305 mi · 9,700 ft of climbing · high point 7,018 ft · start/finish downtown Napa (First St & Main St)
Ridden Aug 24, 2026 · High Sierra
The ride
Quick and simple getting there. Out of Napa, onto I-80 through Fairfield, Vacaville and Davis, then over to Highway 50 at Sacramento and up through Rancho Cordova, Folsom, Cameron Park, Camino and Pollock Pines.
At Riverton you leave 50 for Ice House Road, which climbs hard and smooth out of the South Fork American River canyon into the Crystal Basin. Past Jones Place you turn off toward Wrights Lake, and the road narrows and gets twistier as it climbs into the granite country on the edge of Desolation Wilderness. The route tops out at about 7,018 ft up by the lake.
Back the way you came, down to Highway 50 and home through Placerville, Folsom, Sacramento and I-80. It's about 305 mi with ~9,700 ft of climbing, a full day without being a killer. Fuel up at Pollock Pines: there's no gas up Ice House Road, and the round trip from there is about 50 mi. Wrights Lake Road and upper Ice House get snow and are only reliably open from late spring to fall, so check conditions with the Eldorado National Forest first.
[Steve: add your full write-up here]
Key roads and highlights
I-80 through Fairfield, Vacaville, Davis
US-50 through Sacramento, Folsom, Cameron Park, Camino
Pollock Pines
Ice House Road from Riverton into the Crystal Basin
Jones Place
Wrights Lake Road, high point ~7,018 ft
Edge of Desolation Wilderness
Home via US-50 and I-80
Gallery
Ride photos coming soon
Not starting in Napa? No problem. Every Two Wheel Touring GPX is a loop that begins and ends at First & Main in downtown Napa, but you don't have to. Join the line wherever it's closest to you, ride any section you like, or flip the whole thing and run it the other way. For step-by-step help in Garmin, REVER, Calimoto, Scenic, Google My Maps, and a free GPX editor, see Riding a route from your own start.
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