Malakoff Diggins & North San Juan
Northern Nevada County · near North San Juan / Nevada City · Gold Country & Central Valley
Gravel & Bikepacking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- advanced
- Best season
- Spring & fall
What is here
- Terrain
- forest
- Amenities
- Malakoff Diggins State Park · San Juan Ridge backcountry · Yuba River canyon scenery · Historic hydraulic-mine landscape
- Best for
- Rugged historic backcountry above the Yuba
- Features
- Surreal hydraulic-mine cliffs · Remote San Juan Ridge · Deep Yuba River canyons · Gold-mining history underfoot
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Rough, remote roads · Steep Yuba canyon grades · Summer heat, limited water · Poison oak
- Good for a first timer
- No
Gravel & Bikepacking detail
- Ride types
- day-gravel · adventure
- Surface
- rough
- Remoteness
- 3
- Riding
- Rugged forest roads through hydraulic-mining history — the eroded cliffs of Malakoff Diggins and the deep San Juan Ridge above the Yuba River canyons
- Terrain note
- 1,500–3,500 ft ridge-and-canyon forest; rough roads; hot summers
- Camping
- Yes
- Intl tip
- Rugged forest roads on the San Juan Ridge north of Nevada City, around Malakoff Diggins — the surreal cliff-walled scar of California's biggest hydraulic gold mine. Remote ridge-and-canyon riding above the wild Yuba River, past mining relics and a ghost town. Rough surfaces, steep grades, scarce water, summer heat. State park camping. An offbeat, story-rich, dramatic backcountry day for adventurous riders.
- Trip lengths
- day
The guide
Malakoff Diggins, on the San Juan Ridge north of Nevada City, preserves the surreal, cliff-walled scar of the largest hydraulic…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Malakoff Diggins & North San Juan — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 39.37, -120.97