There is some excellent gravel in our area, almost all on the Minnesota side of the Mississippi. We invite you to explore any way that suits you. You might join us on the our Driftless Cycling-Gravel Facebook page for irregularly-scheduled, low-stress rides (usually setting off from Brownsville, Houston, Ridgeway, or La Crosse). Or you could ride these local, 10-50 mile routes on your own and on your schedule. You could join us for larger “Neo-Retro” rides on Memorial and Labor Day holidays; these no-cost get-togethers take on longer routes and represent our invitations for visitors to experience Driftless gravel. Finally, see our Ride with GPS Ambassador Routes (listed below) for old and new gravel favorites.
Local Routes (10-50 miles)
Here’s a good selection of local short and medium-distance gravel routes; they’re designed to be ridden self-supported — click on individual routes in the embedded map below.
Neo-Retro Gravel Rides (Memorial and Labor Days)
We’ve got an idea, and we call it “Neo Retro” Gravel. The Neo part describes the latest technology in mapping, GPS, and event organizing. The Retro part covers showing up on whatever bike you have, and finishing a great gravel ride with a get-together at a local establishment for food and beverages. Join us Memorial and Labor Day weekends for these longer rides!
What many people call “the spirit of gravel” includes dropping cumbersome rules and expectations. You go ride your bike, meet new people, and have fun. Everybody’s bike is always the right bike; wear what you want and forget the rules. This is what has always worked to make gravel attractive to new riders.
The biggest challenge is often finding a simple way to let those interested know the logistic details: start times, start locations, and routes. For the Neo Retro Gravel rides, we’re going to organize with Facebook pages and Ride With GPS (RWGPS) routes.
With ride apps and route downloads, you no longer have to worry about keeping up with the group because you don’t know the route. Everybody has the route ahead of time, and rides at their own pace to the same finish. We have chosen to go with RWGPS because of the many great planning and navigation features. In addition to creating a great online map, we have the ability to add custom cues for rest stops, points of interest and anything else we can think of.
Since we have paid extra for a RwGPS event account, you can access a lot of the RWGPS features when you ride with us even without paying for your own subscription. The routes are downloadable to your phone or gps device, and our account allows you to access premium features on the RWGPS app (like audio cues) on the day of the event for free. For the truly retro, a printable map and cue sheet are available.
If you are a bit competitive we can create multiple segments to compare with other people doing the same ride. Typically, these would be gravel segments that are cued on the route, along with paved/unpaved percentages on the route overview.
We save the best for last; regrouping after the ride to have some great food and beverages. We generally end these routes near a local establishment to meet and tell stories.
Even if you can’t make it on event day, our routes are designed to be self supported so you can do it on your own. Rest stops such as parks, stores, coffee shops are all marked on the maps so you know what to expect.
The goal is to have as much fun as possible, while at the same time reducing the amount of organization required to put together an event. Join us for a Neo Retro Gravel ride this season!
RWGPS Ambassador Routes
We’ve collected some of the epic gravel and mixed-surface routes on our Ride with GPS Ambassador page here. The routes are free, with downloadable maps and cue sheets; RwGPS membership gets you downloadable turn-by-turn directions for your phone or GPS device but you don’t have to have that to ride the route.
Ridgeway Rampage – 56 miles / 2,644 ft
It’s a fast charge through the gravel backroads, bluffs, and ridges north of Houston, Minnesota. At just over 55 miles, this exploration of the gravel roads of Houston County gives a quick taste of the challenges and delights available when you ride off the beaten path. But don’t sleep on these climbs!
Swede Bottom – 76 / 5,043
It’s a hilly, mostly-gravel tour through the edge of the driftless, including a final gravel descent down historic and secluded Swede Bottom Road. Seventy-six miles, nine gravel sections, and over five thousand feet of climbing are broken up with rest stops in Caledonia and Hokah.
Hokah Hilly Hundred – 67 miles / 4,633 ft
Call it the “Triple H,” a hilly hundred kilometers from Hokah, Minnesota to New Albin, Iowa, and back. It’s got just under 5,000 ft. of climbing over 67.1 miles, with nine gravel sections making up more than three-quarters of the total route.
La Crosse-Nodine-La Crosse – 65 miles / 4,068 ft
Call it L-N-L for short. This mixed road route has every thing it takes to become a classic. Just as Paris-Roubaix has its many sections of pavé, the 65 miles of La Crosse – Nodine – La Crosse has six sections of gravel. Just under a third of the route is unpaved. There are five big climbs, all of them gravel, with over 4000 feet of vertical in 6 miles. Two of them qualify as true Driftless monsters (over 400 feet vertical and 14% or greater grades).
Mini Donut Gravel Enduro-78 miles / 4,068 ft
Sadly the donut shop closed, so we should really re-name this one. But this route gets the remainder of its name from the fact that we sometimes rode it with timed gravel sections and a stop in Houston, where the mini donut shop used to be. Just over 40% of the route is on gravel, making this course harder than you might think — climbing over 4,000 feet with six major hills, this is no ride in the park. But, it is a ride through scenic, hilly Minnesota backcountry!