Dirty Freehub

Photo by: Kevin English
Dirty Freehub Featured Route:

Metolius Preserve + Bonus Lakes

Alts & Options Route
~ Sisters, Oregon
This is a really, really great route! The only reason it is not a 5 Star route is that it uses elements of three other 5 Star routes: the Metolius Preserve, Sherman’s March, and GravelCracker 85. We like this route in the fall (Octoberish) when the Larch trees are golden yellow. The route is not too demanding, but there is a significant amount of easy mountain bike single track

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Ride great gravel routes! / 10,000+ miles!

Smiling and riding dirty! Gravel cycling is our passion. We provide free, five-star gravel route guides across the Western USA and Tasmania …. All so you can connect to where you ride … so you can learn about culture, history and the environment. We hope to inspire you to get more involved!

We do this out of our love for exploration, community and giving back! We are a 501(c)3 non-profit, volunteer-driven organization. All of our content is free and open to the public. All that we ask is that when you use a Dirty Freehub route guide, give us a shout out in your social media posts or the other places you share content (like Strava). Our Use & Share With Integrity statment has more information on this.

And … if you think what we do is really cool, and you want to see more routes developed, donating to the Dirty Freehub Project is one way you can make this happen.

Our Newest Gravel Routes

Wydaho One Hundred

5 Star Route
~ Teton Valley, Idaho
Nestled among three different mountain ranges is a beautiful valley that merges the states of Idaho and Wyoming; a valley we call Wydaho. The Wydaho One Hundred follows classic backroads of Eastern Idaho and Western Wyoming, featuring the foothills of the Teton Range and the rugged frontcountry of Horseshoe-Packsaddle Canyon in the Big Hole Mountains. This ride completes a 360-degree circumnavigation of the valley.
Route: Loop | 107 mi
Gain: 7,500 ft
Surface: ~ 75% gravel/dirt, 5% primitive doubletrack, 20% paved
Technical Difficulty: Moderate
Navigation: Attention Required
Locale: Rural
Tire Suggestion: Minimum: 45 mm+; Optimal: 1.9" - 2.4"
eBike Friendly: Yes

Sparta

5 Star Route
Baker City, Oregon
A stunning ride through the countryside of Eastern Oregon with a chance to learn about the history of Chinese immigrants in the region. Big views. A ghost town. And ... a terrific climb!
Route: Loop | 35 mi
Gain: 2,900 ft
Surface: ~ 60% gravel, 40% paved
Technical Difficulty: Moderate
Navigation: Straightforward
Locale: Remote
Tire Suggestion: 40 mm+
eBike Friendly: Yes

Metolius Weekender

Bikepacking Route
Sisters, Oregon
A weekend bikepacking adventure around the Metolius River in Central Oregon.  Spectacular views, secluded dispersed camping, and a spirit for exploration.
Duration: 2.5 Days
Route: Loop | 105 mi
Gain: 7,100 ft
Surface: 95% gravel, singletrack, hiking trail, and paved roads in and out of Sisters.
Technical Difficulty: Demanding
Navigation: Attention Required
Locale: Remote
Tire Suggestion: 40mm+
eBike Friendly: No

Apex Mine

5 Star Route
St. George, Utah
A 100% gravel route through a stunning and fragile landscape filled with caves, mines, free ranging cattle, and the endangered Dwarf Bearclaw Poppy plant in Southwest Utah.
Route: Lollipop | 23 mi
Gain: 2,500 ft
Surface: 100% Gravel
Technical Difficulty: Demanding
Navigation: Straightforward
Locale: Remote
Tire Suggestion: 50 mm+
eBike Friendly: Yes

Milk & Honey

5 Star Route
~ Paisley, Oregon
The Paisley area has been plagued with bad wildfires in recent years, but somehow we found an amazing route that skips the burn areas. Streams, meadows, pine and ponderosa forests and ridge line views … this route is big on adventure and wildlife. (w/ shorter options)
Route: Loop | 47 mi
Gain: 3,100 ft
Surface: ~ 85% gravel / dirt roads, 15% paved
Technical Difficulty: Moderate
Navigation: Attention Required
Locale: Remote
Tire Suggestion: 40 mm+
eBike Friendly: Yes

