Tour of the ASRA with No Road Riding - Nates Pretzel Loop

Dogs Unknown

E-Bikes Allowed

Features Flow

This ride avoids the Clementine Climb featured in the original ASRA Tour; this is all to avoid riding on pavement, and keep you on almost all singletrack! The only times you'll be on the road are when you're crossing from trail to trail, but you'll never be riding on the road as part of the ride (with the exception of a very short stint after Calvert).

The majority of this ride is rated blue. The Culvert Trail is the only section that is rated blue-black if rating is a concern.

This ride will connect: Foresthill Divide Loop to the Connector Trail , take you down Culvert Trail, and loop you back (while avoiding the road) back to Connector Trail to the parking lot!

This ride is routed with a pit stop at the parking location (start location). Burned about 80% of a 320 wh battery on a SL emtb riding mostly on eco mode for reference.

I recommend taking at least one break after about 1.5 hours at least and bringing plenty of food and water for the distance and time time you'll be riding. You can store extra food in the car if you use the parking marked on this route!

The cost of parking is $10 a day. It can be handwritten (bring cash for this, there will be a box with envelopes to leave money) at the parking at the start of this route, or it can be bought at the ranger station near the Clementine area. There is also an option to get a Poppy pass that costs $120 a year and be used in a huge amount of parks around the state (also at the ranger station). There are also free parking options just down the road and throughout the park, but those will be at your own risk.

This is a great loop if you want to avoid the Clementine Climb (since nobody loves climbing on pavement) and keep it all singletrack! This ride stitches together some of the best trails in ASRA while keeping things fun, flowy, and scenic.

You'll start on the Foresthill Divide Loop, which is a great warm-up. It's a well-maintained, rolling singletrack with a mix of hard-packed dirt and some loose gravel section doubletrack. You'll get a good mix of short climbs and smooth descents, nothing too technical, but enough variation to keep things interesting.

Once you connect to the Connector Trail, you're in for a real treat. This section is pure flow, especially heading southwest—a mix of fast sections, tight turns, and some punchy little climbs (mostly heading back). Expect incredible views of the American River Canyon as you ride along the ridgeline. There are several points where you can take a picture of the vistas.

The Fun Part – Culvert Trail (Blue-Black)
Here's where the ride gets spicy. Culvert Trail is rated blue-black, meaning it's a bit more advanced than the rest of the route. This is a fast, fun downhill with bermed turns, a few small jumps (all rollable if you're not into catching air), and the famous culvert tunnel—a literal tunnel you ride through! It's a unique and thrilling experience, and the flowy nature of the trail makes it a highlight of the ride.

Be careful if your skill level isn't quite there yet—some of the turns are sharp, and the speed can catch you off guard. Take it at your own pace, and if needed, scope out features before committing.

The Return Loop
Instead of taking the road back or doing the original loop that'll take you to Clementine, you'll loop back via Stonewall Trail, Shortcut Trail, and the Connector Trail, retracing some of your steps but keeping it all singletrack. From there, it's a smooth ride back to the parking lot. The return is a gradual climb, but nothing too crazy, and since you've already ridden this section, you'll know what to expect. I recommend pacing yourself on the way back since it's more climbing than descending.

The ride takes about 2.5 hours of riding time with an average speed of 9-ish mph. This route includes a pitstop at the parking lot, which can be avoided. If breaks are included, it's safe to say this will take you about 4 hours to complete.

This area was built for the Auburn dam, but that's about all that's built up around these trails other than bridges.