United States of America

If you are new to cycle touring, the U.S. is a great place to start. You'll find untrafficked paved roads, an abundance of cycling specific maps (the ACA offers many resources), and lots of other touring cyclists on the road. Click here for all of our blog posts from our time biking and backpacking through the US.

1) Food and Water

Pretty much any town or city will have a grocery store, and tap water is always drinkable unless otherwise indicated. 

2) Shelter

Highway 12, Idaho

 You can always camp for free on BLM land, and often natural areas have free or cheap campsites. Many areas along the west coast offer discounts for hiker/bikers. After the high season for camping and cycling in the summer, campgrounds were often closed, but all the better! Closed campgrounds are quieter; just leave no trace and be self-sufficient with food and water.  

In small towns, usually it is fine to camp in the local park. If you're looking for a bed, there are lots of Warmshowers and Couchsurfing hosts. Hotels are very expensive and we avoided staying in them unless someone else was generously sponsoring us.

3) Route Choice 

Most cyclists heading south follow the Pacific Coast Highway down the west coast, and a number of others follow the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route through Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. We thought the ocean would get boring after a while and took to the mountains instead, but on paved routes in California and Oregon, not the Great Divide. There are an overwhelming amount of good road options in the U.S. Even remote back roads are often paved or have a smooth bikeable surface. Get creative!

Our Route 

Montana 

We entered the U.S. at Chief Mountain, on the northeast side of Glacier National Park. Going-to-the-Sun Road through the park was super scenic, very gradual, and fairly easy. Definitely recommended. From the top of the pass, we climbed Oberlin Peak and were rewarded with an incredible view of the park! Also don't miss Jammer Joe's all-you-can-eat lunch buffet at Lake McDonald Lodge! 
From June 15 to Labor Day, parts of the Going-to-the-Sun Road are closed to cycling between 11 am and 4 pm.

Tam riding the Going-to-the-Sun Road, Glacier National Park, Montana

From Glacier we went to:

Our route through Montana, Idaho, and part of
Washington

Kalispell 

The road through Columbia Falls to Kalispell was trafficked and sometimes without a shoulder. Not a good biking road.

Missoula

This town is the home of the Adventure Cycling Association; stop in to check out their museum/office/cycling heaven! The town is super bike friendly and has a great farmer's market as well.

Idaho 

Highway 12

If you're traveling west, you'll hit Lolo Pass on the Montana-Idaho border, and almost all of scenic Highway 12 through Idaho follows rivers gradually downhill. There are two fantastic natural hot springs along the way, Jerry Johnson (clearly signed) and Weir Creek (look for a small sign barely visible from the road). Near Lewiston the traffic picks up, but without the shoulder increasing as well. It's worth trying to avoid the city; at least take the bike path along the river. 

Washington 

Walla Walla

A little farming city that is just entering the world of wine. Roads in and out are decent but trafficked near the city. In visiting Walla Walla, we just cut through the corner of Washington. If we went back we would ride through the Olympic Peninsula and the Cascades. We've heard from numerous people that these are spectacular areas. 

Oregon 

The Northeast

Our route through Oregon

We went south to Pendleton then took small roads to Heppner, Spray, and Mitchell. There were some big climbs, but we only saw about three cars per day and the expansive landscape is beautiful. The 395 had very little traffic as well, unlike its counterpart in California (see below). All paved roads. Hot in the summer.

Bend

Entering from Prineville was a nightmare in places, but probably exacerbated by the fact that we arrived at rush hour.  Once we got into the city, Bend is an awesome outdoorsy town. There are lots of bike paths and parks, and if you're into beer, this place is bursting with microbreweries. For bike repairs, the folks at Sunnyside Cycles were super helpful and knowledgeable. Just to the west of town is the beautiful Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway and the Three Sisters Wilderness, where we went backpacking. There are no fees, and the volcanic landscape is spectacular. 

Crater Lake National Park

This park, though small, touts a scenic rim road, the highest paved road in Oregon, some great trails, and an all-you-can-eat buffet at Annie Creek Restaurant on the west side. As cycling increases in popularity, the park service is doing Vehicle-Free Days on a few weekend days in September. See here for details.

Klamath Falls

Pedal by as fast as you can.  There's no shoulder for most of the approach; watch out for traffic. 

