MTB- Paradise Royale

Distance: 12 miles
Climbing: 2610 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Start: King Range, Tolkan Campground, Shelter Cove

This is the best legal mountain bike ride in Humboldt County. The trail was built with over 4,000 hours of volunteer help. Unlike other rides on my blog, there is good information on the web about this ride including an IMBA article and a BLM Opening Ceremony article . The BLM also has a nice route map which I have posted below.

To get to the start, drive approximately 22 miles west on the Briceland/Shelter Cove Road from Redway. Turn right on King Peak Road and drive approximately 3.5 miles north to Tolkan Campground. There is a trailhead closer to Shelter Cove Road, but the campground has toilets and is located off the dirt road where your car won't get quite as dusty.

The most popular way to do the ride is clockwise, descending down Castle's Moat to Bear Creek and climbing up Prince of Pain. The real payoff is the descent of Mad Queen's Careen, which is a swoopy singletrack with jumps and fast turns. The trail is marked really well so I have not included a que sheet. Just print out the BLM map, follow the trail, and have fun!!!! My GPS showed 12 miles and 2610 feet of climbing. The BLM article states the trail is 14 miles long. I can't explain the difference, but have heard from a couple of other riders who have measured it at 12 miles too.

Click on the Garmin Connect link for a map and other ride details:

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Paradise Royale

WARNING, you have to cross Bear Creek two times. During the winter swift waters could be hazardous. There is no bridge so be careful.

There is an excellent map in Adobe PDF on the BLM website:

MTB- Grasshopper Peak Lookout

Distance: 14 miles
Climbing: 3350 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Start: Humboldt Redwoods State Park, Weott

6.66 MILES TO THE TOP


This is one of those rides that you do once to check off your list. If you are deciding between this and Look Prairie/Thornton Loop, choose the later. This is because the climb is really steep and particularly aggravating. It might be worth it if there was 10 miles of sweet singletrack waiting for you at the top, but there is not. Maybe I was just having a bad day, but I saw my GPS read 30% a couple of times as I granny ringed it up a steep climb at 2.5 miles per hour. I cursed the climb and threatened to turn around more than once. When I got to the top my GPS read 6.66 EVIL miles. If you do this ride, please don't curse me, because I warned you! I rated the difficulty as moderate because of the steep climb, but it is a short ride and technically easy since it is all fire road.

Once you get to the lookout you have a 360 degree view. If you look to the east you will see signs of the 2003 Canoe fire, which started from lightning. The fire burned particularly hot near the lookout. There are many miles of roads to explore throughout the area if you want to extend your mileage. Most folks will settle for a fast ride back down the road. However, for the adventurous there are a couple of simple backcountry trail camping sites you could use. There is Grasshopper Trail Camp, Hanson Ridge Trail Camp, Whiskey Flat Trail Camp, and Johnson Trail Camp. For more information contact Humboldt Redwoods State Park

Directions to the start:

Start at the base of Grasshopper Road, which is located 5.25 miles west of Highway 101 on Bull Creek Road. There is a sign on Bull Creek Road which says "fire lookout 7 mi." The road is just west of the entrance to Albee Creek Campground. There is a small parking area on Bull Creek Road and and a small parking area a little way up Grasshopper Road. The directions to the lookout are well marked at each intersection. There are only three turns:

• At 0.72 miles stay left at the intersection of Squaw Creek Ridge Rd.
• At 4.14 miles stay right at the intersection of Johnson Trail Camp Rd.
• At 6.33 miles stay right at the intersection of Grieg Rd.
  

Squaw Creek Bridge Crossing (Click for Larger View)

Dyerville Loop Long

Distance: 64 miles
Climbing: 6,206 feet
Difficulty: Hard
Start: Weott

This ride is an extension of the shorter Dyerville Loop, which is only 23 miles. The long ride is much more challenging and includes about 18 miles of gravel road. There are no services from mile point 4 to mile point 40 so be sure to have plenty of food and water. Expect the ride to take at least 4 hours, but most likely it will take 5 to 6 hours depending on your condition. I have completed the ride on a road bike, cyclocross bike, and on a 29er mountain bike. The best bike is a cyclocross or touring bike set up with 35 mm tires and a triple chainring crankset. The ride includes quiet country roads, gravel roads, and old growth redwoods along the Avenue of the Giants. Once you reach Garberville you have the completed all of the difficult climbing. There are many options for refueling in Garberville, Miranda, or Meyers Flat.

