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The jagged Sierra Buttes above Sardine Lake and its fir forest, the water still
Nick Rickert / Unsplash

Downieville Classic course maps and aid stations

A point-to-point cross country race over the Sierra Buttes on Saturday, then a downhill from Packer Saddle on Sunday for All-Mountain riders, who race both on one bike.

July 31 to August 1, 2027 Downieville, California

The Downieville Classic is a weekend of mountain bike racing in the Lost Sierra, first run in 1995 and today a fundraiser for the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship. The cross country starts in Sierra City, climbs the face of the Sierra Buttes to the crest, and drops down Pauley Creek and the Divide trails to Main Street in Downieville. On Sunday the All-Mountain riders, who raced the XC the day before on the same bike, go again from Packer Saddle on the Downieville Downhill.

The 2027 race is July 31 to August 1. The courses and start times for 2027 aren't out yet, so the map shows the 2026 courses and their aid stations.

T-Mobile ended its service in Downieville in December 2025, and AT&T still has service in town. Download the map before you drive up, and your phone's GPS will still show where you are on the course.

This is an unofficial guide: Goat Maps isn't affiliated with Downieville Classic Mountain Bike Race and Festival. Check the official site before you enter or race.

Downieville Classic course map

Every course's aid stations on the Goat Maps topo map. Each course has a map of its own further down.

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Downieville Classic courses

CourseDistanceClimbingStartTime limit
Cross Country26.7 mi (43 km)3,965 ft (1,209 m)
Downieville Downhill14 mi (23 km)557 ft (170 m)

Downieville Classic Cross Country

Sierra City over the Sierra Buttes and down Pauley Creek to downtown Downieville.

Distance
26.7 mi (43 km)
Climbing
3,965 ft (1,209 m)

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The race calls it 26.5 miles; the 2026 Rider Guide's course map gives 26.7 miles, 3,965 feet up and 5,324 feet down. It opens with the "Trail of Tears," an 8 mile, 3,000 foot climb that starts on pavement and ends on loose, exposed shale doubletrack. Aid comes at about miles 4 and 8, the second at Packer Saddle. From there the 2026 guide sends you along the Gold Valley Rim Trail to Baby Heads, a loose, rocky descent the organizer blames for plenty of flats, and on to the Pauley Creek crossing, which is 30 feet wide and can be 3 feet deep on race day.

The rest is mostly downhill: Pauley Creek Trail, Third Divide, a stretch of Lavezzola Road, then First Divide, an old water flume that needs a lot of pedaling before you roll into town. The organizer plans to keep the Gold Valley Rim Trail, but can switch back to the original route by the Sunrise Trail and the 93 road if heat, weather or emergency staffing call for it.

You have to reach Packer Saddle by 11:30 AM and the top of Baby Heads by 12:30 PM, or you're pulled from the race. In 2026 the pros went at 8:30 AM and the last wave at 8:55.

A rocky peak above green slopes and pines, seen from near Sierra City
Roxy Reynolds / Unsplash

Downieville Classic Downieville Downhill

Packer Saddle to Main Street, for All-Mountain racers only.

Distance
14 mi (23 km)
Climbing
557 ft (170 m)

Take this course offline

Download its map in Goat Maps and you can find the next aid station without a signal.

Open in web map

Only All-Mountain racers ride it, and they earn their start by finishing the XC the day before. The organizer bills it as 15 miles and 5,000 vertical feet; the 2026 guide's map gives 14 miles, 4,730 feet down and 557 feet up, with one water station.

It starts on the Sunrise Trail, a flow trail mostly on private land, then drops into Butcher Ranch, fast doubletrack that narrows to rocky singletrack with a waterfall section. Midway there's a 700 foot climb to Third Divide, and the organizer says that's where the race is won or lost. Third Divide is the fastest part, then First Divide makes you pedal again before a 1.5 mile sprint down Main Street.

In 2026 the pro men started at 8:30 AM, with pros a minute apart and everyone else every 30 seconds, seeded by the previous year's finish times and then by registration date.

A mountain bike parked against an old wooden barn door in Downieville
Nick Rickert / Unsplash

Registration

Entry is through BikeReg, linked from the race's registration page, and the race sells out. In 2026 the All-Mountain class had 460 places and added a Sport category. Online registration for 2026 closed on August 3; XC entries and a limited number of All-Mountain spots were sold at Friday packet pickup, and there's no race day registration.

There are no refunds, though the organizer's cancellation insurance covers some entries if the event is called off for a reason like wildfire. Transfers closed July 29 in 2026. The fee covers aid stations, a catered lunch and the shuttle back to Sierra City, and the net proceeds go to the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship's trail crews.

