Sierra Nevada Adventures Multi Day Rides

TRAIL OF TEARS ADVENTURE RIDE 2-Days

Ready to EXPLORE an amazing off-road ADVENTURE ride on the tragic “Trail of Tears” route in the wild and scenic North Coast Range to beautiful Fort Bragg on the Pacific Coast in Northern California.

The Trail of Tears ADVENTURE ride follows the tragic footsteps of Native American people on the historic Nome Cult Trail known as the “Trail of Tears”. This historical adventure ride traverse’s amazing off-road route through rugged mountain terrain and majestic Redwoods to the picturesque Pacific Coastline. Your journey begins in the small valley town of Williams, known as the gateway to the Northern California hunting, fishing, and off-road mecca. Your off-road adventure begins a short distance west of William’s as your journey ventures into the Mendocino National Forest. Interestingly, Mendocino National Forest is the only National Forest in California that doesn’t have a paved major road entering it, a testament to its remoteness, despite its relative proximity to the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento.

The remote Mendocino National Forest is a natural wonderland noted for being the only one of California’s twenty National Forest that is not bisected by a paved road. It is also noted for having remarkable oak diversity and some of California’s largest mountain lion and black bear populations, and was once the home of a large number of California Grizzly Bears. Despite these natural wonders, the Mendocino National Forest has also been the setting for the genocide of Indigenous people. The Trail of Tears Adventure ride provides a glimpse into this tragic history by following in the footsteps of the “Nome Cult Trail” in today's remote Mendocino National Forest.  

History of the Nome Cult Trail: In 1863, Native American Indians from Northern California were forced to relocate to today’s federally recognized Round Valley. The Nome Cult Walk forced relocation of 461 members of the Concow, Nomlacki, Pit River, and Maidu peoples from Chico in Butte County on the eastern edge of the Central Valley across what is today the Mendocino National Forest to Round Valley in Mendocino County. Only 277 survived the 100-mile journey. Those who survived joined the Yuki, Wailacki, Little Lake Pomo, and Nissinan peoples already been forcibly moved to Round Valley. The Nome Cult Trail enters the Mendocino National Forest on the east on Tehama County Road. This steep road climbs west from the floor of the Central Valley to near the crest of the Coast Range, then descends through the forest and eventually connects to Round Valley. Beyond Round Valley, your journey travels along the Eel River before venturing deep into the forest on one of the most remote and scenic dirt roads in the North Coast region. This seasonal, unpaved off-road route takes you through the Noyo River watershed and beautiful redwood groves, including lush ferns and jungle plants on this amazing adventure ride!  

The Trail of Tears Adventure ride explores the beautiful North Coast Range that contains four different wilderness areas, including Snow Mountain Wilderness, Sanhedrin Wilderness, Yuki Wilderness, and the Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness, which it shares with both Trinity and Six Rivers National Forests. Several important rivers run through the range, including the Eel River, Rice Fork of the Eel River, Middle Fork of the Eel River, Stony Creek of the Sacramento River, and Black Butte River. The largest lake in this forested landscape is Lake Pillsbury, which is also a popular camping and boating site.

The mountains in this remote region are part of the Northwest US Coast Ranges. These peaks extend from the US border with Canada British Columbia, south through Washington, Oregon, and California to the San Francisco Bay Area. The majority of the bedrock in these ranges are Tertiary, Cretaceous, and Jurassic in age. Many of these rocks are sedimentary in origin but feature a large number of igneous intrusions. Additionally, the region has been extensively folded and faulted. These processes are responsible for many of the geological structures that we see in the region today. 

The region in and around the remote mountain terrain was a popular location for mercury mining during the height of the California Gold Rush in the Sierra Nevada. Although mercury itself isn’t as valuable as gold, it was critical for the extraction of gold from gold ore, so it was heavily mined during the mid to late 1800s. In fact, the Cache Creek Basin, whose north fork starts in the Mendocino National Forest, contains a substantial quantity of Cenozoic-era cinnabar deposits. Cinnabar is a bright red mineral that is one of the most common ores used to produce elemental mercury.

Day two of your adventure begins in Fort Bragg as you travel along the scenic Pacific Coast, then before long, your journey veers away from the coast on a different route than your first day ride. This second day ride explores an amazing route with a combination of back roads and off-road routes through deep forest and rugged mountains through the Coast Range and Mendocino National Fores,t back to Williams to provide an amazing two-day adventure ride!