Crater Lake sunrise from the tent

The entrance to a cave in Lava Beds
National Monument

California 

Lava Beds National Monument 

Once past Klamath Falls, traffic dies down towards Merrill, and the border crossing into California was so quiet on our little back road that there wasn't even a "Welcome to California" sign. Tule Lake is a great place for bird watching, and Lava Beds National Monument offers superb caving. Since you're an able-bodied cycle tourist, you'll have no trouble exploring even the advanced caves (crawling sometimes required). Just grab your bike helmet and a headlamp (with charged batteries), and go for it! We found the park staff to be really welcoming and friendly. Definitely worth a stop! 

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Leaving Lava Beds, the back roads we took were so quiet and free of cars that we could listen to podcasts while riding. Once we got on the 299 at Bieber, traffic got really bad. The 299 and the 89 into Lassen were bustling with logging truck traffic. This is the closest we've ever come to being hit by a truck. The recent forest fires in the area probably increased the amount of logging traffic, so the road may hopefully be better in other seasons. Once in the park, riding over the mountain pass was peaceful and beautiful. We took some time to do a couple short hikes as well. 

Our route through northern California
Oregon border to Merced

Highway 89

This road is part of a route mapped and recommended by the Adventure Cycling Association. There are solid mountain climbs and plenty of wild scenery. However, there is often little to no shoulder on the road and a fair amount of truck and car traffic. I wouldn't do it again. 

Lake Tahoe 

We took the road along the west side of the lake. There was a good shoulder, then a bike path for much of the way. Friends told us that this side was safer for cycling and we found it to be a pleasant ride. 

Monitor Pass

Out of Lake Tahoe there are several mountainous options for roads to take south. We climbed up Monitor Pass, a steep and gusty but excellent ride. It is included in a race called the "Death Ride," if that tells you something about the grade.

395

To ascend Tioga Pass in Yosemite, the only access point from the east is Highway 395. Riding was okay in parts, but by the Walker River north of Bridgeport, unpredictable and extremely gusty winds started blowing us off and into the road. There was little to no shoulder and sometimes heavy traffic. After a little while riding on this road, we accepted a ride from a passing cop, who brought us to Lee Vining, at the foot of Tioga Pass. 

Side note: we biked the southern section of 395 from Lone Pine to Victorville as a training trip. There is a large shoulder the whole way, but there can be a lot of traffic and miles of dry, windy desert. Not a great ride. 

Yosemite National Park

Fall colors in Yosemite

Because of the sheer numbers of rubber-necking tourists in cars, it can be tricky to visit Yosemite on bike. The Tioga Road up and over Tioga Pass is narrow and can be choked with traffic in the summer, so the best time to bike is in the off-season.  Understandably, the road closes for snow in the winter, so aim to be there in late fall just before the snow hits or in early spring right after the road opens. Unfortunately, the campgrounds along the road close in late September regardless of snow, and it becomes illegal to "park" overnight on the road after early October - and that includes bikes, too, for whatever reason, so you can't spend the night in the area.  You must bike from the park entrance at Tioga Pass to either the campground at Crane Flat, 47 miles later ( if it's open), or all the way to Yosemite Valley, 62 miles later. These distances assume, also, that you're spending the night at one of the Inyo National Forest campgrounds near the park entrance (if they're open, too). This website has detailed information on road and campground opening and closing dates.

What all this means for any reasonable and self-sufficient bike tourist faced with good weather in late fall is, of course, stealth camping.  We hid our bikes in the woods, stored smellables in the bear boxes at the closed Tuolumne Meadows campground, and went backpacking.  After we returned and picked up the bikes, we stealth camped along the road, but not well enough, apparently, because someone reported us.  We were fined $120 by the park service.  Not only was it illegal to "park" overnight, but bikes are illegal to have anywhere over a quarter mile from the road.

Our zigzaggy route through southern
California

Despite the difficulties to late fall bike touring on the Tioga Road, Yosemite is an incredible park and definitely worth a visit.  Once you're in the Valley there are lots of bike paths, and it's super easy - and probably fastest - to get around on two wheels.  For the rest of the park, get a sturdy backpack. 

The Central Valley 

From Yosemite we took a bus to Merced.  Highway 140 looked rideable, narrow with little traffic to Mariposa, where "flat and boring" are the key descriptors, but we took a bus because we needed to be in Monterey on a certain date. Past Merced, small roads took us through flat and buggy farmland. There is only one paved road option out to the coast, Highway 152. This road has a huge shoulder for the whole way except for near the top of Pacheco Pass, where there is a paved drainage ditch which we used as a bike lane. On the other side of the pass is some sort of local fruit and candy wonderland that is definitely worth a stop. Some other cyclists we talked to later told us that there are some solid dirt roads across the mountains which would definitely be a better option to avoid traffic. 

