Gravel Routes

This page includes a selection of gravel road routes in the region, with links to maps, cue sheets, and directions to the starting points. The Charlottesville Bicycle Club does not sponsor gravel rides; these routes are included here for your information.

Roads: All routes listed here have a mixture of unpaved and paved roads. With very few exceptions, all are official state roads. Very occasionally, private roads are used as part of a route where there is a historical understanding that cyclists may use them (still, take this with a grain of salt and always be sensitive to their private nature). Please do not use any other private roads without permission of the owners.

The quality of the gravel sections may vary greatly, from fairly well-packed with few potholes to surfaces that aren’t much better than a fire trail.

You can expect plenty of potholes as well as heavy, unstable gravel and/or mud on some sections. Weather and temperature can obviously affect these roads as well.

Equipment: Road bikes are not recommended on any of these routes. A sturdy hybrid, touring, or gravel bike with 32 mm tires or greater is adequate for most of these, but for those with steep climbs and in particular steep, technical descents a mountain bike with at least front suspension is recommended. Whatever the type of bike, mountain bike gearing or something close will be a big help getting over the often steep hills.

Route List: The routes listed below are organized by route name. Detailed locations are shown on the web page for each specific route.

Gravel Routes

Click on Route Name for full information about the route. Distance is in miles. Climb data is in feet per mile.

Starting Point	Route Name	Distance (mi)	Climb (fpm)
Beaver Creek Reservoir Park	White Hall – Millington	30	85
Beech Grove	Reeds Gap – Tyro	23	140
Brightwood Ruritan	Circuit Of Mitchells Mountain	32	80
Free Union School	Free Union – Mountfair	21	105
Free Union School	Free Union – Mountfair	26	105
Greenwood Community Center	Jarmans Gap – Afton	24	110
Grit Coffee – Crozet	Batesville Region – Crozet	18	90
Grit Coffee – Crozet	Batesville Region – Crozet	27	95
Ivy Elementary School	Owensville – Millington	18	95
Ivy Elementary School	Owensville – Millington	26	95
Mutton Hollow	Swift Run – Kinderhook	18	110
Porters Simpson Park	Porters – Simpson Park	25	75
Rivanna Reservoir	Rivanna Reservoir – Free Union	20	75
Rivanna Reservoir	Rivanna Reservoir – Free Union	29	75
Riverheads High School	Greenville Multiloop	34	80
Rockfish River	Helm Mountain	23	105
Schuyler North	Green Mountain – Schuyler	27	100
Schuyler South	Mount Doom – Three Creeks	27	95
Shady Grove	Flat Top Mountain	15	200
Shady Grove	Flat Top Mountain	20	200
South Garden	Heards Mountain	18	105
South Garden	Heards Mountain	28	105
Stony Point School	Stony Point – Cismont	20	85
Stony Point School	Stony Point – Cismont	26	85
Veteran’s Park	Rapidan – Clarks Mountain	31	80
Walton Middle School	Walton School Loop	25	100
Woods Mill	Woods Mill – Nellysford	25	120
Yancy Mills	Batesville Region	24	105