Northern California Loop

The tour is described in eight segments, each around a 100 miles longs:

Part I: Willows to Laytonville
112 miles across Mendocino Pass

Part II: Laytonville to Redway
82 miles along the Pacific Coast, including appr 30 miles on Usal Rd, a rough dirt road with steep climbs

Part III: Redway to Eureka
113 miles all paved through coastal redwoods (Avenue of the Giants), across Puma Gap along the Lost Coast.

Part IV: Eureka to Somes Bar
96 miles, most of it on dirt roads through the mountains

Part V: Original Route: Somes Bar to Weed
113 miles around the Trinity Alps and across to Eddies with views towards Mt Shasta

I have been investigating an alternative route through the Trinity Alps via Caribou Rd, 5 miles single track and Coffee Creek Rd. However, I discovered that cycling is not permitted in the Trinity Alps Wilderness and hence this is not a legal option.

Part VI: Weed to Burney
102 miles, on dirt roads, circling around Mt Shasta and through lava land

Part VII: Burney to Chester
93 miles, half of it on dirt roads, the highlight is the ride through Lassen Volcanic National Park

Part VIII: Chester to Willow
108 miles, 1/3 on dirt, crossing the Pacific Divide for the last time returning to the start / finish

This is an 800 mile loop through the best of Northern California. You start in the Central Valley and climb over the Coastal Ridge. Then you move North along the (lost) Pacific Coast and pass through Coastal Redwoods at the Avenue of the Giants.

Lost Coast

Then you turn inland again, go around the Trinity Alps and pass over the Eddys at Park Creek Summit which leads you to the majestic Mt Shasta.

Mt Shasta

After half-circling this vulacano you cross lava land and get to the other big volcano, Lassen Peak. Finally, you decent to Chester and Lake Almanor and then make one last final climb across the Northern Sierra and then down to Chico and across the Valley to close the loop.

Lassen Peak

The route is a mixture paved and dirt / gravel roads and was designed with the goal in mind to show you the best of Northern California while minimizing your exposure to motorized traffic.