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Rocky peaks above green slopes and evergreen trees in Olympic Valley, under white clouds
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Western States 100 course map and aid stations

The oldest 100 mile trail race in the world: 100.2 miles from Olympic Valley, over the Sierra and down through the gold country canyons to a track finish in Auburn.

June 26 to 27, 2027 Olympic Valley to Auburn, California

Western States starts at 5 AM on the last full weekend in June at the foot of Palisades Tahoe in Olympic Valley, and you have 30 hours to reach the track at Placer High School in Auburn. It was first run in 1974, when Gordy Ainsleigh joined the horses of the Tevis Cup ride on foot and made Auburn in 23 hours and 42 minutes.

The trail climbs out of the valley to Emigrant Pass, crosses the Granite Chief Wilderness, then drops into the canyons of the American River, fords the Middle Fork at mile 78 and climbs to Auburn over No Hands Bridge and Robie Point. The map shows the 2026 course from the race's own GPX file. The 2027 one isn't out, but the race has kept the same basic course since 1986 unless snow forces a change.

Download the map before you go. Much of the trail is reachable only on foot, by horse or by helicopter, and the race's radio team says many checkpoints have no reliable cell coverage, some none at all. GPS still shows you where you are without a signal.

This is an unofficial guide: Goat Maps isn't affiliated with Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run. Check the official site before you enter or race.

Western States 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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Western States courses

CourseDistanceClimbingStartTime limit
100 Mile100.2 mi (161 km)18,090 ft (5,514 m)Sat, Jun 26, 5:00 AM30 h

Western States 100 Mile

Olympic Valley to Auburn on the Western States Trail, with the 2026 aid stations and cutoffs.

Distance
100.2 mi (161 km)
Climbing
18,090 ft (5,514 m)
Start
Sat, Jun 26, 5:00 AM
Time limit
30 h

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The first 4.5 miles climb 2,550 feet from the valley floor at 6,200 feet to Emigrant Pass, the high point at 8,750 feet. Your first aid is Lyon Ridge at mile 10.3, and the gap from Red Star Ridge to Duncan Canyon is 8.6 miles. From the high country the course drops into the canyons past Last Chance and Devil's Thumb to Michigan Bluff and Foresthill at mile 62. After that it runs down to the river past the three Cal stations, fords the American River at Rucky Chucky with a guide rope, or rafts in high-water years, and finishes on the Placer High track.

These are the 2026 chart's miles and cutoffs. The cutoffs are for leaving a station, and the ones at Lyon Ridge, Dardanelles, Ford's Bar and Robie Point are defaults, the same as the next station's. At Rucky Chucky crews wait on the near side and the drop bags on the far side. Night stations serve soup, coffee and hot chocolate, and the race is cupless, so carry your own.

aid stations

miWhereCutoff
0Olympic Valley (start) Crew
10.3Lyon Ridge Sat 10:30 AM
15.8Red Star Ridge Drop bagSat 10:30 AM
24.4Duncan Canyon CrewSat 12:30 PM
30.3Robinson Flat Crew, Drop bagSat 2:10 PM
34.4Miller's Defeat Sat 3:15 PM
38Dusty Corners CrewSat 4:05 PM
43.3Last Chance Drop bagSat 5:25 PM
47.8Devil's Thumb Drop bagSat 7:10 PM
52.9El Dorado Creek Sat 8:40 PM
55.7Michigan Bluff Crew, Drop bag, PacersSat 9:55 PM
62Foresthill Crew, Drop bag, PacersSat 11:45 PM
65.7Dardanelles (Cal-1) Sun 2:40 AM
70.7Peachstone (Cal-2) Sun 2:40 AM
73Ford's Bar (Cal-3) Sun 5:00 AM
78Rucky Chucky (river crossing) Crew, Drop bag, PacersSun 5:00 AM
79.8Green Gate Crew, PacersSun 5:50 AM
85.2Auburn Lake Trails Drop bagSun 7:15 AM
90.7Quarry Road Sun 8:40 AM
94.3Pointed Rocks Crew, Drop bag, PacersSun 9:40 AM
98.9Robie Point Crew, PacersSun 11:00 AM
100.2Placer High School (finish) Crew, Drop bagSun 11:00 AM
A granite boulder in front of a forested ridge and rocky summits in Olympic Valley
Earl Wilcox / Unsplash

Getting in

Most runners get in through the lottery. To apply for 2027 you need a finish on the race's qualifying list, 100K or longer and inside its time limit, between November 3, 2025 and November 8, 2026. Applications are open November 1 to 21, 2026 at portal.wser.org, and the draw is on December 5, 2026 in the Placer High School auditorium in Auburn. Anyone can come to watch.

Each year you apply and miss doubles your tickets: 2 in your second year, 4 in your third, then 8. The odds are long: the lottery for the 2026 race had 11,328 applicants for 257 spots, the rest of the 369 going to automatic entrants. For the 2025 race a first timer with one ticket had about a 0.4% chance. The draw also picks a 75-name wait list.

If you're picked you have ten days to register on UltraSignup and pay $575 plus the online fee. Withdraw by May 1 and you get 75% back, 50% to June 9, 25% to June 20, and nothing after.

Getting to Olympic Valley and back from Auburn

A tall steel bridge across a river canyon in the Auburn State Recreation Area, seen from a lower road bridge
Simon Hurry / Unsplash

Olympic Valley is on Highway 89 between Tahoe City and Truckee. Reno's airport is the closest with airline flights, about an hour's drive, and Sacramento's about two. The race is point to point, so plan how you and your car get from the start to Auburn, which sits on I-80 between Sacramento and Reno.

