{"id":352234,"date":"2025-12-18T00:57:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T00:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/352234\/"},"modified":"2025-12-18T00:57:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T00:57:11","slug":"the-golden-gravel-trail-is-an-all-new-3700-mile-gravel-route-from-the-oregon-coast-to-the-mississippi-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/352234\/","title":{"rendered":"The Golden Gravel Trail is an all-new 3,700-mile gravel route from the Oregon Coast to the Mississippi River"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Photo: Jeremy Nolan, courtesy ACA<\/p>\n

The Adventure Cycling Association<\/a> (ACA) is about to change the way cyclists ride across the country. In 2026, the Missoula-based nonprofit will launch the Golden Gravel Trail<\/a>, a fully researched and vetted bike-friendly dirt route crafted specifically for gravel riders and bikepackers \u2014 its first major west-to-east dirt corridor in decades.<\/p>\n

The route\u2019s debut commemorates the ACA\u2019s 50th anniversary \u2014 for 50 years, the Missoula-based organization has been mapping cycling routes across the U.S. \u2014 while addressing a modern trend: the desire for more dirt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 3,700-mile Golden Gravel Trail unfurls across eight states, from the Pacific Ocean to the Mississippi River, and serves up a smorgasbord of surfaces. Think: towering tree-lined forest service roads in Oregon, desert washboard in Utah, chunky, slow, high-altitude passes in Colorado, and fast-rolling hardpack in the Midwest. Roughly 70 percent is unpaved; the rest is on lightly trafficked paved backroads.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to ACA cartographer and route-builder Amy Wally, the Golden Gravel Trail heeds a call that riders have increasingly been making.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile most of our current network is paved, the rising popularity of bikepacking made it clear it was time to add another epic gravel route,\u201d Wally said. \u201cPeople crave the wild, remote, scenic beauty that America has to offer, and as a route designer, I\u2019m thrilled to create low-traffic, safe ways for them to experience it.\u201d<\/p>\n

From idea to epic<\/p>\n

The Golden Gravel Trail began as a spark in ACA\u2019s 50th-anniversary brainstorming sessions. Several staffers sat down early in 2024 to sketch out a route with just one requirement: it had to be \u201cepic,\u201d a loosely defined term that usually means at least 1,000 miles. The winning concept came from Jenn Hamelman, ACA\u2019s then-Routes Director, who remembered a 2017 Adventure Cyclist story by Sarah Swallow about bikepacking the TransAmerica Trail (TAT).<\/p>\n

The original TAT runs roughly 5,000 miles from Oregon to North Carolina and was designed for motorcycles. That meant numerous sections on busy highways, rugged jeep trails, and long, remote stretches without services or water. Still, its bones were good, and Wally and the ACA route team decided to use it as a blueprint for their new gravel epic. To avoid the pavement-heavy eastern end, they cut the route short at the Mississippi River, trimming about 1,300 miles.<\/p>\n

Then began the meticulous work of reshaping a moto route into something bicycle-friendly. Wally and her team analyzed every mile with an eye toward traffic levels, road surface, refueling access, water reliability, and overall appeal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The goal, she said, was \u201cto design a bikepacking route that minimized traffic, maximized gravel roads, incorporated bike infrastructure where possible, and kept resupply and water stops within reasonable distances.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbove all,\u201d she added, \u201cwe wanted this route to be enjoyable: beautiful scenery, quality gravel roads, and charming resupply towns were key considerations throughout the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team used everything at their disposal \u2014 satellite imagery, Google Street View, topo maps, traffic counts, Ride with GPS heatmaps, intel from local bike shops, and YouTube videos \u2014 to turn a decades-old moto route into a modern, bikeable gravel traverse.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo: Jeremy Nolan, courtesy ACA<\/p>\n

The biggest design choice: a cross-country gravel route that isn\u2019t the GDMBR<\/p>\n

For a route team with a blank canvas of gravel roads, one of the biggest decisions was where not to go. The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR), the ACA\u2019s flagship bikepacking route and the backbone of the Tour Divide race, already traces the Rockies from north to south. With the Golden Gravel Trail, the ACA wanted to chart a different kind of cross-country epic.<\/p>\n