Notes / Cue Sheet
0- Start at Humboldt Redwoods Visitors Center located at 17119 Avenue of the Giants, Weott, CA. Head north on Avenue of the Giants.

4-Right Dyerville Loop Rd

4.13-Founders Tree stop with bathrooms. No other facilities until Garberville at mile point 40

10.04- Start Gravel

10.65- Continue straight at McCann Rd

13- Right on Dyerville Loop Rd at Sequoia Rd intersection (End of Gravel)

14.12- Straight at 4-way intersection to continue on Dyerville Loop Rd. Turning right takes you back to the Avenue of the Giants.

16-Check out the cool yard art!

17.3-Bear right to stay on Dyerville Loop Rd

18.39- Start of gravel

25.7-Bear right to stay on Dyerville Loop Rd at the Fort Seward Rd intersection

33.2- Right Alderpoint Rd (End of Gravel)

40.24- Left Redwood Drive

40.54- Left to Highway 101 North or straight into Garberville for food and water

46.81- Exit Highway 101 to Avenue of the Giants

47.27- Chimney Tree Attraction

49.4- Phillipsville

53.21- Miranda- food and water

59.33- Meyers Flat- food

64- End

Below is a link to the Garmin Connect website which has ride data and a Google map of the ride.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Dyerville Loop Long


Below is a map from MapMyRide.com. Clicking on the map will direct you to the website where you can view the map through Google Earth or download a Garmin Course or GPX file. You can also print the map with notes. However, MayMyRide.com now charges to print out the map.



Click on the picture below to print out a route sheet and elevation profile:

MTB- Look Prairie Thornton Loop

Distance: 13 miles
Climbing: 2,762 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Start: Near Weott


Humboldt Redwoods State Park is located approximately 40 miles south of Eureka. There are miles of awesome singletrack. Unfortunately, most of the trails are off limits to mountain bikes. This loop includes the best legal single track in the park, which is the Thornton multi-use trail (MUT). The ride will take you through prairies, second growth redwood forests, and old growth redwood forests. The climb up Look Prairie road is very difficult. In fact, every time I have climbed this route I have wondered why I do it. However, the remainder of the ride will soon make you forget the difficult climbing.

0- Start at the base of Look Prairie Road, which is located 4.3 miles west of Highway 101 on Bull Creek Road or 0.7 miles east of the entrance road to Albee Creek Campground. A great way to do this ride is to campout at Albee Creek Campground. The Look Prairie Road starts out as a gravel road which winds its way up through the prairie at a reasonable grade. However, the gradient quickly steepens. This is not a good single speed ride and beginners may find themselves walking short sections. It took me a full hour to climb 4 miles and I lost traction and had to hop off my bike a couple of times. About half way up the climb you enter old growth redwood forest and the road feels more like a wide leaf covered trail. The upper third of the climb is not as steep and is more enjoyable.

3.45- Left on Peavine MUT and continue climbing for another half a mile.

4.0- Descent! You have reached the top of the ridge and the first descent. You will travel along the top of the ridge which climbs and descends along the Peavine trail.

6.85- Left on Thornton MUT. You will have 5 miles of fantastic single track descending. The route is well planned and descends at a gradual rate as it twists and turns through the forest.

11.83- CAUTION gate ahead. Be careful on the steep descent to Albee Creek Campground because there is a gate at the end of the trail.

11.89- Turn left at the campground check-in station and travel over the bridge and head back to Bull Creek Road.

12.2- Turn left on Bull Creek Road.

12.96- Finish

Click on the map for a larger image and to print it out. For best results print in landscape.

