How to Plan a Route That Includes Bike-Friendly Campgrounds

Pick a route that matches your skill-1–3 for flat gravel, 4–7 for hills, 8–10 for rugged climbs-and pair it with bike-friendly campgrounds using iOverlander or WikiCamps to find spots under $20, often with water, cell signal, and secure storage. Sync your plan in Ride with GPS or Gaia GPS, pin resupply points every 25–50 miles, and back it with a 10,000 mAh battery pack or Anker solar panel so your devices stay live. You’ve got the tools to build a smart, safe ride. There’s more where that came from.

We are supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission, at no extra cost for you. Learn more. Last update on 18th July 2026 / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API.

Notable Insights

• Match your skill level to route difficulty by selecting beginner, intermediate, or advanced trails with compatible terrain and bike requirements.
• Use iOverlander and WikiCamps to locate bike-friendly campgrounds with amenities like water, storage, and trail access.
• Identify campgrounds near major routes such as the Great Divide or Empire State Trail for convenient overnight stops.
• Map resupply points for food and water within 25–50 miles, aligning them with campground locations for efficient planning.
• Build GPS routes using Ride with GPS or Gaia GPS, syncing campgrounds, resupplies, and offline maps for reliable navigation.

Choose the Right Route for Your Bikepacking Skill Level

While your fitness and bike type play a big role in deciding where to ride, starting with a route that matches your skill level keeps your trip fun and manageable. As a cycle tourist, choosing beginner-rated bike routes (1–3) means flat terrain, minimal climbing, and mostly smooth, graded gravel-perfect for a gravel bike with 40mm tires. Intermediate riders (4–7) handle hilly terrain and off-camber roads, while advanced riders tackle 8–10 routes with relentless climbs and hike-a-bike sections. Use Ride with GPS or Gaia GPS for route planning: check profiles, elevation gain, and surface-like the Great Divide’s 60–70% unpaved trails. These tools also highlight points of interest, water sources, and remote stretches, such as the 1,000-mile gap on the Great American Rail Trail. Matching route difficulty to your experience guarantees confidence, safety, and smoother progress through varied backcountry terrain.

Find Bike-Friendly Campgrounds Using iOverlander and WikiCamps

You’ll want to use iOverlander and WikiCamps to pinpoint bike-friendly campgrounds that match the pace and needs of your bikepacking trip. iOverlander shines with real-time, user-submitted data, loading you up with free or under-$20 hiker-biker sites along routes like the Great Divide and Empire State Trail, many with notes on water access, cell signal, and road conditions that help you plan resupply and shelter. WikiCamps helps you find official campgrounds ideal for the cycle tourist, especially those with RV-free zones, bike storage, and trail access. Use both tools to plan routes efficiently and confidently.

Pin Water, Food, and Fuel Stops Along Your Route

Since staying hydrated, fueled, and fed is essential on long bikepacking stretches, you’ll want to map water, food, and fuel stops right alongside your route using trusted tools like iOverlander, gobikecamping.com, and Campendium. Pin reliable water sources-like park spigots, rivers, and public facilities-every few hours, especially on multi-day rides with limited access. Plan food resupply points every 25–50 miles, cross-referencing TrailLink and RideWithGPS to locate grocery stores, diners, or cafes in towns along routes like the Great Divide. Use gobikecamping.com to mark fuel stops selling white gas or propane canisters, critical for remote stretches such as the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes. Sync these markers with your bike-friendly campgrounds and route planning to guarantee you’re never far from essentials. With verified stops mapped, your self-supported ride stays safe, efficient, and focused on the journey.

Build Your Route With GPS Apps Like Ride With GPS and Gaia

When mapping your bikepacking route through backcountry trails and rural connectors, relying on GPS apps like Ride with GPS and Gaia GPS gives you precise control over navigation and terrain preview, so you’re never guessing your way through a gravel-to-dirt shift or unexpected road closure. For solid Planning, use RWGPS or Gaia to download offline maps with OSM Cycle layers, highlighting gravel, dirt roads, and singletrack. Import GPX files of established routes-like the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route-to tweak your Bike Route and preview elevation. Enable Public/Private Land layers in Gaia GPS Premium to avoid trespassing in remote zones. Pull Strava and RWGPS heat maps to follow high-traffic, well-maintained trail sections and skip sketchy, overgrown paths. Sync your Cycle route across devices by loading the same GPX file to both your phone and a Wahoo ELEMNT BOLT for reliable, real-time navigation.

Keep Devices Charged With Offline and Solar Power Strategies

A solid GPS setup means nothing if your devices die halfway through a remote stretch, especially when traversing demanding corridors like the Great American Rail Trail’s 1,000-mile gap across Montana and Wyoming. You’ll need reliable power for your mobile app and GPS, so pack a 10,000 mAh battery bank to extend battery life when off-grid. Solar panels, like the 15–25 watt Anker PowerPort Solar, recharge your gear during rest stops and are perfect for long bike routes. For continuous power, pair a SON Delux dynamo hub with a Sinewave Revolution charger-it keeps your devices juiced while you ride. Use offline navigation on apps like Gaia GPS or Ride with GPS to cut data use and save phone battery. Load GPX files onto a Garmin eTrex 32x with a microSD card to ditch the smartphone entirely and focus on the trail.

Confirm Campsite Access on the Ground With Real-Time Updates

Even if your route looks solid on paper, campsite access can change overnight due to weather, land closures, or overcrowding, so you’ve got to verify conditions in real time. Use apps like gobikecamping.com to check hiker/biker site availability and recent user updates on campgrounds, especially for bike access at privately owned spots. iOverlander helps you find free or wild camping with real trail proximity notes and photos posted by riders just days ago. Confirm what you find while planning by cross-checking the Bikepacking Collective’s Facebook group, where members post live updates on closures and viable bivvy spots. Sync Warmshowers host confirmations via real-time messaging to lock in lodging. Test route-to-camp connectivity using offline Gaia GPS or Ride with GPS layers tagged with user-confirmed sites. Stop by local Bike Shops near trailheads-they often know which campgrounds just shut down or opened.

Help Keep Bikepacking Maps Free and Accurate

How do the best bikepacking maps stay free, accurate, and always a step ahead of trail changes? Because riders like you contribute real-world data to the project. When you report trail closures, add new routes, or update campgrounds, you make sure the maps reflect current conditions. The Bikepacking Collective keeps the platform free and ad-lite through member support, not ads. Members also get perks like Gaia GPS discounts while backing a sustainable mapping future.

Your input fuels this community-driven effort-so next time you’re out, make sure to share what you see.

On a final note

You’ve got the tools: use Ride With GPS to map your ride, pin campsites with iOverlander, and stash water every 20–30 miles. Testers rely on 2.5L hydration reservoirs, 15W solar panels, and bikepacking bags like Apidura’s 10L handlebar setup. Real trails demand 2.2-inch tubeless tires, quick-dry layers, and bear-proof food sacks. Confirm access on-site, update maps live, and always share route data back-keeping trails open, accurate, and rider-ready.