# The Death Ride

Source page: https://carsonriverresorts.com/death-ride

Tour of the California Alps · Saturday, July 10, 2027

Every July since 1981, the Death Ride sends riders out of Markleeville into 103 miles and about 14,000 feet of climbing over five alpine passes — and the resort sits on the course. The ride's own lodging page says it plainly: this resort "is located on the Death Ride route."

The Tour of the California Alps — everyone calls it the Death Ride —
has defined endurance cycling in the High Sierra for over four decades.
The numbers are the draw: 103 miles, about 14,000 feet of climbing, and
five alpine passes in a single July day, with ninety-five percent of the
course on roads closed to cars. The organizers say it best — it is a
ride, not a race. Push for all five passes or ride as far as your legs
carry you; the mountains meet you either way.

The course and the resort share a road. On ride morning the highway past
our gate is closed course: Caltrans shuts Highway 89 from Markleeville
to the Highway 4 junction at five in the morning, and the Monitor climb
begins where that junction is, a few miles south of the porch. Highway
89 reopens around midday and Highway 4 later in the afternoon, on the
schedule the organizers post each year. Staying here that weekend means
sleeping on the course — riders roll past the cabins before the sun
clears the ridge.

The weekend has a shape. Friday is the festival day at Turtle Rock Park,
four miles up the road: the vendor expo, packet pickup, a spaghetti feed,
and the evening rider meeting. Saturday starts at five with headlights
mandatory, and the park spends the day as a finish-line festival — food,
music, and rider meals into the evening until the course closes at six.

If you want to ride it, everything official — registration, the route,
time cuts, and the rulebook — lives with the organizers at
[deathride.com](https://deathride.com). If you want to sleep on the
course, [the cabins, the riverside sites, and the up-top RV row](/book)
are all inside the closure, and the ride's own
[places-to-stay page](https://deathride.com) lists this resort among
them. Book early either way: the weekend fills the whole valley, from
the parks to the pullouts, and the organizers' own camping sells out.

The organizers publish the whole day as one sheet — where the passes come
in the order they are ridden, what time each rest stop opens and closes,
and the cut-off you have to leave each one by to stay on the course. The
resort sits four miles down Highway 89 from the start.

One practical note for that Saturday whether you ride or not: until the
roads reopen in the afternoon, driving south out of the resort is off
the table, and Markleeville runs on race time. Plan the day around the
river and the porch — it is a good day for both — and check
[road and river conditions](/conditions) before the weekend for
anything the mountains decide to add.

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Carson River Resort · 12399 Highway 89, Markleeville, CA 96120 · (530) 694-2229 · store open 8am to 6pm, every day.
Machine-readable facts, units and policies: https://carsonriverresorts.com/api/agent/index.json