Downieville & the Lost Sierra
Sierra & Plumas County · near Downieville / Sierra City · Gold Country & Central Valley
Gravel & Bikepacking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- expert
- Best season
- Summer–early fall (snow-free window; July–October)
What is here
- Terrain
- mountain
- Amenities
- Sierra Buttes & alpine lakes · Legendary trail network (SBTS) · Historic Downieville base · Abundant Sierra camping
- Best for
- Rugged high-Sierra adventure & drop-bar trail riding
- Features
- Beneath the dramatic Sierra Buttes · World-class trail & road network · The soul of the 'Lost Sierra' · Big climbs, alpine lakes, rowdy descents
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Big climbs & rough, technical descents · Remote high country, limited water · Snow at elevation (short season) · Shared MTB/moto trails
- Good for a first timer
- No
Gravel & Bikepacking detail
- Ride types
- singletrack · adventure · race
- Surface
- rough
- Remoteness
- 3
- Riding
- The rugged, trail-rich heart of the 'Lost Sierra' — big forest-road climbs to high alpine lakes and legendary rowdy descents beneath the Sierra Buttes
- Terrain note
- 3,000–8,500 ft; big climbs, rough descents; snow closes high routes half the year
- Camping
- Yes
- Intl tip
- The trail-rich heart of the 'Lost Sierra' beneath the jagged Sierra Buttes — big forest-road climbs to alpine lakes and legendary descents (stewarded by SBTS). Spectacular high-granite country for capable, fit riders. Rugged and remote: big climbs, rough surfaces, scarce water, short snow-free season (July–Oct). Historic Downieville base with abundant camping. A genuine high-Sierra adventure — the soul of Northern California backcountry riding.
- Nickname
- Soul of the Lost Sierra
- Trip lengths
- day
The guide
Downieville and the surrounding 'Lost Sierra' — the wild, trail-rich country beneath the jagged Sierra Buttes — is a spiritual …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Downieville & the Lost Sierra — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 39.56, -120.83