The shuttle (hit up Yuba Expeditions for shuttles and rental bikes) drops riders at the top of Packer Saddle. From there, the route follows a few different trails including Sunrise, Butcher Ranch, Third Divide, Upper First Divide, and Lower First Divide. However, the route is relatively easy to follow with a good map.

Sunrise is a fast, flowy descent with well-built corners. The character of the ride changes quickly as it drops into the ultra-gnarly Butcher Ranch. Butcher is hands-down the most technical portion of the route, with massive rock gardens and challenging features.

Once through Butcher, the rest of the ride is gravy. Largely comprised of buff bench cut singletrack, the trail flows down the side of a narrow valley with a mountain stream coursing through the valley bottom below. Thanks to long sight lines and buff trail, riders can hit extremely high speeds on this narrow singletrack—but stay aware of other trail users!

While a couple of brief climbs punctuate the descent, they’re over almost as soon as they’ve begun, allowing you to get back to the delectable downhill ripping.

Downieville, California is home to over 500 miles of bike legal singletrack, so numerous alternate routes abound. Stick to the classic route for an easy ride to town, or choose an alternate trail and head deeper into the backcountry—the choice is yours!