Shuttles, parking and packet pickup

The fire lookout perched on a rock pinnacle on the Sierra Buttes, with snow below and forested ridges beyond
Curtis Hystad / Unsplash

Sierra City is 12 miles up Highway 49 from Downieville. The organizer strongly suggests carpooling or getting dropped off at the XC start; parking there is at Sierra City Community Park, the Kentucky Mine Museum and along Highway 49 north of town. Free racer shuttles run from the levee just west of Downieville back to Sierra City from 11:30 AM to 4 PM, first come, first served, and the 2026 guide warned they can't carry everyone.

For the downhill, get yourself to Packer Saddle, about an hour's drive from Downieville through Sierra City and Bassetts, then Gold Lake Highway and the Packer Lake road. Park at the saddle or Packer Lake. Shuttles run back up to the saddle after the race.

Packet pickup is Friday 3 to 7 PM at Downieville High School, or Saturday 6 to 8 AM at the Sierra City Community Hall. Bring photo ID. Don't drive into Downieville for it: parking in town is scarce and cars get ticketed and towed.

All-Mountain rules and support

Jagged gray peaks above a dark conifer forest near Sierra City, under a clear blue sky
Emma / Unsplash

All-Mountain riders race both days on the same bike, 42 miles in all. Your bike is weighed and its parts checked before the XC, at Friday pickup or by 7 AM Saturday in Sierra City, and again 30 minutes before your downhill start. Swap parts and you're out of the class. Points go by finishing place in each race, lowest total wins, and a tie goes to the downhill result. Pro All-Mountain riders must finish the XC within 3 hours.

No support or follow vehicles are allowed, and you fix your own mechanicals. On XC day the road below Packer Saddle closes at 8 AM, so anyone heading up to support has to get through before then.

Weather and what to bring

Downieville averages a high of 89°F and a low of 51°F in July, and 89°F and 50°F in August, by the 1991 to 2020 normals; it has hit 109°F in August. The race runs rain, shine, sleet or snow, and the guide says to bring clothing and sunblock for big swings in weather.

Helmets stay on whenever you're riding. Headphones and aero bars are banned, and riders who cut the course, which marshals watch for, are disqualified.

Downieville Classic aid stations and GPS coordinates

For crews and spectators: each place on the map in decimal degrees, latitude first. Paste them into any map app or add them as waypoints in Goat Maps.

  • Sierra City (XC start)

    4,259 ft (1,298 m)

    39.56687, -120.63554

  • Blue Point (aid 1)

    6,463 ft (1,970 m)

    39.58403, -120.67550

  • Packer Saddle (aid 2)

    7,014 ft (2,138 m)

    39.61164, -120.66550

  • Packer Saddle (downhill start)

    7,077 ft (2,157 m)

    39.61450, -120.66661

  • Top of Baby Heads (aid 3)

    6,637 ft (2,023 m)

    39.65023, -120.68654

  • Empire Ranch (aid 4, downhill water)

    3,510 ft (1,070 m)

    39.60436, -120.78137

  • Downieville (finish)

    2,904 ft (885 m)

    39.56084, -120.82702

Downieville Classic FAQ

When is the Downieville Classic 2027?

July 31 to August 1, 2027. In 2026 the XC ran on Saturday and the downhill on Sunday, inside a festival from Thursday to Sunday with a river jump, a log pull and live music.

Can you race only the Downieville Downhill?

No. The downhill is for All-Mountain racers, who must finish the XC the day before on the same bike. You can race the XC on its own.

How long is the Downieville Classic XC?

The race calls it 26.5 miles. The 2026 guide puts it at 26.7 miles with 3,965 feet of climbing and 5,324 feet of descent, from Sierra City to Downieville, with four aid stations.

What are the cutoffs at the Downieville Classic?

Packer Saddle by 11:30 AM and the top of Baby Heads by 12:30 PM. Miss Packer Saddle and you're pulled; if you ride on anyway, you take off your number plate and ride without race support on roads open to traffic. Sweep shuttles go back to Downieville or Sierra City.

How do you get back to Sierra City after the XC?

Free racer shuttles leave from the levee just west of Downieville on Highway 49, from 11:30 AM to 4 PM, first come, first served. They may not carry every racer, so a ride arranged in advance helps.

Is there cell service in Downieville?

On AT&T, yes: its Downieville tower went live in 2023. T-Mobile ended its service there in December 2025, so T-Mobile phones get no regular signal, though compatible ones may still send basic texts and reach emergency services by satellite. Download the course map in Goat Maps before you go: GPS shows where you are without a signal.

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Updated . An unofficial guide, from the organizer's published information. Coordinates from the organizer's course and OpenStreetMap contributors. Photos from Unsplash. Organize a race? We help with course files.