Georgetown Divide
El Dorado County backcountry · near Georgetown · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Gravel & Bikepacking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- advanced
- Best season
- Late spring–fall (snow closes the high country in winter)
What is here
- Terrain
- forest
- Amenities
- Historic Georgetown base · Rubicon high-country access · Remote forest roads · Sierra reservoirs & camps
- Best for
- Remote forest bikepacking toward the high country
- Features
- Deep El Dorado backcountry · Climb toward the Rubicon · Historic Georgetown base · Sierra reservoir camping
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Remote, limited water/services · Rough, rocky sections · OHV/Rubicon traffic higher up · Snow at elevation
- Good for a first timer
- No
Gravel & Bikepacking detail
- Ride types
- adventure · bikepacking
- Surface
- rough
- Remoteness
- 3
- Riding
- Remote forest roads climbing east from the tiny Gold Rush town of Georgetown toward the Rubicon high country — deep woods, rough surfaces, and real backcountry solitude
- Terrain note
- 2,600–7,000+ ft climbing toward Loon Lake/Rubicon; rough, remote, forested
- Camping
- Yes
- Intl tip
- A remote forested ridge climbing east from tiny historic Georgetown toward the Rubicon high country (El Dorado NF). Rough forest roads gain thousands of feet through pine and fir, past Sierra reservoirs with camping. Demanding: rough surface, big climbs, scarce water/services, OHV traffic up high, winter snow. A great remote bikepacking route or big backcountry day from a low-key Gold Country base. Deep woods and real solitude.
- Trip lengths
- day · overnight · multi-day
The guide
The Georgetown Divide — the long forested ridge between the Middle and South Forks of the American River — is one of Gold Count…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Georgetown Divide — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 38.91, -120.84