Somes Bar Gravel Loops

Distance:  20-50+
Elevation:  3,669’-7,000’+
Difficulty: Hard
Start:  Somes Bar, California

The Klamath National Forest near Somes Bar, CA, has miles and miles of backroads to explore as well as great campgrounds.  The Klamath and Salmon Rivers are a bonus for a great cool down after a long bike ride.  Plus there are remote backcountry campsites perfect for bikepacking or backpacking adventures.  Shown below are two loops that start and end in Somes Bar at the Somes Bar Outpost.  These are just two examples of the potential riding the area has to offer.  You could ride them in any direction, skipping, or adding the lookouts along the way.  I haven’t provided a ton of turn by turn directions so you can choose your own adventure.  I do recommend a gravel bike or a mountain bike with good climbing gears.  There are springs and streams along the way so bring your water filter.  Summer temps can reach into the 90s.

Offield Mountain Lookout (site) Loop

This 20 mile loop includes a few miles of Highway 96.  It can be completed clockwise or counterclockwise.  If you do it clockwise you will do the highway segment first, climb up gravel road 12N52, and descend on paved Camp Three road.  If you do it counterclockwise, the climbing is easier on the pavement, you descent gravel, but have to ride the highway back.  There are pros and cons to each way.  The Offield Mountain Lookout is an optional out and back (1.5 miles each way) with a steep grade up to the old lookout site. There is no longer a lookout at the location, just a rock monument.  There are however great views on the way up to the site. It makes a good picnic stop halfway through the ride.

Ukonom Lookout Loop

This 53 mile loop is tough with over 7,000 feet of climbing.  It would make a great overnight bikepacking trip.  There is a nice campground with picnic tables at Stanshaw Campground on the edge of the Marble Mountain Wilderness.  You could camp there and then hike into the wilderness from the trailhead located a the campground.  We did discover a slide at about road point 40, but you can safely walk across the creek.  The lookout is a permanent structure that is staffed during fire season.  It is a 4 mile one-way ride out to the lookout with a steep final climb.

Forks of Salmon Loop

Distance: 100 miles
Climbing: 10,000
Difficulty: Epic
Start: Forks of Salmon or Etna


The Salmon River Loop is a beautiful low traffic century in Siskiyou county. Here's a link to the Siskiyou Velo route description

We completed the ride in a clockwise direction starting at the Forks of Salmon Post Office. This is an easier way since you hit the toughest climb first. We also had the luxury of stopping for lunch at the Etna Brewery!


If you start in Etna you have to tackle the most difficult climb last after a long hard day. This ride rates as an epic, just like the Tour of the Unknown Coast. The scenery is spectacular and it is a must do for any north coast cyclist, even if the start is 2 hours from the coast. Traffic is generally light until you reach Highway 3, which you won't mind at all. In fact, at one time our squirrel count was higher than our car count!

The route would also make an excellent tour with several campgrounds along the way.


I have not provided a detailed route description because the ride can be started anywhere along the loop and there are few turns and lots of road signs. We started in Forks of Salmon, took Sawyers Bar Road to Etna, Highway 3 towards Callahan, and Callahan/Cecilville Road back to Forks of Sallmon.

Forks of the Salmon Loop

Nordheimer Trail Loop

Distance: 24 miles
Climbing: 3,763
Difficulty: Hard
Start: Nordeimer Campground

This ride is hard to categorize. The ride isn't hard because of the climbing or distance. The challenges are numerous including stream crossings, unrideable switch backs, hike-a-bike sections, skinny single track, mosquitoes, rattle snakes, poison oak, and true isolation. Once you drop into the Nordheimer canyon you are really in the middle of nothing where you would be in real trouble without a partner or survival skills. The best way to describe this is an adventure ride. All of the challenges are worth the beauty, isolation, and satisfaction of completing the ride.


If you are going to do this ride I have a few recommendations. First, don't do it alone. Once you drop into the Nordheimer canyon there are only two ways out and that is up or down the trail. Second, bring a few extra items like extra water, food, clothes, and a good map and/or GPS. The mosquitoes were swarming us in August so I recommend some type of bug repellent if you plan on staying in one place for a more that a couple of minutes. Third, plan on doing this ride in the late summer or fall. The stream crossing are difficult to negotiate in the winter and spring due to their large size and no bridges. You will be challenged to keep you feet dry even in the summer or fall.

The route involves 4 miles of road, 12 miles of fire road, and 8 miles of singletrack. Believe it or not, but the 8 miles of single track will take longer to ride than the other 16 miles even though you are descending over 2,000 feet along the way. The first single track section involves some steep narrow trail where you will be skidding your back wheel downslope. The next few miles involves narrow single track that requires intense focus to stay on track. The last 3 or so miles follow an old mining flume, which parallels the slope and rewards you after a challenging day.


Directions
0- Start at Nordheimer Campground. If you want to avoid the day use fee drive about 100 yards up the Nordheimer road and park in a turnout at the base of the Orleans Mountain Trail. Head up the Salmon River to Forks of Salmon.
4.0- Turn right onto Cecilville Road.
4.25- Turn right onto Forest Service Road 10N04. Stay on this main road for the next 6 plus miles.
10.7- Continue right onto Forest Service Road 10N03.
11.9- Turn right onto Forest Service Road 10N05.
15.54- ***Turn left onto the Nordheimer Trail. This is an important and difficult turn. The trail is not marked with a sign and it is not obvious. We piled some branches and rocks in the road. The only way Errin Odell found it was by hiking from the bottom. There are no intersections going down the trail, but there are a few places where the trail disappears near the stream crossings.
24.25 End at Nordheimer Campground.












Additional Trail Photos are HERE

MTB- Orleans Mountain Trail

This is a special ride which takes an adventurous attitude. I'm not going to post directions or a map because I don't want anyone to get lost. Hopefully, some day I will if the trail conditions improve. There are a couple of tough hike-a-bike sections where the trail disappears and you need a guide or good GPS. For now, check out these fantastic photos from Errin Odell's and Sean Tetrault's recon mission. How does 5,000 feet of descending over 7 miles of singletrack sound?? Not only is the ride epic, but check out the scenery!



Click on a photo for a larger view