"Downieville Downhill"

Me at Packer Saddle.
Today I got to ride the awesome "Downieville Downhill" it was insanely fun. This was the first time I got to rip the DH without having to do climbing first, the descent is a lot more fun with a full tank. For those of you who aren't familiar with this ride, it starts at Packer Saddle and ends in Downieville, it drops 5000 ft in 17 miles! The route includes Sunrise Trail a flowy singletrack with banks and rollers, Butcher Ranch OHV Trail a fast steep fire-road, Butcher Ranch Trail, 3rd Divide Trail, and the 1rst Divide Trail.

Me on the top of Butcher Ranch Trail.
Butcher Ranch Trail is steep, fast, filled with rocks and roots, includes countless small creeks, and has a 700 ft climb afterwords.

One of the many tricky creek crossings on Butcher Ranch.
This trail is my absolute favorite trail and includes the ultra technical "Waterfall" (a big ass rock garden).

Me clearing the "Waterfall".

3rd Divide Trail is a wonderful descent, it's smooth, super fast, and has nice airs. After riding a little bit of Lavezzola Road we took the 1rst Divide Trail, this trail follows old ditch grades from the mining era and goes back and forth between singletrack and wide doubletrack. After a few miles of good peddle work we popped out on the paved section of Lavezzola Road witch takes you to downtown Downieville! In my opinion these are the best trails in the area, and if you haven't ridden these yet you need to get out there! There are two bike shops in Downieville that have a shuttle service and rent excellent mountain bikes, Yuba Expeditions and Downieville Outfitters. Thanks to Morgan Hainline for all the awesome pictures! - Ruffrider