Book a room as soon as you're in: the race says most motels fill by January or February. Truckee is 20 minutes from the start and Tahoe City 15. At the finish end, Roseville and Rocklin are 15 to 20 minutes from Auburn. In 2026, runner check-in ran from 9 AM to 1 PM on the Friday and the race meeting was at 2 PM, and both were mandatory.

Crewing and pacing

A river winding through a steep, forested canyon in the Auburn State Recreation Area
Simon Hurry / Unsplash

Crews can meet runners at Olympic Valley, Duncan Canyon, Robinson Flat, Dusty Corners, Michigan Bluff, Foresthill, the near side of Rucky Chucky, Green Gate, Pointed Rocks, Robie Point and the finish. Bring one car per runner (Foresthill is the exception). The roads in are narrow and slow: allow two and a half hours from Olympic Valley to Robinson Flat, where you park at Sailor Flat and take the shuttle. Michigan Bluff and the near side of the river also have shuttles. Green Gate is a 1.25 mile walk from the car, and Pointed Rocks 3/4 of a mile from the state park lot in Cool. Never stop on Highway 49 at the crossing.

Pacers start at Foresthill, mile 62, or at Michigan Bluff if you leave it after 8 PM. Pacers must be 18 or older and only one can run with you at a time. They can't carry anything for you. You can swap pacers at Foresthill, the near side of Rucky Chucky, Green Gate, Pointed Rocks and Robie Point.

Heat, snow and the river

No Hands Bridge, an arched concrete bridge, over a rocky river near Auburn
Curtis Hystad / Unsplash

The race warns that temperatures can run from 20°F to over 110°F. The high country can be cold and some years still holds snow. Down in the canyons, heat and humidity can change your pace a lot, the aid station chart notes. Auburn's June normals are a high around 86°F and a low around 58°F (NOAA, 1991 to 2020). In 2026 it only reached 73°F at the finish, and a record 87% of starters finished.

Almost half the course may be run in the dark, so carry two LED lights and plan to pick one up at Foresthill whatever time you get there. Put warm clothes and a spare light in the drop bags for the night stations. The aid stations won't hand out ibuprofen.

Western States 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.

  • Olympic Valley (start)

    6,230 ft (1,899 m)

    39.19563, -120.23647

  • Lyon Ridge

    7,005 ft (2,135 m)

    39.22384, -120.35350

  • Red Star Ridge

    7,139 ft (2,176 m)

    39.18797, -120.41667

  • Duncan Canyon

    5,741 ft (1,750 m)

    39.11917, -120.48068

  • Robinson Flat

    6,716 ft (2,047 m)

    39.15582, -120.50300

  • Miller's Defeat

    6,086 ft (1,855 m)

    39.11709, -120.52576

  • Dusty Corners

    5,135 ft (1,565 m)

    39.09790, -120.58000

  • Last Chance

    4,528 ft (1,380 m)

    39.11021, -120.62634

  • Devil's Thumb

    4,370 ft (1,332 m)

    39.09595, -120.66461

  • El Dorado Creek

    1,788 ft (545 m)

    39.05022, -120.70925

  • Michigan Bluff

    3,471 ft (1,058 m)

    39.04097, -120.73503

  • Foresthill

    3,271 ft (997 m)

    39.02094, -120.81297

  • Dardanelles (Cal-1)

    1,886 ft (575 m)

    38.99474, -120.82975

  • Peachstone (Cal-2)

    1,722 ft (525 m)

    38.97452, -120.86057

  • Ford's Bar (Cal-3)

    971 ft (296 m)

    38.95443, -120.85949

  • Rucky Chucky (river crossing)

    735 ft (224 m)

    38.96264, -120.93066

  • Green Gate

    1,427 ft (435 m)

    38.95090, -120.93078

  • Auburn Lake Trails

    1,450 ft (442 m)

    38.92682, -120.95053

  • Quarry Road

    768 ft (234 m)

    38.92620, -120.98814

  • Pointed Rocks

    1,572 ft (479 m)

    38.89522, -121.02357

  • Robie Point

    1,181 ft (360 m)

    38.89241, -121.05387

  • Placer High School (finish)

    1,296 ft (395 m)

    38.89472, -121.06780

Western States FAQ

When is Western States 2027?

Saturday June 26 to Sunday June 27, 2027. The start is at 5 AM in Olympic Valley, and finishers have until 10:59:59 AM on Sunday in Auburn.

How do you get into Western States?

Run a qualifier from the race list (100K or longer, within its time limit) in the year before, then apply for the lottery in November. The 2027 draw is on December 5, 2026. Tickets double each year you apply and miss.

Why is the Western States field so small?

The trail crosses the Granite Chief Wilderness at about miles 6 to 10. When Congress created the wilderness in 1984, the race was allowed to stay as long as it didn't grow past that year's 369 starters, and the Forest Service permit still holds it there.

Where can pacers join at Western States?

At Foresthill, mile 62, or at Michigan Bluff, mile 55.7, if you leave Michigan Bluff after 8 PM. Pacers can then change at the near side of Rucky Chucky, Green Gate, Pointed Rocks and Robie Point.

Is there cell service on the Western States course?

Not much. The race's radio team says many checkpoints have no reliable cell coverage, and some have none. Download the course map in Goat Maps before you go: your phone's GPS still shows where you are without a signal.

Is Western States part of the UTMB World Series?

Yes, since 2022. Finishers in 2025 earned four Running Stones toward the UTMB World Series Finals lottery in Chamonix. Western States itself is run by its own independent nonprofit foundation.

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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.