Sixbit (FS Road #493)

Dogs Off-leash

E-Bikes Allowed

You are pretty remote. Please be prepared.

In Cascade, turn east from Hwy 55 on Warm Lake Road. Park or camp at the South Fork Salmon River Campground. Ride a few hundred yards to the FS 493 junction and begin up the jeep road. This route is a well travelled road and usually quite smooth.

At about 0.75mi stay straight—if you decide to turn right, in the fall there is a salmon recovery fish trap operated by the Nez Perce Tribe that can be really interesting. Again at about 1.5 miles, stay straight and get ready to climb. The road climbs from here for about 3.5 miles and is very steep in spots. From the summit, the road descends to Six Bit Creek. This portion was a bit rocky and I did pinch flat here.

After crossing the creek, the road is level and fast for a bit before climbing to the second (lower) summit at mile 9. After that, there's a fun descent with views to the South Fork of the Salmon River that ends at Dollar Creek Road (FS Road #495) for a total of 12.2 miles.

To turn this into a loop, cross the bridge and turn right (south) onto FS 474 SFSR Road and ride to the intersection with Warm Lake Rd. Again, turn right (now west) and return your car at the campground. The paved road adds 5.8 miles for an 18 mile total.