Roads that lead to trailheads, particularly in the West, can vary greatly in their suitability for passenger vehicles. Some roads are passable by sedans with minimal clearance, while others are more suited for 4WD and high-clearance. Many fall somewhere in between – a carefully driven car can make it, but a small SUV would make the experience less nerve-wracking.

Information about road conditions can usually be found online, in guidebooks or by calling a nearby ranger station and can help you know what you’re getting into before you find yourself in a stressful situation.

Biking to the Trailhead

For roads that are a bit too rough for your car, but have adequate parking before the sketchy sections begin, taking a mountain bike to travel these sections can be a viable option. If the road doesn’t gain too much elevation, you can often move along at a much faster pace than hiking and with less effort. While biking with a backpack is not the most enjoyable outdoor activity, it beats tearing up your car’s undercarriage and getting stuck. On the ride back, especially if there’s a moderate downhill grade, you can usually make better time than you would in a vehicle since you can easily weave around obstacles that would require slow and deliberate navigation, even in a lifted truck. I covered three miles and lost 250 feet of elevation in less than fifteen minutes, whereas drivers I spoke with said it took them almost twice as long due to having to slow down for ruts, rocks and washouts that I was able to skirt. If I was hiking, it would’ve taken me nearly an hour to cover the same ground.

Biking can also, if legal and when allowed, allow hikers to bypass gates that block vehicles for seasonal closures, when the road is closed to vehicles but still open to bikes. You can then travel on the road without having to worry about encountering vehicles and access trails or other points of interest much quicker than by foot. You also will enjoy more solitude once behind the gate.

Since you’ll be biking on roads, albeit rough ones, the most extreme mountain bikes are usually not needed to pull this off – but a mountain bike will handle rougher roads better than other types of bicycles. Your normal biking gear and a bike tire / tube flat repair kit are items to have on hand, as pushing a bike along a rough road is even worse than just walking it. A bicycle cable lock to secure the bike at the trailhead is also an item you might want to bring.

The Bike Self-Shuttle

I’ve also found that being willing to bike a few miles of road (including paved roads) can help you self-shuttle when doing a point-to-point hike and open up more options. On a recent trip to Montana’s Pioneer Mountains, for example, biking just under seven miles (with only a mile of that on gravel) allowed me to do a 25-mile trip as a point-to-point rather than having to backtrack. It took me just under 45 minutes, including the drive to my terminus, to set things up. A small price to pay for not having to limit myself to an out-and-back.

In Conclusion

Not all trips will have such convenient logistics, but if you’re willing to bike for an hour or more then you can really expand your options. When setting up a bike shuttle, I’ve found that it is almost always preferable to do the bike shuttle at the beginning – having to bike back to your car at the end of a backpacking trip is much less appealing than arriving back at your car and just having to drive to pick the bike up. Another thing to consider is elevation gain – if you can plan to descend on a bike, that’s a much better option than having to bike uphill with a backpack.

So, don’t let poor roads stand in your way of reaching a trailhead – two wheels can be better than two legs, and in some cases even better than four wheels.

Editor's Note: This Trail Tip by Mark Wetherington originally appeared in Issue 48 of TrailGroove Magazine. You can read the original article here.