Montana Gravel
June 18-22, 2025
Location: Helena, Montana
Airport: Helena Regional Airport
Price: $4,295
*If you cannot make our noon meeting time on June 18th, we highly recommend flying in to Helena one night early. Upon signing up, we will provide more details on pre-trip hotel recommendations, etc. Transfer to our downtown Helena lodging from the Helena Airport is about 15 minutes.
High country adventure
Helena’s easy access to world class gravel road riding makes this trip an outstanding choice. We will roll through the high plains one day, and be climbing above the Continental Divide the next. We’re never truly that far from downtown Helena, but we’ll always feel like we’re deep in the backcountry. Our Montana Gravel trip is an incredible mix of high country adventure and downtown lifestyle. For 4 nights and 5 days, our guides will show you some of the best gravel roads Montana has, rolling right into evenings on the Carolina House patio with a cold local beverage. We’ll see ya there for a good ol time!
Highlights:
Classic Montana mountain climbing
Views of high alpine flowers and lakes
Riding through the beautiful plains surrounding Helena
Eating food right from the source in heart of Montana’s ranch country
Food
The food at Montana Gravel is a favorite of team chef, Zander Ault. Zander attended the University of Montana, Missoula, and studied Montana’s agriculture system as a part of his Environmental Science degree. The farmers, ranchers, and food producers featured during this trip are either friends or former professors of his from college. It’s an absolute pleasure to share Montana’s food network with each of you while dining at Montana Gravel.
Accommodations
The Carolina House is our homebase for Montana Gravel. Located in the heart of Helena’s mansion district, this unique home has 3 floors, plenty of outside space to enjoy the afternoons, and it’s walking distance to everything that downtown Helena has to offer. If you’re driving to Helena for this trip, there is plenty of available parking, and all of our meals will be hosted on the outdoor deck and patio.
Itinerary
Day 1 - Arrival Day
20 miles, 1,000 feet
Welcome to Helena! We will meet you at our Helena abode at noon to settle into your rooms for the week & enjoy a light lunch by Chef Z. Our mechanic will build any boxed bikes while we eat lunch so that we can head out on our shakedown spin shortly after we finish eating. Our spin today will take us up Grizzly Gulch Road and we will finish up on a gorgeous hillside of Helena overlooking the entire valley. Happy hour as the sunsets over the Elk Mountains, and dinner by Chef Z to follow.
Day 2 - Montana Boogie
40–68 miles, 3,000–6,300 feet
After a nice breakfast on the patio, we’ll head out to ride our classic “Montana boogie” route. Heading south of Helena and once we get deep enough into the woods we will pass the stunning Chessman Reservoir before climbing up and over Remini and into Elliston for lunch. The afternoon today is open with optional massage and a dip in the river. A relaxing evening with happy hour on the deck, followed with dinner by Chef Z.
Day 3 - Strawberry Butte
28–40 miles, 1,500–3,800 feet
We will spend our day riding everything south of Helena and weave around dirt roads with green ferns so lush that you question if you are truly in Montana. Lunch will be at the top of our final climb for the day at the top of Grizzly Gulch. Open afternoon with massage available. Anyone is welcome to join our guide team for a walk down to our favorite watering hole called Blackfoot River Brewery before we settle in for another gorgeous meal by Chef Z this evening.
Day 4 - Marysville Ghost Town
40–70 miles, 3,500–7,000 feet
Today will be an early start to make sure we have enough time to get the most of our day as we make our way out to the Bald Butte hills north of Helena. We will all meet in Marysville for lunch, an old mining town that produced about $50 million of gold in 1900. The afternoon will be spent by the river cooling off after our adventure in the woods all day! Happy hour and another beautiful meal for dinner by Chef Z. For those leaving early tomorrow morning, our mechanic will box your bikes up this evening so you’re ready to depart on time. For everyone departing tomorrow at 11AM and have time to join us for a shakedown spin, that would be wonderful.
Day 5 - Departure Day
15 mile shakedown spin, 1,000 feet
A leisure breakfast on the patio, followed by a 1 hour shakedown spin before we all say goodbye upon checkout at 11AM. What special moment in time, bon voyage!
What people are saying…
"A cycling camp with a five star chef providing deliciously unique meals. The food, on its own, made this camp a top ten life experience. However, the added benefit is the incredible crew of guides who are so understanding of the different levels of riding ability in each group. There is no way I can fully express how fantastic The Cyclist's Menu truly is." – Mark R.
What’s included
4 nights/5 days accommodations
All meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
Mechanical support, including bike build and breakdown
Professional cycling guides
Daily support vehicle
Ride nutrition
A gallery of professional photographs of the trip
What’s not included
Airfare
Bike rentals
Gratuity for guides
Personal shopping
Massage therapy
Ready to have an adventure of a lifetime?
Bike Options
Rent a bike:
If you don’t have a bike that you love at home, we highly recommend renting a bike from us! We have Full Carbon Trek Gravel bikes ($380) and Full Carbon Trek E-Mountain bikes ($380) available.
Bring your own:
It’s so comfortable to arrive on your bike adventure and hop onto your own bike and feel at home. We highly recommend getting a good bike tune at your local bike shop before using it on this trip. Please make sure you have 35c or bigger tires (with thick sidewalls) with sealant that have low miles on them.
Flying with your bike: This is a great way to travel with your bike these days because a lot of airlines charge a low rate (sometimes as low as only $30!), which is much more affordable than shipping your bike. Our mechanic will build your bike up upon arrival, take care of it throughout the week, and box it up for your to fly back home with.
Ship your bike: You can ship your bike straight to us via BikeFlights. If you are new to this we recommend dropping your bike off at your local shop and have them box it and ship it to us. At the end of our trip, our mechanic will ship it straight back to your shop for them to build back up for you.