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If you are interested in doing the section through the Cocoon Mountains a lightweight dual sport is the better choice – if you want to know why see the pic below.
If you will be riding an ADV bike and don’t want to attempt the difficult rocky trails there will be a route to ride around them. There will probably be plenty of sand via one route or another, however.
Stay tuned, maps with mileage are coming soon after I do some pre-running. The goal for this ride will be to leave Davis Station at 9 AM, get to Middlegate Station before 1 PM, enjoy a hearty lunch, then hit the trails back at 2 PM.
This will be a long day ride, but everyone should be back to Davis Station by sundown (7:06 PM).
Rides: KLX450R, KX500 (Project)
Kurt, will the ride route connect to the Dayton Toll Road, at the bottom of Occidental Grade, and ride out toward Highway 50 or take Highway 341, instead?
Good question Greg – I picked 341. The last time I checked the Dayton Toll Road down from Occidental Grade was blocked at the bottom, but that was a while ago.
I currently have us on Occidental Grade to Highway 341, then on to Highway 50. There is about 3 miles of Highway 50 until we turn off at Dayton Valley Road. We’ll cross the bridge there over the Carson River.
BTW, I haven’t pre-run the trail south of the Carson River between Dayton and 95A yet. There are many options between there but we need to find one that is in the B range with no tough, rocky hill climbs.
UPDATE: I decided to shorten the route by starting and ending at Davis Station here: 39.284523, -119.241695. So we won’t be going through VC at all.
Rides: KLX450R, KX500 (Project)
Kurt, in looking at onX using the Private Land ownership layer, I see that the hills between Occidental Grade and Highway 50 through Dayton are a patchwork of private and public (mostly BLM) ownership, so finding a clear unblocked route through could be tough…as your encountering a gate indicates.
I ride both the 341 and Occidental (aka Truck Route) on my DR650 when going to / from Virginia City. Highway 341 down to Highway 50 isn’t very long, and the route does offer some really nice wide open views.
I know of two ways to Highway 95A from Dayton other than Ft. Churchill Road.
One is a trail system that loosely follows the southern bank of the Carson River from Dayton Valley Road to the 95A. I have not ridden it…only studied it a bit on Google Maps…looks like it could be relatively flat.
Another route starts at the end of Dayton Valley Road at the cattle gate. The route is documented on onX as Wild Horse Trail and is rated as a Jeep trail route (see the onX Trail Reports). Distance is estimated at 12 miles to Highway 95A. I have only ridden the first 1/4 of the Wild Horse route. I would estimate it to have a DDMC ride ranking of B+ due to a couple of sections of moderately steep, loose, rutted and rocky two-track. The route might become a royal PITA with any snow melt or recent precipitation.
Dirt: 2022 Kawasaki KLX300R
Dual: 2025 Suzuki DR650Great notes Greg.
I’m looking forward to making it all the way out to the Station.
Rides: KLX450R, KX500 (Project)
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