17mi Blairsden to Plumas-Eureka State Park

The ride from the tiny town of Blairsden in the Sierra Valley north of Truckee to the Plumas-Eureka State Park is short — less than 9 miles one way. But it is difficult. The trip includes about 2,000 feet of climbing in its final five miles, and that stretch includes about a mile of flat and rolling pavement. So you get the idea. When you’re climbing on this ride, you’re really climbing. Much of it is on grades of greater than 10 percent, and while we’ve never measured it, locals say one pitch exceeds a 20 percent grade. The ride begins in the picturesque valley that’s a textbook definition of “God’s Country” — with wide open spaces surrounded by looming mountain ranges. The ride climbs to the historic mining town of Johnsville and ends at the state park, which memorializes one of the longest-running active gold mining operations in California. Gold was discovered here in 1851 and the last active miners left in the 1940s.See this link for a map of the detailed route, most of which is on one road. A park and ride lot at Highways 89 and 70 makes a good jumping off point, and this ride can be combined with others to form a longer tour or workout. Source