Bikepacking 101 : Your Guide to Bikepacking Adventure

What is Bikepacking?

Think of bikepacking as backpacking on your bike! You will be carrying everything that you need, which often includes your ‘bed’, ‘house’ and ‘kitchen’ :  think air mattress and sleeping bag, tent and cookstove and pot, unless you plan to stay in paid accommodations each night.

You can simply bikepack overnight on a local national forest or ‘rails to trail’ path, or head out for many months or even years!  Stephen Fabes spent over six years on his 53,000 mile bicycle journey covering six continents!

What’s the Difference between Bikepacking and Bike Touring?

Bike touring means traveling by bike, but you will not necessarily be bike packing.  Bikepackers are carrying their necessary gear,  whereas bike tourers either book their meals and accommodations and/or have their gear transported each day for them.  So you can be both a bikepacker AND a bike tourer, but may not be a bikepacker if you are bike touring.

Where Can I Bikepack?

As bikepacking becomes more and more popular, states are weaving together trails to entice bikepackers to explore their state.  In addition to long distance state and regional trails, there are many super long distance trails across parts of the US worth considering.

Many abandoned railroad tracks, which offer off road, slightly graded paths have been coverted as part of the “Rails to Trails” program.

There are over 2200 trails with almost 25,000 miles of trail!  Grades rarely exceed 5%, meaning you can pedal quite leisurely, and often downhill.  Sometimes, local bike companies can even shuttle you up a section, and then you coast downhill, like along the stunning Virginia Creeper Trail outside Damascus. VA.  The Rails to Trails Conservancy is in the process of weaving together 145 different trails to form a coast to coast trail across twelve states and the District of Columbia.  Once completed, it will run about 3700 miles (over 2000 miles are ready now!), and over 50,000,000 people will live within 50 miles of the trail!  The new trail is called the Great American Rail-Trail, and runs from Washington to Washington DC.  You can help them fill the 95 gaps by donating here.

There are six existing major long distance bikepacking trails in the US (scroll down for maps):

1. Transamerica Bike Route

Over 4600 miles of trail running from Astoria, Oregon to Yorktown, VA.  You bike by the Pacific Ocean, through Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, over the Sierras, through the heartland and Appalachia and into the Tidewater region of Virginia to the shores of the Atlantic.  See map below.

2. Southern Tier Bike Route

Just over 3000 miles, from St. Augustine, Florida along the Gulf Coast and through Alabama, Mississippi and Lousiana (with an out and back spur into New Orleans), across Texas (Austin!) and near the Mexican border in El Paso, and across the splendid desert landscape of New Mexico and Arizona before ending at the Pacific in California.  Warning:  Avoid the deadly summer heat, and try to miss the toughs winter winds!  See map below.

3. East Coast Greenway

Instead of biking coast to coast, why not bike north to south?  The 3000 mile East Coast Greenway will one day connect 15 states from the Canadian border down to Key West.  It’s about a third completely now.  This trail offers beauty, history and culture.  While it’s being completed, you ride quiet paved roads when not on a rails to trail path.  This long distance trail is a great ‘starter’ trail as it has minimal ascents because it hugs the coast away from the mountains.  TIP: Head northbound in spring to enjoy extended spring blossums and wildflowers, or southbound in fall for outstanding and continuous fall foliage!  See map below.

4. Northern Bike Tier

A 4200 mile from Bar Harbor, Maine  to Anacortes, Washington, along the Great Lakes, through the hinterlands of Minnesota and Wisconsin, and up and over the Rockies in Montana and Idaho.  Obviously, you will be dealing with the occasional daunting ascents (the highest pass is 5500′ elevation gain!), but what a way to explore Big Sky country!  Warning:  This route can get buggy!  Watch for ticks, flies, mosquitos and gnats.  The weather is also quite changeable.  The route sidesteps most metro areas.  See map below.

5. Pacific Coast Bike Route

Compared to the others, this 1850 mile bike ride, is ‘short’, but it packs in the views!  The trail runs from Vancouver, Canada [bring your passport!] to Imperial Beach, California.  Extremely busy and you will be competing for the views with vehicles, so defensive riding is a must.  The outstanding views along Highway 101 and 1 and through the Redwood forests make it all worth it.  TIP: Try to ride during the fall for the best chance of dry weather in the Pacific Northwest(and to avoid some of the crowds).  See map below.

6. Great Divide Trail

Hard core riders may wish to tackle the 3000+ mile Great Divide Trail with daily high climbs – over 200,000′ elevation gain!  Ride from Antelope Wells, New Mexico to Jasper, Alberta, Canada [bring your passport!]. The Great Divide Trail is the world’s longest off road bike route, and it weaves back and forth across the Continental Divide, often with 10,000′ elevation gain in a day!  TIP: You need wide tires for the unpaved surfaces.  Due to snow, this route can only be done in the summer.  Also, you will often be in extremely remote areas, so plan supplies accordingly.  See map below.