Highway 70; Feather River Canyon

Motorcycle Roads & Rides > Routes > United States > California

Average Rating - This road has been rated by 4 visitors

State: California
Date Submitted: June 1, 2005
Submitted by: Anonymous
Motorcycle Road Length: 80 Miles Miles

Written Directions

The directions to this route are pretty straight forward. The route mainly is situated about 80 miles north of Sacramento, CA. To take the route, you just need to get yourself to one of the two possible starting points; either Quincy, CA or Oroville, CA. If you start at Quincy, then you'll simply head west on state route 70 all the way to Oroville (about 80 miles). Or, if you start at Oroville, then you'll simply head east on 70 all the way to Quincy.

Scenery

Travel up the Feather River Canyon through what has to be some of the most beautiful scenery in California. You will follow the Feather River all the way up the Canyon to Quincy, one minute your ridding on top of the Canyon looking down (over a thousand feet at times) and then traveling on too find yourself a mere few feet above the passing River. You will experience Waterfalls, pass through Tunnels cut into the rocky side of the Canyon, high Canyon walls, lots of green trees, pass by "older" PG&E power houses. Places worth a look are a couple of "old" resorts (Paxton was built in 1917) and the Keddi Resort. Places to eat or just get a soda include Belden Town and Caribou (no gas)

Road Quality

Road quality is good, you will find more than enough turns "sweeping and tight" to please anyone. They have been retrofitting the many bridges which have one way lights on them. The Highway is regularly patrolled by both the Highway Patrol and the Sheriffs Dept.

Roadside Amenities

As mentioned the Amenities are few and far between, with no gas "that I'm aware of" Belden Town and Caribou have camp grounds and food, There are a couple of other "Resorts" still operating along the road, but you will have to explore them yourself.

There are several rest tops along the route that will accommodate large groups of riders. You may also watch for the Train which follows the same route, sometimes above you and sometime below you. As you are passing through Gold County, watch for old claims like "Rich Bar" (pull out) and other.

Additional Info

- For the Winter Riders, keep in mind that because the Canyon can get cold and damp in the Winter, it also is know for "Black Ice" although I have not had a problem with this myself (I'm up and down the road all year) I do watch my step in the Winter and watch for frost etc. and other signs of freezing and I have turned around and came home on occassion. Also they sand the road during the Winter towards the Quincey end and there is some residue on the road in early spring. - View the weather forecast for this area from Yahoo weather .

Nickname (optional) Anonymous

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Reviewed by Guest on July 22, 2009 (0 out of 0 members found this review useful.)
Creator: debbie
Comment: Just wondering what is the average temps in late august for a ride to feather river canyon
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Reviewed by Guest on July 21, 2009 (0 out of 0 members found this review useful.)
Creator: Rodger
Comment: Definatly stop at Belden, you can get there 1lb burger, a drink, sit out on their patio and look at the river, and play pool fot 50 cents. Nice place to take a break.
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Reviewed by Guest on July 11, 2009 (0 out of 0 members found this review useful.)
Creator: Bill
motorcycle_year: 1989
motorcycle_make: Honda
motorcycle_type: Touring
Comment: As an update, there has been a lot of road and bridge construction on Highway 70, so watch for temporary signals that may be set up at bridge improvement projects. Also there have been areas near the tunnels where large rocks or even an occasional landslide have fallen on the road surface. Be careful, and ride safe.
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Reviewed by Guest on April 21, 2009 (0 out of 1 members found this review useful.)
Creator: Rodion
Comment: To make a nice loop come back from Quincy to Oroville via hwy 162. The road has been recently repaved, offers great views, road quality is very good with most of it twisty with some elevation changes. Fill up in Quincy as there is only one place to stop between there and Oroville at Bucks Lake which is a camp ground with a place to eat and a very expensive gas station.
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