There isn’t much singletrack to ride in the Yosemite area, but there are a lot of gravel/dirt roads to explore. This ride was entirely gravel/dirt and was a nice quiet exploration of the forest surrounding Fresno Dome and the Sugar Pine Railroad.
This ride starts in the forest with Big Creek flowing alongside in a canyon below. We soon passed through a burn area. In 2017, the Railroad Fire burned through 12,047 acres. The forest is growing back but I just fear it will be in time for another. There wasn’t anyone else out here – the road is still closed from winter. The ride is gentle climbing – 19 miles with 2,000′ of climbing, and it was cool so it was fine that there wasn’t any shade on this part.
We passed the Big Sandy Campground where we had to wade across a FREEZING cold stream to continue on our route. Unoccupied campgrounds in early or late season are eerie to me. Further on we passed some great river spots that would be pretty inviting were it hot out. One giant section of trail was completely underwater further towards Fresno Dome. We got wet feet again.
This was supposed to be a lollipop route but there was an “Area Closed for Restoration” sign on the section that was the loop part, so we climbed a little further past Fresno Dome and then turned around. You could continue on several routes for more miles.
This was a nice exploration ride where we were able to get out in the forest alone and enjoy the trees. I was impressed with the massive amounts of giant cedars everywhere. Trees are cool.
Leave a Reply