Distance: 17.2-mile out-and-back with spur
Elevation gain: 2000 ft

All roads in the southern Gold Country, other than Hwy 49, are worth riding. They’re all relatively small, with great scenery and intriguing, ever-changing contour. Some are more worth riding than others. Some have rough pavement. Some have traffic. Some are dirt. I’m always on the look-out for those tiny back roads that have none of these flaws—like this little jewel. It’s a cut-off between two roads users of Bestrides know well, Jesus Maria Rd. and Mountain Ranch Rd, and it’s 6+ miles of one-lane, glassy-surfaced, isolated, riotous up and down. It’s short, but you’ll get some work (check that elevation gain), it can be incorporated into longer rides effortlessly (see Adding Miles below), and there’s a side road, East Murray Creek Rd., that adds a few miles and is just as delightful riding.

You’re in the edges of the big burn that devastated Jesus Maria Rd. (Whiskey Slide’s northern terminus) a few years ago, so about a third of the route is returning brush with views of burned-out hillsides, one third is lush, lovely oaky woods, and one third unpretentious ranch land. But I didn’t find the effects of the burn aesthetically displeasing, and, as is often the case, you get a clear view of the road ahead of you, which allows you to bomb the road with confidence.

There are no services on WSR, but there are typical mountain-community general stores and mercantiles in the area—in Mountain Ranch at the southern end of WSR, at Railroad Flat up Mountain Ranch Rd. a few miles, and scattered along both Mountain Ranch Rd. and Railroad Flat Rd.

All roads in the southern Gold Country running north and south share a topography: since there is a constant stream of rivers and creeks running west out of the Sierra, all east/west roads are constantly descending to a waterway and climbing up the other side of the draw. Whiskey Slide Rd. is no exception. Whichever end you start on, you stair-step your way down to Jesus Maria Creek via delightful, whee-inducing little whoop-dee-dos, cross the creek, then stair-step you way back the back side. The climbing is fairly intense (you’ll see the occasional 10%) but always short-lived, so it never gets tedious. The road surface is flawless, the sight lines are perfect (so you don’t have to hold back for oncoming traffic), said traffic is next to non-existent anyway, and the road width is mostly a snug single lane.

E. Murray Creek Rd. takes off to the east a stone’s throw from WSR’s southern end, and it has all the virtues of WSR (isolation, great road surface, lovely scenery, constant variety) without the elevation gain or the burn. Don’t skip it.

Shortening the ride: I don’t think you’ll have to, but either half of the road can be ridden as an out-and-back to the creek. Both halves seem equally desirable.

Adding miles: WSR takes off from our Jesus Maria Rd. route and returns to it, making a short-cut that saves you a few miles. Honestly, the miles omitted by taking WSR are good but not unmissable, so there’s an argument to be made that the Jesus Maria ride is better with the WSR option.

If you’re a map-reader you’ll see that Ponderosa Way continues north from the northern terminus of WSR and you’ll hope it’s good riding, but it quickly turns to fairly unpleasant dirt.