Winthrop Gravel Tour

Event Description

Experience the adventure of the 2025 Winthrop Gravel Tour – a three-day, small-group bike ride through the stunning Methow Valley. Winthrop is your chance to get off the road and boldly ride where no velodrome racer or electric car has gone before.  

Just East of the North Cascades starts the Methow Valley, surrounded by vaulting foothills and ravines with the beauty of mountains, lakes, and rivers all around. From the post-frontier town of Winthrop, we’ll venture into the hills of this stunning landscape in the way nature is best embraced – by bike.

Cascade presents the third year of the Winthrop Gravel Tour – a rolling journey beyond bike lanes, multi-use pathways, and overrun autobahns. Each day’s loops will alternate between gravel, backroads, dirt-track, and pavement, finished with a gentler, smoother last stretch back into town to be able to look up at the scenery again and think about how good that post-pedal refreshing beverage will be. Ridership is capped at 200 riders in 2025, making for a delightfully social and close-knit experience.

Register today, as this event sold out in 2023 and 2024. The Winthrop Gravel Tour is a fundraiser for Cascade Bicycle Club's programming in advocacy, education, and community rides.

Communications to Riders

• We send two e-mails in the weeks before the tour to help you prepare.
• An optional Winthrop Zoom info session is available to riders on April 23. Register for free today. 

Registration

Registration opened to members on February 11 at 10 a.m. and opened to the public on March 4 at 10 a.m. Register early and save your spot!

There is NO registration available at the start line. We have very strict limits set by our permits and we cannot accomodate walk-ups or exceptions due to forest permitting.

Route

• Routes are subject to change for 2025. We anticipate minor changes to the third day's route and to the start line location.
• Please wait until the day of the event to download the map.
• Each day offers a shorter loop that cuts off a third to half the ride.

Click through to see the full map on Ride With GPS.

Event Schedule

Friday | Winthrop Town Trailhead - Thompson Rd - Aspen Lake

Everyone gets to sample three types of gravel routes their first day. Starting from the Trailhead at the beginning of Twin Lakes Rd to reach Patterson Lake. Just before, the short loop veers down Elbow Coulee. Full loop circles the lake to then climb up & over the infamous Thompson Road Nordic Ski Trail, a favored off-road biking route along the ridge down from Sun Mountain once the snow is gone. A turn along the Twisp River cruises beyond Elbow Coulee and up Frost Road, past Aspen Lake, then steeply down a narrow, rocky track to Elbow for Lunch.  Everyone returns back down Patterson Lake and Twin Lakes Roads to town.

Saturday | Mack Lloyd Park - Loup Loup - Finley Canyon - Balky Hill - Pearrygin Lake

The hills to the east of Winthrop look smoother and lower, but much winding around and over ridges eventually carries the intrepid up to Loup Loup Pass, the choice ski bowl in the winter, but snow-free alpine woods by June. Options abound on the way back down.

Short route endures just 7.5 miles of downhill on Hwy 20 paved shoulder. Long-loopers enjoy a 21-mile cruise around the top of Finley Canyon and down thru it to find a touch of real roadways before veering off over Balky Hill to the Eastside Rd paved return. Or, take the Bear Creek turn up to the pastoral single-track that leads back to Pearrygin Lake and the downhill cruise to finish.

Sunday | Mack Lloyd Park - Cub Creek - Wolf Creek

Just 42 miles – but what a scenic route we ride. Lots of forested dirt road climbing up along Cub Creek to the 4700' high point of Banker Pass, then turn back down along Goat Creek, and finally switchbacking down the ridge into the Winthrop Valley to return via the Wolf Creek woods on the other side.

Inclusion

Everyone is welcome at Cascade events. We are committed to celebrating and promoting diversity in the bicycling community. We aim to provide safe spaces at start lines, finish lines, and official rest stops. Read our commitment to anti-racism and our participant code of conduct and grievance policy.

We would like to acknowledge that our rides take place on native land. Our offices are located on the traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People past and present.

Cascade Bicycle Club's tour is operated under special use permit with the Okanogan Wenatchee National Forest.

Food & Breaks

Light snacks will be available at the morning check-in.

Lunch is provided and includes fresh fruit, sandwiches (gluten free and vegan options), chips, and other snacks and drinks.

Additional water and snack stations will be posted as needed.

Join us for social gatherings at local establishments on Friday and Saturday evening.

Where to Stay

Partnering Hotel & Campgrounds

• AbbyCreek Inn 1006 Hwy 20,  Winthrop. 98862.  Instructions for booking are in your registration confirmation email.
• Pine Near Park 326 Castle Ave, Winthrop  98862. Campground offers a diverse range of accomodations, from RV spots, tent camping, cabins, and tipis. Please book by calling (509) 341-4062.

Recommended Stays

• Methow River Lodge & Cabins 110 White Ave, Winthrop, WA 98862
• Hotel Rio Vista  285 Riverside Ave, Winthrop
• River Pines Inn  144 Bluff St, Winthrop
• Observatory Inn 237 Castle Ave, Winthrop

Camping Options

Campers should prepare for cold nights and hot days.

• KOA Winthrop 1114 State Rte 20, Winthrop, WA 98862
• Pearrygin Lake 561 Bear Creek Road, Winthrop, WA 98862

Unique Local Stays

• Methow Reservations Find local cabins, rustic huts, and other unique locally-owned options. 

Support During the Ride

This ride is supported by Cascade staff and volunteers, many of whom are Winthrop locals!

Riders must check in in the morning, at lunch, and at the end of the riding day so that we know everyone has made it safely off the trails and forest roads. Many parts of the route are outside of cell service.

Support and gear (SAG) vehicles are present on the route and dispatched when you call the ride support hotline. SAG vehicles can transport you and most models of bikes in the event of a mechanical or minor medical event. You should always call 911 in a life-threatening emergency. Outriders and Cascade staff will be on route on bike to support you.

Weather

June weather can bring many things in Winthrop: rain, snow, extreme heat, and lots of sun. Morning temperatures may vary drastically from midday temperatures. In 2023, we experienced high temperatures and heat; in 2024 we got snow and low 30s. We await what 2025 brings!

Loup Loup Campground is the summit on Day 2 and the elevation there means that it can be subject to very different conditions from the start location. 

Wear or bring layers to have available on your bike with you. We recommend having a medium-sized bag on your bike so you can carry extra snacks, a small First Aid kit, extra layers, and a third water bottle or drink. 

Get your bike tuned up and in shape to ride on gravel and roads. Bring front and rear lights, backup batteries, install fenders, service your brakes, and clean your chain.

E-Bikes

E-bikes are permitted on most of this ride. At the end of Day 2, Pearrygin Single Track does not allow any classes of e-bike along it. (Nor do Winthrop Trail or Methow Community Trail, which are not a part of this year's ride, but know you cannot go off on your own on those local options.) Alternate paved roads will be supported by SAG vehicles and represent only 5 miles out of this 144-mile tour, meaning that e-bike riders get to experience much of what non-e-bike riders do.

Training

The Cascade Training Series is a 12-week ride series designed to prepare you for long-distance and multi-day rides. Riders of all paces will not only building their strength and endurance, but also their confidence.

To help you prepare for this ride, you can also check out our extensive schedule of Free Group Rides in the Puget Sound area. Find rides that fit your schedule and desired pace and distance. In addition, we are offering a first-ever Gravel Cycling Techniques Class for riders who want to learn technique for crushing gravel.