That becomes clear the moment the route leaves the Oregon coast. From there, it takes long, meditative climbs through Oregon\u2019s deep forests and the wide-open solitude of the Ochoco Mountains and Malheur National Forest. It continues that theme in Idaho, rolling from Idaho Falls toward Ketchum on classic mountain dirt roads that feel remote but are threaded close enough to small towns to keep logistics manageable.<\/p>\n

Then, the trail tips into northern Utah, where it\u2019s routed high across the Wasatch Plateau. It then heads south into the otherworldly sandstone labyrinth of the San Rafael Swell. Riders can pop into Moab for a rest and resupply (or a few days of mountain biking?) before climbing through the La Sals en route to Colorado.<\/p>\n

In Colorado, the ACA team had the opportunity to create a wholly different experience from the GDMBR. Instead of tracing the spine of the Rockies, the Golden Gravel Trail sweeps east-west across the state, from the high-desert plateaus around the Paradox Valley to remote mining towns like Tincup and Pitkin. It then drops into the eastern shadow of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains before meandering toward Pueblo. The trail exits the state in the far southeastern corner.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Near Salida, the Golden Gravel Trail overlaps the GDMBR for about 58 miles, just enough for riders to stop and swap stories.<\/p>\n

From Colorado, the route nibbles the corner of southwestern Kansas before marching steadily eastward across northern Oklahoma. And while the trajectory across Missouri toward the Mississippi River looks straightforward on paper, the Ozark Plateau is anything but: it\u2019s rife with punchy climbs, ridge-and-holler terrain, and notoriously deep, technical gravel.<\/p>\n

Wally describes linking together a route of this scope as \u201cpiecing together a giant puzzle, constantly balancing access to services with the best gravel roads.\u201d Gravel offers nearly infinite routing possibilities in the U.S. With the Golden Gravel Trail, the ACA had to ensure that every turn was chosen to preserve a big-backcountry feeling while still offering the predictability and accessibility ACA riders rely on.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo: Nat Cobb, courtesy ACA<\/p>\n

Route scouts<\/p>\n

Designing on a map is one thing; proving it works on the ground is another. Before anyone pedaled the Golden Gravel Trail, ACA route researchers had already driven the length of it. According to Wally, the team typically scouts by car first because it\u2019s the only efficient way to cover thousands of miles.<\/p>\n

\u201cPaying someone to cover a route by car over a few weeks is far faster and cheaper than having them cycle it over several months,\u201d she said. \u201cExperienced cyclists know what to look for, even behind the wheel, and they can quickly pivot to scout alternatives if issues arise.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

For the Golden Gravel Trail, she divided the 3,700-mile corridor into three roughly 1,200-mile sections, allowing researchers to work concurrently. They drove 100\u2013200 miles a day, stopping often to check campgrounds, talk with locals, roll out nearby stretches on their bikes, and gather the granular details that maps can\u2019t capture.<\/p>\n

The final test required a rider. That turned out to be Sarah Swallow, the original inspiration for the route and an ACA ambassador, who spent late summer 2025 pedaling the trail from Oregon to Colorado.<\/p>\n

\u201cTraveling by bicycle is obviously a lot different because you are truly dependent on the route, the creek crossings, and the town resupplies,\u201d Swallow said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Her job was to experience the trail as riders will: to find its friction points, its magic, and its practical realities. She rode everything from the deep ponderosa forests of Oregon to the high-desert mesas of Colorado, noting where resupplies came too far apart, and also what set the new route apart.<\/p>\n

One stretch in Oregon stood out. \u201cFrom the South Fork of the John Day River through the Ochoco Mountains and Malheur National Forest \u2014 it was wild and remote, with massive ponderosa pine and Douglas fir trees, and lots of water and shade, which was unexpected and appreciated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swallow\u2019s takeaways echoed ACA\u2019s design intentions. Compared to the TransAmerica Trail she rode in 2015, she found that the ACA had \u201creplaced all the frustrating ATV trails with good gravel and dirt roads\u201d and had increased access to towns, allowing for more frequent resupply.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the accessibility and predictability of riding an ACA dirt road route that travels west to east is very exciting,\u201d she said. The Golden Gravel Trail may feel wild, but it never leaves riders guessing about whether they can safely get to the next town, water source, or campsite.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo: Jeremy Nolan, courtesy ACA<\/p>\n

