Downieville,CA MTB





Downieville is a must do. It's a small gold rush era town perched on the Yuba river located out in the middle of nowhere. The riding is superb. You have the epic downhill that made the town famous and you have plenty of single track to give you an awesome workout. If I had a choice of spending a weekend here or in Lake Tahoe, I'd choose hear simply because Tahoe can be too touristy. Not the case in Downiville.


How to get there: Fly in to Reno (1:45 drive from airport) or Sacramento (2 hr drive from airport)

Camping: There are many campsites along hwy 49 close to town. Unless you're planning to camp on July 4th or the weekend of the Downieville Classic, you shouldn't have a problem showing up and getting a nice camp spot

In Town Bike Shop and Shuttle service: Yuba Expeditions

Trail Maps: Here or from Bike Shop

Rides: Most People take a shuttle to the top of Packer's Saddle and descend to town (see map for options) . If you want to make a loop and get a great workout, ride from town east 6 miles on hwy 49. At the "Union Fork Campground" hang a left on to a small paved road that quickly turns to dirt. This dirt road climbs 13 miles to the top of Packer Saddle (get map/more specifics at the bike shop). There's several other rides in the area that can more than take up a 3 day weekend (IMBA Epic "Big Boulder" , North Yuba Trail which starts in town and rides along river). Additionally, the neighboring Lakes Basin/Graeagle area has been developing new trail systems. I've done the Mt. Ellwell Epic and thoroughly enjoyed it. Check with Yuba Expeditions's shop in Graeagle for more details. The Downieville Classic is a point to point race that starts in Sierra City and ends in downtown Downieville. (see below for GPS stats of race course)
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