Whiskey & Gold 60

5 Star Route
Baker City, Oregon
Besides visiting the quaint town of Haines, this route runs across rich, flat farmland and tosses in three historic cemeteries. Distant snow-capped mountains will frame your photos perfectly. This ride is perfect for those getting into gravel; it is much more road than gravel.
Route: Lollipop | 60 mi
Gain: 1,600 ft
Surface: ~ 25% gravel, 75% paved
Technical Difficulty: Easier
Navigation: Attention Required
Locale: Rural
Tire Suggestion: 35 mm+
eBike Friendly: Yes

A7

5 Star Route
~ Tucson, Arizona
Travel the historic Redington road into the San Pedro Valley and explore the lands that indigenous people occupied for over 12,000 years and, more recently (late 1800s and early 1900s), were the lands of some of the largest cattle ranches in the area. For your effort, you will get wide-open views of the San Pedro River valley (beautiful!) and the surrounding mountain ranges. You will pass through a dense pocket of cholla cactus, and ride some fast, smooth, super-hero gravel.
Route: Lollipop | 30 mi
Gain: 2,800 ft
Surface: 100% gravel
Technical Difficulty: Moderate
Navigation: Straightforward
Locale: Remote
Tire Suggestion: 45 mm+
eBike Friendly: Yes

Las Cienegas (Gunsmoke)

5 Star Route
~ Tucson, Arizona
Our favorite Las Cienegas loop; using the best riding roads from the Inner and Outer Loop routes. Miles 12 to 17 are one of the most scenic ridge climbs in the area. You get a true appreciation of the concept of Sky Islands.
Route: Lollipop | 28 mi
Gain: 1,300 ft
Surface: ~ 100% gravel
Technical Difficulty: Moderate
Navigation: Attention Required
Locale: Remote
Tire Suggestion: 50 mm+
eBike Friendly: Yes

Kentucky Grit

Alts & Options Route
~ Tucson, Arizona
Two great 5-Star routes combined into a longer, all-gravel, 5-Star route. Some hard-packed fast roads, some ruggedness, a cool canyon traverse, rolling hills of grasslands and oaks, and vista mountain views.
Route: Lollipop | 41 mi
Gain: 3,800 ft
Surface: ~ 95% gravel, 5% single-track
Technical Difficulty: Moderate
Navigation: Attention Required
Locale: Remote
Tire Suggestion: ~ 45 mm+
eBike Friendly: No

Kentucky Camp

5 Star Route
Tucson, Arizona
Visit the ghost town of Kentucky Camp, ride a short section of the Arizona Trail that is scenic and well suited to a gravel bike, see big views of the Sky Islands, and ride in the oak woodlands of the Santa Rita Mountains --which feel more like Prescott, AZ than the Sonoran Desert just south of Tucson.
Route: Tootsie Roll | 22 mi
Gain: 2,100 ft
Surface: 95 % gravel, 5% single-track
Technical Difficulty: Demanding
Navigation: Attention Required
Locale: Remote
Tire Suggestion: 45 mm+
eBike Friendly: No

Buenos Aires (Rancho de la Osa Start)

Alts & Options Route
~ Tucson, Arizona
This is a version of the classic Buenos Aires route but starts from Rancho de la Osa, a working dude ranch near the US-Mexico border just outside of the town of Sasabe.
Route: Lollipop | 44 mi
Gain: 2,500 ft
Surface: ~ 100% gravel
Technical Difficulty: Demanding
Navigation: Attention Required
Locale: Remote
Tire Suggestion: 45 mm+
eBike Friendly: Yes

Sasabe

5 Star Route
~ Tucson, Arizona
A highly scenic rolling gravel ride through Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge. Get big views of the sacred peak Baboquivari. Visit Rancho De La Oso, an amazing dude Ranch loaded with Hollywood history. Get up close to the "new" border wall. Pop into the Sasabe store for a burrito. Stop at the Buenos Aires Visitor’s Center to learn about the amazing wildlife and storied history of the Refuge.
Route: Loop | 29 mi
Gain: 1,300 ft
Surface: ~ 90% gravel, 10% paved
Technical Difficulty: Easier
Navigation: Attention Required
Locale: Remote
Tire Suggestion: 40 mm+
eBike Friendly: Yes

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