Why it matters \u2014 and who it\u2019s for<\/p>\n

The Golden Gravel Trail marks a significant evolution for Adventure Cycling. Until now, ACA\u2019s major off-pavement offerings were limited to the GDMBR, the Idaho Hot Springs Loop, and the Arkansas High Country Route. Creating a west-to-east gravel corridor both honors ACA\u2019s legacy and embraces the preferences of modern riders: long, challenging dirt routes that balance adventure with accessibility.<\/p>\n

The design philosophy is deliberate. ACA built a route that prioritizes rideability, predictable resupply intervals, safer traffic conditions, and varied scenery \u2014 the kind of thoughtful engineering that makes multi-day gravel riding feel challenging but not overwhelming. It fills a gap between the wildness of the GDMBR and the quick-hit bikepacking overnighters many gravel riders cut their teeth on.<\/p>\n

The Golden Gravel Trail will be released in March 2026 as a free digital-only route on Ride with GPS with turn-by-turn navigation, notes, and service info. It\u2019s built to be updated in real time \u2014 a practical move for a dirt route that crosses eight states and thousands of acres of public lands.<\/p>\n

For 50 years, the ACA has vetted, mapped, and maintained routes that spider across the United States. With the Golden Gravel Trail, riders will get all the reliability, safety, and scenic magic the ACA is known for \u2014 just with a whole lot more dirt.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo: Carl Gable, courtesy ACA<\/p>\n

What riders can expect<\/p>\n

Distance: The route spans roughly 3,700 miles (some sources say 3,688 mi) and traverses eight U.S. states from the Pacific Coast (Oregon) to the Mississippi River (Missouri)<\/p>\n

Terrain: mostly off-pavement \u2014 roughly 70% gravel\/dirt\/mixed surface \u2014 cutting across rolling Ozark hills, Great Plains, deserts, alpine passes, and other diverse landscapes<\/p>\n

Elevation: the route includes substantial climbing \u2014 elevation gain is in the ballpark of 234,000\u2013234,500+ feet, with the highest point hitting around 12,034ft at Cumberland Pass, Colorado<\/p>\n

Resupply: Predictable resupply windows of 50\u2013100 miles, with a few longer gaps in remote zones<\/p>\n

Bike choice: Climbs and rolling terrain suited to loaded gravel bikes or light bikepacking setups<\/p>\n

Know about a new trail project we should cover? Whether you\u2019re breaking ground on the next must-ride destination or putting the finishing touches on a neighborhood flow trail, we want to hear about it. Drop us a line at [email\u00a0protected]<\/a> with high-quality photos of your build, plus details like trail mileage, location, difficulty, and what makes it special. We\u2019re always on the hunt for the next great trail story, and there\u2019s a good chance your project could be featured in an upcoming article.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo: Jeremy Nolan, courtesy ACA The Adventure Cycling Association (ACA) is about to change the way cyclists ride…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":352235,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[93736,152822,152821,9207,1331,6594,417,24878,686,49,48,99659,635,3011,10230,41260,4084,6386,24887,1178,24879,24877,44,1283,11826,129085,24886,82,1462,696,39,24179],"class_list":["post-352234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-93736","tag-700-mile","tag-all-new","tag-an","tag-article","tag-articles","tag-bike","tag-bike-blog","tag-blog","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-coast","tag-cycling","tag-from","tag-golden","tag-gravel","tag-is","tag-mississippi","tag-mountain","tag-mountain-bike","tag-mountain-biking","tag-mtb","tag-news","tag-oregon","tag-river","tag-route","tag-singletracks","tag-sports","tag-the","tag-to","tag-top-stories","tag-trail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=352234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/352235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=352234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=352234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=352234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}