3-4 Day California Bikepacking Recs

[cyclocrux]

Hello all!

I'm planning a 150-200 mile CA bike-packing trip - hopefully in the mountains (around Mammoth?) - and would love your recommendations of routes. We'll be on gravel bikes, so the single track can't be too gnarly, but we'd love to be on dirt for the majority of the time. I'd love any suggestions of route or places to search. TIA!

[TailLights]

Did you end up finding anything?

There is the mountain bike route the "California Sierra Bikepacking Race" did, which goes Auburn to Tahoe, around Tahoe and back. It looks like you'd want a mtb, not gravel bike.

But there's also just doing Tahoe into Tahoe National Forest and down to Auburn, or other roads/trails in the forest. The Soda Springs to Forrest Hill route is mapped out and done a bit, but other routes in there would take you some google earth/strava/garmin heat map type work to plan.

There's a number of lakes in the forest, and some have campsites. So you could disappear into the forest for a while if you can carry food, as there's water at various sources.

[MattL]

I recommend Cycling the California Outback (https://www.amazon.com/Cycling-California-outback-Chuck-Slack-Elliot/dp/B00070HQSC).  You can get a copy straight from Chuck in Chester (https://www.facebook.com/Bodfish-Bicycles-and-Quiet-Mountain-Sports-348806543839/) or buy it on Amazon.  It's a little old, but many of the routes are based around Forest Service roads and would be appropriate for a gravel bike.

[Oldroller]

Those old Bodfish books are a great resource. But much of that area was devastated in the fires this summer, so road and scenery might not be in great shape.