Great Divide Mountain Bike Route Archives - Adventure Cycling Association

Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, Section 1 Digital Route

Joe LaRiche — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 21:54:19 +0000

This section of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route is entirely within Montana. The route begins at the border and quickly enters forested backcountry. It skirts the western border of Glacier National Park along North Fork Flathead River. The route goes through towns every 4-5 days for restocking supplies. You’ll either be going over passes or riding through valleys en route to the next climb, and it’s considered the most challenging portion of the entire route. You’ll go through historic mining regions lying between Seeley Lake and Helena, Montana. Fascinating historic sites beckon in the state’s capital of Helena, so plan to lay over at least a day to catch them.

New to this edition of GDMBR maps is a spur route from Seeley Lake to Adventure Cycling’s hometown of Missoula. At just a hair over 65 miles, this is a challenging route through a maze of steep terrain on a mix of surfaces including overgrown old logging roads and singletrack trail.

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Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, Section 2 Digital Route

Joe LaRiche — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 21:54:18 +0000

This section of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route leads from Helena, Montana, to Colter Bay, Wyoming, by way of historic mining regions, the sprawling ranchlands of southwest Montana, and one of the crown jewels of our National Park System. In addition to a sampling of some of its finest backcountry, one of the state’s largest cities is also encountered— Butte. Plan a layover day in this mining-history rich city. The route also passes through the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge and incorporates the short, 75.9-mile section of the route claimed by Idaho. 13.2 of those Idaho miles are on a rail-trail conversion following the route of the old Oregon Short Line, which was responsible for delivering turn-of-the-century tourists to Yellowstone National Park. The route then enters Wyoming, cutting between Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks on the little-traveled Reclamation Road, also known as Ashton-Flagg Road and/or Grassy Lake Road.

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Great Divide + Canada Digital Route Set

Joe LaRiche — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 21:54:18 +0000

The world’s longest mountain bike route, this route traces the Continental Divide from Canada to Mexico on dirt and gravel roads, some pavement, and some singletrack. For more information on this route or to print out the most up to date addenda for these maps please click on these links: Great Divide, Great Divide Canada

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Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, Section 4 Digital Route

Joe LaRiche — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 21:54:17 +0000

This section of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route begins in Rawlins, Wyoming. South of that windy, rough-hewn Wyoming community the high desert rises to meet the even higher Sierra Madre Range, leading the way into Colorado and Steamboat Springs, the first in a string of ski towns visited. After following the paved Blue River trail system through bustling Summit County and the town of Breckenridge, the route crosses the Continental Divide at Boreas Pass and descends into the broad, windswept basin known as South Park. South of the small town of Hartsel it climbs back into the mountains, then drops into the high-valley village of Salida.

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Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, Section 3 Digital Route

Joe LaRiche — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 21:54:17 +0000

This section of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route is entirely in Wyoming. It begins in the magnificent Teton country and winds its way up and over a couple of high Continental Divide crossings before skirting the west slope of the Wind River Mountains en route to historic South Pass City. From there, the route drops into the Great Divide Basin on its way to Rawlins. The terrain changes dramatically between Colter Bay and Rawlins: from lofty mountain meadows, to sagebrush-covered cattle and pronghorn country, to high, dry desert that’s spectacular in its own right.

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Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, Section 6 Digital Route

Joe LaRiche — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 21:54:16 +0000

This section is entirely in New Mexico beginning in Grants and wending its way south to Antelope Wells or the alternate ending in Columbus. Cyclists will contend with finding enough water or dealing with too much of it on the ground mucking up the route in the monsoon season of the Southwest. South of the impressive badlands terrain of El Malpais National Monument the route visits Pie Town, famous for its… you guessed it. After skirting the barren Plains of San Agustin, then climbing across the exceptionally rugged mountains of the Gila National Forest – where each steep descent is followed by an equally steep climb – the route pulls into Silver City. Here the mountains end and the desert begins, surrounding you all the way to the door to Old Mexico.

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Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, Section 5 Digital Route

Joe LaRiche — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 21:54:16 +0000

This section of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route leads from Salida, Colorado, to the Conejos River outpost of Platoro, then onward into New Mexico, the aptly nicknamed “Land of Enchantment.” Here it traverses the remote, high-elevation Tusas Mountains before passing through three New Mexico villages straight out of Old Mexico: Cañon Plaza, Vallecitos, and El Rito. South of Abiquiu, a tough, 25-mile climb up Polvadera Mesa leads into the heavily forested Jemez Mountains, where elk and black bear are common residents. South of the town of Cuba the route winds through the carved maze of eroded terrain that separates Mesa Chivato and Chaco Mesa. From there it traverses the northwest flank of the San Mateo Mountains before dropping into the sprawling community of Grants.

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Great Divide – Canada Section Digital Route

Joe LaRiche — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 21:54:15 +0000

This route extends the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route into Canada along both the spine and foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Beginning in Jasper, the route counterintuitive runs north to Hinton before heading southward along the lonesome Forestry Trunk Rd. to Bow River near Canmore. The paved Legacy Trail brings riders into Banff and through spectacular scenery to Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. The route uses Elk Pass to cross the Continental Divide (known as the Great Divide in Canada). The main route follows portions of the Elk Valley Trail from Round Prairie to Elko with a spin through Fernie along the way. South of Fernie, you can choose to continue on the main route or ride across the “Serengeti of North America” through miles and miles of unbridled wilderness on the Flathead Alternate. The endpoint is Roosville, which is the beginning of the U.S. stretch of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route.

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Great Divide – no Canada Digital Route Set

Joe LaRiche — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 21:54:14 +0000

The world’s longest mountain bike route, this route traces the Continental Divide from Canada to Mexico on dirt and gravel roads, some pavement and some singletrack. This is the set from the Canadian border to the Mexican border, it does not include the northernmost Canada section. For more information on this route or to print out the most up to date addenda for these maps please click on these links: Great Divide ***Does not include Great Divide Canada BE-209***

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Great Divide – Canada Section

Tim Heuermann — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 19:44:15 +0000

This route extends the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route into Canada along both the spine and foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Beginning in Jasper, the route counterintuitively runs north to Hinton before heading southward along the lonesome Forestry Trunk Rd. to Bow River near Canmore. The paved Legacy Trail brings riders into Banff and through spectacular scenery to Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. The route uses Elk Pass to cross the Continental Divide (known as the Great Divide in Canada). The main route follows portions of the Elk Valley Trail from Round Prairie to Elko with a spin through Fernie along the way. South of Fernie, you can choose to continue on the main route or ride across the "Serengeti of North America" through miles and miles of unbridled wilderness on the Flathead Alternate. The endpoint is Roosville, which is the beginning of the U.S. stretch of the Great Divide Mountian Bike Route.

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