Greenhil

Anyone have any gravel riding experience in that area? I知 thinking of camping there for a few days if there痴 some good riding in the National Forest. Any suggestions are welcome.

Greenhil

Well, now that I’ve been there I can respond to my own post.

I stopped at SpokeNGear in Two Harbors on my way to the forest. I got the impression that gravel riding in Superior NF, is largely untapped. I was told there’s some talk of establishing some routes but for now it’s pretty much free form.

I camped for several nights at Divide Lake Campground and rode a little more than 100 miles in 3 days just in that area. This is a vast forest so I only scratched the surface. I never saw another cyclist or even a bike track. I used a map I bought at Superior National Forest headquarters in Duluth and maps.me on my phone. Neither was totally reliable.

The dirt roads in Superior range from the major thoroughfares, to less travelled but easily rideable, to hardly used and rough. It wasn’t unusual to run into a downed tree or flooded road and sometimes roads petered out into rugged trails. This is big snowmobile country, so what might night be an unrideable road in the summer is a snowmobile trail in winter. ATVs are also permitted on many roads, but I never saw one. All the people I encountered were there to fish or they were heading up to paddle the boundary waters wilderness part of the forest.

There is very little traffic even on the major roads. But those roads tended to have washboard stretches and be less picturesque. The less travelled roads were best (the forest service map was very helpful for distinguishing between roads). Much of the riding was in the form of out and backs; loops are more difficult to find. The gravel was pretty ideal, the terrain was flat to mildly hilly and the deer flies were epic.

fishboat

If you haven't heard/read about the Chequamegon National Forest and CAMBA..check it out. CAMBA is a mtn bike asscoiation, but there's lots of gravel in the area too.

There's a tour-route that I've heard good things about:

The Ride ? Fyxation Gravel Ride And Bikepacking Trip

https://bikepacking.com/routes/tour-...gon-wisconsin/

https://www.cambatrails.org/

fishboat

I was just going through some literature I picked up in the Nicolet National Forest last week and a USDA/USFS brochure "Where to Find Maps" indicates:

https://www.fs.fed.us/visit/maps

has a new release of an interactive map..selecting the biking option and zooming in..all kinds of info. Details on trails/forest roads as well as campgrounds............

indyfabz

Little known tidbit: You think the Interstate Highway system is vast? The U.S. Forest Service manages the largest road network in the country. In mileage, it dwarfs the Interstate Highway system by roughly a factor of 3. I have done a good deal of touring in MT and ID. Over the years I have tried to incorporate more Forest Service and BLM roads into my routes. Saw a bear back in June while on a F.S. road in MT. The campground host and his girlfriend were driving on a nearby road and saw a lion.

Greenhil

I agree many national forests are terrific places to gravel ride. Not all have extensive road systems, but there’s always somewhere to be ride. On the same trip I did Superior NF, I took some long rides in Minnesota’s Chippewa NF and the Little Missouri National Grasslands in ND (loved this place). Didn’t find a lot of gravel riding in Big Horn NF in Wyoming but there seemed to be a lot of mountain biking opportunities on rougher roads and trails there.

fishboat

You mention heading farther west..two other gravel options come to mind.. the Mickelson Trail out by Deadwood/Mt Rushmore and the Bitteroot 300k
https://friendsofcdatrails.org/route...oot-300k-loop/

dedhed

I don't know if you still can, but you used to be able to buy USGS quadrangle topo maps from the USFS. These were modified USGS maps that showed public/private ownership of parcels and approx location of trails. They were what we used for grouse hunting before GPS. They were great for finding hidden pockets of public land.

Wolfhaven

I rode around the Lutsen area in June before the flies got too bad. Can log lots of miles on gravel. Didn't see any wolves or bears this trip but did come up on a big bull moose while crossing a creek. Planning to ride a long weekend before the end of the month. Just getting started on the route planning. There's a few gravel races up there over the course of the summer. Can always ride one of those routes.