So you’ve got a gravel bike – now what? How do you figure out where to ride, especially when you’re not in your own backyard?

We’re still in the early stages of our gravel journey, but we’ve already uncovered some go-to tools and tips for finding and mapping out memorable gravel routes.

RIDE WITH GPS

My guilty pleasure is scrolling Ride with GPS like it’s Zillow. There are nights I’ll lose track of time flipping through routes the same way I can spend hours browsing unattainable real estate listings.

Ride with GPS is probably the number one app for mapping bike routes, so there’s a good chance you’re already familiar with it. My favorite features? The combination of crowdsourced routes and global heatmaps. Heatmaps show where others ride most frequently, so you can spot the tried-and-true roads from the “maybe-don’t-go-there” options.

One hard-earned tip: always double-check someone else’s route against the heatmap. Yes, we’ve been lured into what looked like a fun route—only to end up hike-a-biking through scratchy juniper bushes on an overgrown forest road. That’s a story for another time.

It’s not always easy to pinpoint gravel-specific routes on Ride with GPS. The surface type is usually accurate, but not always. In my experience there are two foolproof ways to identify a gravel route. One is if there’s “gravel” in the route name. The second way is if the route creator is an organization that specializes in gravel, such as the Gravel Field Adventure Guide that I talk about later.

DIRTY FREEHUB

If you don’t quite trust your own route creation, look no further than Dirty Freehub. We stumbled across this website and it has been a goldmine of gravel rides, especially in the Pacific Northwest.

This site offers meticulously curated gravel routes complete with historical tidbits, scenery highlights, and detailed notes about road surface and terrain. It’s ideal for riders who love adventure, but also like to know what they’re getting into.

We recently rode the Cowboy Preacher route in Central Oregon, and Dirty Freehub’s write-up had us fully prepped—from the rocky, tire-rattling stretches to the refreshing (albeit wet) Whychus Creek crossing.

You lose a bit of the uncertainty and unknown with these well-vetted routes, but they make for fun, adventurous rides you can trust.

GRAVEL ADVENTURE FIELD GUIDE

For a small, physical guide to gravel routes, there’s Gravel Adventure Field Guide. These booklets cover select gravel destinations across the U.S. (20+ and counting), featuring ride options, local insights, artwork, and more.

If you can’t get your hands on a physical copy, don’t worry. Most of the guides are available digitally, with routes mapped on Ride with GPS. You’ll also find cultural and historical notes that add context to your ride.

We explored part of the Santa Fe Rail Trail Mixer Loop last year and were blown away by the views. There’s something extra memorable about a ride when you know the story behind the land you’re pedaling through too.

BIKEPACKING.COM

As the name suggests, BIKEPACKING.com focuses on multi-day routes—but it’s still a surprisingly great source for gravel ideas.

Many “overnighters” listed on the site can be adapted into solid day rides (no, I’m not talking about the 100-mile rides with thousands of feet in elevation). Alternatively, you can use the mapped bikepacking routes to scout promising areas and build your own day trip.

For example, I bookmarked the Olympic Bridges Overnighter as a cool introductory bikepacking trip a couple years ago. But while van-lifing through the Pacific Northwest with Matilda, an overnight trip didn’t quite work. Instead, we tackled the 39-mile route in a single day.

We had to skip some of the scenic lake detours due to time constraints (and a dog with a schedule), but it still ended up being one of our favorite rides of the summer.

GET OUT THERE AND RIDE

There’s no one right way to find a gravel route. Whether you use an app, follow a guide, or just pick a line on the map and go, the most important thing is to explore safely and have fun.

The beauty of gravel riding is that it’s as much about the adventure as it is about the destination. And with the right tools, your next great ride is always just a few clicks (and a few climbs) away.

Have your own tips and tricks for finding good rides? Drop ’em below! Let’s hear it!