Dyerville Loop Short

Distance: 22.87 miles
Climbing: 2559 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Start: Weott


The Dyerville Loop ride is a must-do ride in Humboldt County. You will experience the magnificence of the giant redwoods, the power of the Eel River, and the serenity of back country roads. Once thriving towns like Dyerville, South Fork, and McCann are now just mysterious points on the map. You should allow 2 to 3 hours for the ride depending on how often you stop to take in the scenery. Even though it is a short ride, there are plenty of hills to climb on Dyerville Loop Road including one two-mile stretch of gravel with gradients over 15% in places. This route takes a clockwise direction. However, by doing it in reverse you could avoid the steep gravel climbs and instead have an easier climb up Elk Creek Road. The perfect bike for this ride is a cyclocross or touring bike set up with good climbing gears and fat tough tires for the rough pavement and gravel. I have done the ride several times on a road bike with skinny tires, but have really had to grunt and grind up Dyerville Loop Road. The ride could also be accomplished on a mountain bike if you are not in a hurry and don't mind buzzing around on the pavement with knobby tires. The ride can be enjoyed any time of year but I prefer the non-tourist season when the Avenue of the Giants is quiet. During the winter you may not see anyone on Dyerville Loop Road. However, during the summer tourist season expect to share the road on Avenue of the Giants.

• 0- Start at Humboldt Redwoods State Park Visitors Center, 17119 Avenue of the Giants, Weott, CA. The visitors center has a bathroom and source of water as well as some cool displays.
  
• 1.5- Weott is located up Newton Road. There is a post office and fire station but no other services. It is hard to believe that you are standing where the old town of Weott once thrived before the 1964 flood.
• 3.96- Turn right onto Dyerville Loop Road. Traffic will really die down now. I have travelled this road and not seen one other soul before. During the summer you will likely see a few log trucks.
• 4.1- Founders Grove. There is a bathroom located here. Take a short detour out to the 346 foot tall Founders Tree.
  
• 4.5- As you leave the giant redwoods start to watch out for dogs which may be on your left coming up.


• 5.0- You made it past the dogs. Enjoy the quiet, but narrow country road for the next few miles. The road rolls up and down making for a challenging ride.
• 10- McCann- This was once a station on the stage route and was named for an early lumber mill owner who had a mill here. Nothing remains of the town today but the beautiful scenery of the Eel River. During the winter residents have to ferry from the west side to the east side of the river since the summer bridge is overtopped. The gravel road starts here as you cruise along the Eel River.
  
• 10.82- You will start a difficult gravel climb which can be over 15% in places. It only lasts for about 2 miles. The Old Mail Ridge route ran between Bell Springs and McCann. Due to the steep slopes in this location there was a one-way hairpin turn called Devil's Elbow. The switch back turn has been bypassed by the modern road.


• 12.93- Turn right to stay on Dyerville Loop Road. You have finished climbing. The remainder of the ride is flat or descending.
• 14- Turn right on Elk Creek Road. You leave Dyerville Loop Road, which continues all the way to Alderpoint Road. You can do the longer Dyerville Loop ride and end up in Garberville. You are near Fruitland, which was established by Dutch settlers near Elk Prairie with plans for fruit tree farming which never fully succeeded because of the distance to market (Turner, 1993, Place Names of Humboldt County, California).
  
• 16.78- Turn right on Avenue of the Giants. The road is narrow but traffic is light in the off season. I find is easiest to just relax and pull over if traffic backs up behind me. This is one ride you will not appreciate if you don't stop and enjoy the redwoods and river.
  
• 17.84- Hidden Springs Campground. This campground is only open seasonally.


• 18.69- Meyers Flat- Services include a market, coffee shop, wine tasting at River Bend Cellars, two restaurants, and the Drive Thru Tree. You may find things a bit quiet during the winter.


• 22.87- End where you started!
  

Here is a link to GPS ride data and a google map via Garmin Connect

Below is a map from MapMyRide.com. Clicking on the map will direct you to the website where you can view the map through Google Earth or download a Garmin Course or GPX file. You can also print the map with notes.




Below is a portion of a USGS topographic map published in 1951. It shows the towns of Dyerville, South Fork, McCann, and Weott before the floods. You will notice that there are several buildings at each townsite which are no longer there. Click on the map for a larger view.