11 Incredible Weekend Bikepacking Trips

Belanger/Syncline Loop, Alaska

Fun Type

Drive Time to Trailhead

Distance Cycled

Surface Type

Party Size

Solid Type II+

5 hrs (half day Friday)

38 miles

Dirt, Mud, Stream, Brush, Gravel

3

Short Synopsis:

This trip sticks out fondly in my mind although it was one of the most grueling weekend adventures I’ve endured. We found a very dated resource which described a backcountry old prospector’s trail off the Alaska Hwy. The route was 38 miles looped with two big passes so we figured one weekend was plenty of time to pound out the trip. We arrived back in town at 6am, 2 hours before work, Monday morning. The “route” was almost entirely overtaken by the wilds. Most of the trail was hike-a-bike with many significant river crossings and large sections requiring route finding and navigation skills. This is one of my favorite bikepacking adventures to look back on, however, I can’t say the same for everyone involved (although the completion of this is a source of pride for all involved), so I’ve labeled this Type II+ fun. Adding an extra day to the journey would drop the “+” off the fun type. All-in-all this route proves a 38 mile ride can be no-joke if the conditions are against you. As Roman Dial once said in a 1991 Adventure Cyclist article,  backcountry cycling in the Talkeetna Mountains is a new kind of biking: “Hellbiking”.

Denali Winter Dogsled Trails, Alaska

Fun Type

Drive Time to Trailhead

Distance Cycled

Surface Type

Party Size

Type I +

4.5 hrs (President’s Day Weekend)

30 miles

Snow, Ice, Crust

3

Short Synopsis:

A spectacular winter adventure into Denali National Park & Preserve. We snagged a backcountry permit from the park office and took off on the park road heading back to Wonder Lake. Things got rough a day into the journey as the snow on the road became a multi-layered cake of windblown layers of crust and winds picked up in excess of 30mph. We dropped down into a small grove of trees for protection when we discovered the winter dogsledding patrol route. The dogsled trail was groomed well enough to ride on, and we committed to a phenomenal, winter singletrack-like experience, back to the park entrance.

Note: Unlike in many other national parks, bicycles are allowed to cross country travel in sections of Denali.

Eklutna Lake Group Campout, Alaska

Fun Type

Drive Time to Trailhead

Distance Cycled

Surface Type

Party Size

Type I

40 min.

22 miles

Easy Gravel

12

Short Synopsis:

This was an easy 100% fun trip - the kind of bikepacking adventure you want to start out with. This trip started as a mid-day Friday group text reading “Heading out for a bike ride and an overnight camp at Eklutna Lake. Easy trail and no distance obligations. Invite your friends. Meet at trailhead at 6pm.” Friends of all skill levels and equipment types showed up. Newbies to bikepacking got to pick up some tips and tricks from long time bikepackers and everyone had a blast. This is the largest bikepacking group I’ve camped with to date.

Snowbird Hut Stash-a-Bike Summit & Cabin, Alaska

Fun Type

Drive Time to Trailhead

Distance Cycled

Surface Type

Party Size

Type I +

1.5 hrs

20 miles

Primitive Singletrack / Mountain Trail

2

Short Synopsis:

We had heard rumors of an incredible backcountry cabin overlooking Snowbird Glacier in the Talkeetna Mountains. After collecting some beta at the local USGS office, we decided to bike in the first 10 or so miles then stash the bikes in the woods and take off with backpacks into the high country and across the glacier to the cabin. This incredible journey would have been outside a weekend scope, however, our bicycles expedited the travel time enough to make the weekend itinerary possible.

Skookum Volcano, Alaska

Fun Type

Drive Time to Trailhead

Distance Cycled

Surface Type

Party Size

Type I

8 hrs (three day weekend)

35 miles

Primitive Gravel Road / Mountain Trail

2

Short Synopsis:

The long drive was well worth this experience. This bikepacking trip was predominantly gravel touring the beautiful Wrangell-St.Elias Mountains with a stach-a-bike and summit a wild and remote volcano thrown in. When we met a flooded river crossing, a road worker took us and bikes across on his big rig bucket… not something I’ll soon forget.

Copper River Salmon Fishing, Alaska

Fun Type

Drive Time to Trailhead

Distance Cycled

Surface Type

Party Size

Type II

5 hrs

10

Primitive Railroad Grade

4

Short Synopsis:

This was actually an annual series of weekend “bikepacks” which occurred each dipnetting season. We called these trips “suicide runs” since they involved a long, long drive after work on Fridays; camping at a pull off to an old railroad grade along the Copper River, leaving at the crack of dawn with panniers for carrying salmon, bear spray in bottle cages and 30’ of dipnetting pole strapped to the bike; biking out to our secret spot; 24 hours of dipnetting; then back home with a freezer’s worth of salmon. A lot of work and misery, but worth the effort - fish and fond memories.

