft of climbing through the prettiest part of the route.

Adding miles:  The Dog Bar Road ride is just a stone’s throw to the west on the other side of Colfax.   You can work your way south from Dog Bar by small roads paralleling Hwy 80 and after some nice riding reach the Lincoln Hills ride.

On the other end of the ride, you can make a large loop by turning R on Foresthill Rd and riding it all the way to Auburn, then working your way back to Colfax by those same small roads along 80.   Foresthill is a bigger, straighter, busier road that’s popular with riders who like it open and fast.  The scenery remains good throughout.  Don’t be tempted to shorten the loop by taking the cut-off on Yankee Jim’s Rd.—a lot of it is dirt, despite what the maps say.

Iowa Hill mega-mart

Afterthoughts:  Even with a refill at the Iowa Hill store, water is a problem on this ride.   On a hot day you’ll need more water than you can carry in two water bottles.  You can bum water from a camper at the American River campground, but to be safe I carry a third full bottle down to the river and cache it along the road for the last climb.  A camelbak is another solution.

Some maps show Iowa Hill Rd. as dirt.  It isn’t.

Distance: 16-mile loop
Elevation gain: 1524 ft

There are six Bestrides rides in the Grass Valley/Nevada City area—Dog Bar, Red Dog/Pasquale, Willow Valley Road, McCourtney Rd.. Etc.,Bitney Springs, and Lower Colfax.  They are all pleasant up-and-down strolls through nice woods—no grand vistas, no awe-inspiring crags, no waterfalls, nothing of the sort.  Dog Bar has the best descent (on Rattlesnake), but it’s also the most built up.  Dog Bar goes to Grass Valley.  Red Dog/Pasquale and Willow Valley begin and end in Nevada City, and both go through the prettiest woods.  But overall the best of the four is Willow Valley, and I’d do it first, in part because it duplicates the best half of this ride—then I’d ride any of the others.

Nevada City is a charming place, and you should definitely explore it at least once, but it’s become thoroughly tourist-ified and the food and housing have become accordingly expensive and precious.  Cheaper and more down-to-earth is Grass Valley 3 miles away, which used to be a sleepy, working-class, charmless burg but has become quite a pleasant spot, with real stores, interesting, unpretentious eateries, and one of the finest small theatres I know of.  Be sure to find out who’s performing there when you’re in town.

Nevada City has lots of good places to eat.  I like Fudenjuce, a health-food mecca with great wraps and smoothies. The health food store, California Organics, has a good deli with an extensive menu..

Navigation is a little tricky on this one.   From Broad Street, downtown Nevada City’s main drag, ride south out of town on Pine St., which turns into Zion.  Continue on Zion past the SPD Market (named after the pedals, no doubt) straight through a busy four-way intersection that clearly marks the end of town.   You’re now paralleling Hwy 49/20.  The next road on your L is Banner Lava Cap Rd.  Take it and immediately cross Hwy 49/20 on a high overpass/bridge.  Continue up Banner Lava Cap, a steady moderate climb of 6 miles through pleasant inhabited woods.  Take the time to appreciate the houses you’re riding past—they’re all different, all tasteful, all interesting, and all out of your price range.  Idaho-Maryland Rd. merges from 5:00 o’clock on your R.   The product of the merger is still called Banner Lava Cap.  Stay on it until it ends at a stop sign and a T.  At this point the climbing for the route is all over.  By then the road has changed its name to Banner Quaker Hill Rd.  The road sign at the T reads “Banner Quaker Hill Rd.” to the R and “Quaker Hill Rd.” to the L.  Turn R.  Now hold on—you’re about to go down a short, steep pitch with an obvious road sign reading “31%.”  The run-out at the bottom is good, so you can let ‘er go if you want to, but there is cross traffic on this road.   You won’t come back this way, so you don’t have to ride it back up.

Pasquale Road

Soon after the drop, you meet Pasquale Rd. on your L and take it.  If it doesn’t show up soon, you’re lost.  Pasquale is the real reason you’ve come, a beautiful, mostly level meander on a tiny road with good surface through pristine woods that look like Columbus never happened.   Every time I ride it, my heart yearns to build a cabin in these woods.

Pasquale Road

Pasquale ends at Red Dog Rd.  Take Red Dog to the R and it’s a fun, ripping descent with traffic through built-up neighborhoods straight into Nevada City and your car.

Shortening the route:  Since there are no cut-off roads, this is a hard loop to shorten.  If you’re determined not to do it all, I can only suggest driving to Pasquale Rd. and riding it from end to end as an out-and-back.

Adding miles: Bestrides has 6 rides in the Grass Valley/Nevada City area,, all within easy bicycle reach of the others. See the Adding Miles section of the McCourtney Rd. Etc. ride for a list.

Red Dog and Pasquale are also in our Willow Valley Road loop.  Doing the two loops back to back, as a sort of pancake-shaped figure eight, would give you c. 30 miles.