The 152 connects to the 156, then the 101. These roads had traffic, but in most places we had a shoulder. From the 101 we took Crazy Horse Canyon Road into Salinas, the former home of John Steinbeck. 

Pacific Coast Highway (PCH or CA-1): Monterey - Ventura

This route section is extremely popular among cyclists, and there is a lot of good bike touring infrastructure. Campgrounds are everywhere, but prices have skyrocketed in recent years. Bike lanes and paths are also easy to come by, but there are many sections where you have to be careful of traffic. South of Monterey in the Big Sur area, the road becomes hilly and windy with no shoulder and a steep dropoff down to the ocean. The view is beautiful, but be aware of drivers who are looking at that and not at you. 

California poppy next to Highway 1 and the Pacific Ocean

Attractions include Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, Pfeiffer State Beach, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, elephant seal rookeries, Hearst Castle, and the rare California coast zebra near San Simeon!  Good luck not confusing all the Pfeiffers.

Santa Clarita

We took Telegraph Road out of Ventura. There is a shoulder, and the road is lined with fruit orchards. Entering Santa Clarita was a bit of a challenge due to construction, but once in the city there are a lot of helpful bike lanes. 

Palmdale 

Soledad Canyon is a calm, beautiful road, but when it meets the Pearblossom Highway, traffic conditions become horrible. We walked our bikes on the side of the road rather than risk riding in high-speed, continuous traffic. Luckily it's only a short distance to Barrel Springs Road, which is quiet and scenic, a great biking road. We didn't bother actually going into the town of Palmdale. 

Wrightwood 

We took N4, the Big Pines Highway, up over a mountain pass onto the Angeles Crest Highway and into Wrightwood. There is hardly any traffic on this road and the climb is gradual, a great ride! 

Crestline

From Wrightwood we took Lone Pine Canyon Road, a quiet and scenic option, downhill to Highway 138, which we took up to Crestline. The 138 has more traffic than the Angeles Crest, but not so much as to make the ride unenjoyable. The 13-18% grades up to Crestline provide quite a challenge.

San Bernardino Peak, San Gorgonio Wilderness

Rim of the World 

Highway 18 to Big Bear 

This highway is filled with people from Los Angeles who have no idea how to bike on mountain roads. The view of LA sprawl is pretty astounding, but I would not recommend this road due to the traffic.

Big Bear Area

The north side of the lake is a lot quieter and more enjoyable for biking, although the ride around the whole lake, including Baldwin Lake, is a fun one, one of our favorites. We rode Highway 38 up over Onyx Summit to our old home near Angelus Oaks, and then down into Redlands. This fun ride is frequented by road cyclists from Redlands and the Inland Empire, but traffic can be dangerous. No shoulders anywhere.  Jenks Lake Road makes a scenic horseshoe and gets you off the 38 for a bit. Although roads are cleared proficiently when there's a lot of snow, avoid riding through Big Bear because of increased traffic (it's a ski resort town) and because snowdrifts make the roads much narrower. Holidays, also, bring a lot of traffic to the area.

Santa Ana River Trail

This great bike path runs along the Santa Ana River from Waterman Avenue in San Bernardino to the coast at Huntington Beach. There are two completed sections, but they are not (yet) connected so connecting them includes a bit of road riding on mostly quiet roads. The Santa Ana River is not scenic in many places, but we cyclists always appreciate a nice path regardless of the scenery.

San Diego 

From Huntington Beach we followed the Pacific Coast bike route to San Diego. There are lots of bike shops, bike lanes, and camping options. On rare occasions when we had to ride on bigger roads, traffic was heavy, as is characteristic of southern California. For a challenging climb just north of San Diego, take Soledad Mountain Road near La Jolla. It was a steep surprise for us!

Tecate 

From San Diego we took Highway 94 to Tecate. This is a winding, mountainous road which was quite beautiful but dangerous with a fair amount of traffic and a small to nonexistent shoulder.  Then... Tecate!  There are little to no services on the US side of the border.  Rather than camp in the middle of nowhere on the US side, we crossed over and found a cheap hotel in Mexico.