10 Mile River Fatbike Beach Ride, Fort Bragg, Cailifornia

Distance: 15 miles round trip
Climbing: Very Little
Difficulty: Easy
Start:  Glass Beach Parking Lot, Elm Street, Fort Bragg, CA
Sand: Hard and Fast
Beach Slope: Flat
Beachcombing:  Good

This is one of the longest and best beach rides in Mendocino County, California.  You can start anywhere along the "Old Haul Road."  I like to camp at MacKerricher State Park and ride from there.  If you want to ride the whole bike path, start at the Glass Beach parking lot off Elm Street in Fort Bragg.  You will have 4 miles of paved bike path and then 3.5 miles of beach before you reach 10 Mile River.  Along the way you can see the historic haul route that Union Lumber Company used to haul logs from 10 Mile River to their mill in Fort Bragg and enjoy the ride over the historic Pudding Creek Trestle.  This is a great mulit-use trail that is very family friendly.  It was first constructed as a railroad in 1916 and used until 1949 when it was converted to a truck road.

South Spit Humboldt Bay Fatbike Ride

Distance: You Choose
Climbing: Very Little
Difficulty: Easy
Start:  South Spit Humboldt Bay near Loleta
Sand: Hard and Fast
Beach Slope: Flat
Beachcombing:  Excellent


This is my favorite fatbike beach ride in Humboldt County.  The Eel River is 196 miles long.  all the winter storm debris dumps out on the beach near its mouth.  There is an amazing assortment of driftwood and debris.  The beach is 8.5 miles from the south jetty to the mouth of the Eel River.  I recommend riding from the base of Table Bluff at the parking lot to the mouth of the Eel River and back along the inland double track. This creates an 8.5 mile loop with a lot of variety.






    

Samoa Beach to Mad River Fatbike Ride

Distance: You Choose
Climbing: Very Little
Difficulty: Easy
Start: Samoa
Sand:  Hard and Fast
Beach Slope: Flat


Humboldt County has many great beaches, which are perfect for exploring.  I've explored nearly all of them on my fatbike.  The dunes and beach change every day like the tide so you never know what will wash up or wash away!


The longest stretch of beach is 15 miles from the Mad River to the north jetty of Humboldt Bay.  There are several places to start a fatbike ride and no way to get lost.  My favorite ride is from Samoa to the Mad River and back because I see the fewest number of people and I usually get a nice tailwind back to Samoa.  Pick you distance, starting point, and direction depending on the tide and wind.