Sweetwater Springs to the Redwoods- Advanced

Healdsburg, CA, US

Route Overview

Wine Country Bikes

Sonoma, California Bike Tours & Rentals

35 mi.
2,424 ft.

From the heart of the Sonoma Wine Country, over the shoulder of Mt. Jackson and into the deep of the Armstrong Redwood Forest; this is classic Northern California riding. Don't let the shorter distance fool you- this little road is packed with challenge and adventure!

Route Details

A short ride but what an adventure! Climb up over the ridge from Healdsburg and enter a place of Giant Redwoods and Wood Gnomes. Enjoy a wild twisting descent and take a detour to Armstrong State Park.

**We suggest you follow this link on your phone to create a free Ride With GPS account and automatically become a member of the Wine Country Bikes RWGPS Club. Installing their free app will then allow you to use turn by turn voice navigation on any Wine Country Bikes routes and download our routes and maps to your phone for offline usage.

From our Bike Touring Center in the Town of Healdsburg, you'll warm up your legs with an easy 6 mile roll down the west side of the Russian River Valley, before turning west onto Sweetwater Springs Road.

The first couple miles of Sweetwater are a moderate 5-7% grade as the vineyards give way to pastureland and then Oak forest, as you climb onto the bench land along the side of the valley. A quick descent drops you down to Porter creek as it twists along the bottom of a Redwood lined canyon. Following the water upstream will keep you climbing higher into the hills until you turn away and climb a final steep pitch (10-15%) for about 1.5 miles up onto the shoulder of Mt. Jackson.

The descent down the other side is steep, twisty and requires caution as there are potholes and gravel on the road. As you drop down you’ll pass an old abandoned mercury mine and take a couple more hard turns before the road levels out and hits Armstrong Woods Road.

On your return trip for just about 3.5 miles along River Rd, you’ll encounter more traffic and the bike lane may have some debris in it, but then you'll finish the final 12 miles on the newly paved, rolling, beautiful Westside Rd.

  • At Armstrong Woods Rd you can turn right and ride just a mile or two into the park to see the ancient Redwoods at Armstrong Redwoods reserve.

  • For food or cold drinks head the opposite way on Armstong Wood Rd to the town of Guerneville. Just before the traffic light at River Rd on Left will be Coffee Bazzar-sandwiches, smoothies & pastries.

  • Around the corner to the Right on the main street of town is Big Bottom Market that serves delicious sandwiches & made from scratch biscuits.

  • If you'd like to make one winery stop, I'd recommend Twomey Cellars just about 3 miles from Wine Country Bikes.

More resources

We also have Garmin GPS units for rent at $20.00 for 1 day and $5.00/each additional day.

Important Reminders

Safety First! Use caution on the descent- it's steep and rough and the corners are sharp!

We recommend riding east to west due to the quality of the road surface- the descent into Guerneville has a somewhat less bad road surface.

Most of the climb is shaded but we advise to ride earlier on warmer days since the climb is very demanding and it's easy to become dehydrated quickly.

Old Monte Rio Rd will cut off a good section of traffic and it's an experience!

The most appropriate rental bikes for this ride is a Trek Carbon Domane or a Trek 2.1 aluminum road bike.

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