Gold Country & Northern CA
Motorcycle rides in Northern California
5 riding roads in Gold Country & Northern CA, each with what it's like to ride, what to watch for, this week's weather and the motorcycle crashes reported along it.
Riding roads in Northern California
- Highway 49, Gold CountryHistoric route through the Sierra foothill gold-rush towns, from Mariposa north to Sierra City.359.8 mi · 282 crashes
- Highway 36 (Red Bluff to Fortuna)Remote, endlessly twisty road across the Coast Ranges.151.3 mi · 31 crashes
- Highway 1, Marin to MendocinoCoastal cliffs and endless bends from Marin through Jenner and Gualala to Fort Bragg.261.7 mi · 162 crashes
- Stewarts Point–Skaggs Springs RoadRemote, very twisty road from Lake Sonoma over the hills to the coast at Stewarts Point.51.9 mi · 8 crashes
- Mattole Road (Lost Coast)The Lost Coast loop from Ferndale over the Wildcat hills to the ocean, Petrolia and Honeydew.80.8 mi · 4 crashes
Common questions
- What are good motorcycle rides in Northern California?
- Riding roads in Northern California: Highway 49, Gold Country, Highway 36 (Red Bluff to Fortuna), Highway 1, Marin to Mendocino, Stewarts Point–Skaggs Springs Road, Mattole Road (Lost Coast). We don't rank them; each page has the route, what the road is like, what to watch for and the crashes reported along it.
- Are the mountain roads in Northern California open?
- Mountain roads close for snow, rockslides, fire and roadwork. Our riding-roads conditions page lists this week’s Caltrans and LA County closures and chain controls for every riding road, and each road page lists the closures for today. Those lists don’t include every closure, so check Caltrans QuickMap (quickmap.dot.ca.gov) before you go.
- How many motorcycle crashes happen on these roads?
- 487 motorcycle crashes were reported along the 5 riding roads in Northern California from 2021–2025. Busier roads have more crashes partly because more people ride them, so the counts don't say which road is riskier.
Other regions
Routes and roads: © OpenStreetMap contributors; maps © Mapbox. Crashes: motorcycle crashes reported along each road or ride, 2021–2025, from the California Crash Reporting System (CCRS). How the data works.