Resurrection River Cabin, Alaska

Fun Type

Drive Time to Trailhead

Distance Cycled

Surface Type

Party Size

Type II

0 min.

45 miles

Primitive Trail, Paved Road

2

Short Synopsis:

We had no idea we would be staying at a cabin when we took off for this adventure… we didn’t even know one existed on this stretch of trail. This was one of those journeys which takes place out your front door, where you discover the awesomeness of your backyard. The Resurrection River trail has a sign reading “Bicycles not recommended”. The trail is HIGHLY overgrown after about 5 miles in. Multiple river crossings are required. A lot of this trip was Type I fun, but the sections of overgrown trail with downed trees bump it to a low II. Towards dusk we discovered a free public cabin which was a wonderful surprise.

Resurrection Holiday Cabin, Alaska

Fun Type

Drive Time to Trailhead

Distance Cycled

Surface Type

Party Size

Type I

1 hr

14 miles

Singletrack

3

Short Synopsis:

This was another Alaska annual ritual we undertook each Christmas. We’d ride out on fatbikes Christmas day into the mountains along the Resurrection Trail  to stay at Caribou Creek Cabin. There are many other cabins along the Resurrection Trail, which is an absolute must if you’re mountain biking in Alaska. We’d sit around the cast iron wood stove and drink coffee-cocoa and relish life.

North Highland Trail, Michigan

Fun Type

Drive Time to Trailhead

Distance Cycled

Surface Type

Party Size

Solid Type II

3.5 hrs

76 miles

Mostly Poorly Maintained Singletrack

2

Short Synopsis:

This route was an IMBA Epic we had hoped to knock out one weekend while we lived in Michigan’s, UP. Taking on this trail in late summer was a mistake. The ferns grow in so thick in most places this time of year, after you distance yourself from occasional trailheads, you’d lose sight of the trail and your legs end up a bloody mess. There’s lots of downed trees and marsh boardwalks in complete disrepair. This is clearly a trail which has seen better days. Had the trail been in sound condition, our weekend itinerary would have been completely feasible. As is we had to abandon the easter section of the route after 15 hours in the saddle the first day on trail and still far behind schedule. We still looped the trip by using back roads to connect back up with the south portions of the trail the following day. I’d like to take this trail to task again some day in mid/early May.

Vinegar Hill Scenic Hut-to-Hut, Oregon

Fun Type

Drive Time to Trailhead

Distance Cycled

Surface Type

Party Size

Type I +

1 hr

77 miles

Gravel Forest Road

2

Short Synopsis:

This is a massive gravel grind weekend tour with a stay at a backcountry cabin. For those wanting to break the trip up into a 3 day journey, there are two cabins along the loop. This route explores the Vinegar Hill Scenic Area in Eastern Oregon which takes you from low valley headwaters of the John Day River and Desolation River and climbs you up, up, up. Lots of elevation gain and big alpine views, including one from a fire towner. This route is well suited to a gravel grind, monster cross rig and is class I fun if you fully realize the kind of climbing you’ll have to endure.

Owyhee Canyon Country & Hotsprings, Oregon

Fun Type

Drive Time to Trailhead

Distance Cycled

Surface Type

Party Size

Type I

5 hrs (3 Day Weekend)

11 miles (plus additional play miles)

Very Rugged Jeep Road

2

Short Synopsis:

We went out to Owyhee country because we had heard the area was spectacular but remote. We found an Oregon guidebook on hotsprings and connected some rough “roads” via bike to access some warmsprings. The landscape we discovered was absolutely mind-blowing. We set up base camp right next to a hotspring and took off to play, returning to the spring to stargaze the night away under freezing fall temperatures.  We will be returning to this region for bikepacking and bikepackrafting journeys for the rest of our days.

Weiser River Rails-to-Trail, Idaho

Fun Type

Drive Time to Trailhead

Distance Cycled

Surface Type

Party Size

Type I

3 hrs

67 miles

Rails-to-Trails Gravel/Dirt

2

Short Synopsis:

Classic rails-to-trails ride in Idaho with a hotsprings stop along the way. If you want an easy Type I fun way to get into bikepacking, find the nearest Rails-to-Trails project near you.