The Continental Divide Trail (CDT) traces the peaks and ridges of the aptly named Crown of the Continent. The trail is predominantly open to bicycles, except where the trail passes through wilderness areas and national parks. This “full suspension” route provides a bike-legal take on the standard CDT hiking route, incorporating nearly all of the bike-legal sections of the CDT, with extensive sections of alpine riding. This route and the information presented is based on my 2025 ride of the Continental Divide Trail, and draws heavily on information provided by Scott Morris and Kurt Refsnider after their own pioneering rides.
The FS/CDT Route
The “Full Suspension Continental Divide Trail” (FS/CDT) is designed to maximize time on the CDT proper with single-track-focused alternatives around the wilderness and national park sections. Unlike the gravel oriented Great Divide route (GDMBR), the FS/CDT is a single-track oriented mountain biking route.
The full route map is available on CalTopo here: https://caltopo.com/m/UU6AE1G
The route is broken up into sections of 50 – 200 miles each between logical resupply points. These sections are summarized in the trip planning spreadsheet and described here:
Route Alternatives
The mainline FS/CDT is intended to strike a favorable balance between fun, efficiency, and a full experience of the CDT. In portions of the route I have indicated several alternatives:
- Red line alternatives are the hardest and purest to the idea of riding the entirety of the CDT or maximizing time in the alpine
- Green line alternatives avoid some of the most challenging or arduous sections and are great for those with less time or inclination for suffering
Logistics and Planning
Interested in your own FS/CDT ride? Here are some resources to help you plan your trip.
- Route Logistics and Planning Overview
- Bike and Gear Overview
- Itinerry, Food and Resupply Planning Spreadsheet
Daily Route Reports
Daily entries from my ride are linked below.
Montana & Idaho
- CDT 1: Pickin’ Beargrass with my Handlebars (in the rain)
- 2: Wettest I’ve Ever Been
- 3: Alpine Sunshine
- 4: Getting to Know the Bushes
- 5: Alpine #7!
- 6: Beargrass in the Rearview Mirror
- 7: Falls Canyon
- 8: Or, Day 1 of the Main Event
- 9: MacDonald Pass
- 10: Endless Singletrack!
- 11: Butte, America
- 12: The Road to Wisdom (is a winding and circuitous path)
- 13: The Road to Wisdom Part 2
- 14: Pintlers and Big Hole
- 15: A Tree Falls in the Forest
- 16: Beaverheads
- 17: A Traveler
- 18: 55 Spokes
- 19: Hell for Lima
- 20: Centennials
- 21: Eastern Centennials
- 22: Lionhead
- 23: Leaving Montana
- 24: Teton Valley
Wyoming
- 26: Wyoming!
- 27: Wyoming Range
- 28: Under the Weather
- 29: Wyoming Range, Adieu
- 30: Easy Miles Over the Pinedale Anticline
- 31: Into the Great Basin
- 32: Out of the Great Basin
- 33: A Return Home
Colorado
- 34: Colorado, ho!
- 35: Steamboat Springs
- 37: Buffalo Pass
- 38: Rabbit Ears Range Traverse
- 39: Middle Park
- 40: Rollins Pass
- 41: Weather Delay
- 42: Colorado High Country
- 43: Frost Points + Colorado Trail
- 44: Me and the Marmots
- 44/45: Arkansas Valley
- 45: Mt. Princeton and its Hotsprings
- 46: Monarch
- 47: Terra Incognita
- 48: Cathedral Ranch
- 49: Rio Grande Headwaters
- 50: Wolf Creek