Where to next?

Oakridge, OR (Oakridge, Bend, Umpqua)
Graeagle, CA (Lakes Basin, Downieville, Portola, Quincy)
Truckee/Tahoe, CA

Washington state is pretty awesome.
On the other hand I live in Oregon and have zero desire to move anywhere else.
I've ridden Idaho, too... definitely going back there to ride again.
So I guess I'd say the PNW in general. Too bad it's so far away from you.
=sParty

Michigan's Upper Peninsula looks VERY interesting.
Have heard nothing but good things.
I have yet to ride there, but it is on the list. I've ridden several of the states/places you mention.
Lots of building going on. A lot of the building in Bentonville has been done by Rock Solid who builds and is based in Copper Harbor Michigan.
Travel time likely within your requirements.

Those ae a little beyond my three day travel.....

The Black Hills in S Dakota maybe? Always thought they’d have some good riding, just never have had a bike when I was passing through.

Otherwise extend your trip and go straight to Vancouver and Squamish.👊

My buddies and I took our yearly mtb trip to Bend, OR this past July. Do yourself a favor and put it at the top of your list. Excellent riding and amazing scenery. McKenzie River Trail alone is worth the trip.

1spd1way said:

Those ae a little beyond my three day travel.....

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Since we have no idea where you’re coming from, wanna help us out here?

Is riding the only activity you are looking for? Or are the other requirements, like hiking, etc.?

Virginia has some awesome riding. WV does as well.

There are other areas in WNC besides Brevard that are worth visiting. Wilson Creek, Boone, etc.

Arkansas has some incredible riding and hiking, including waterfalls near Jasper. Also Upper Buffalo Headwaters and other places in the Ozarks were quite surprising.

Colorado, western slope has a myriad of riding, hiking. April may be too early for that, but October is doable. Gunnison, Crested Butte, Dolores, etc.

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stripes said:

Since we have no idea where you’re coming from, wanna help us out here?

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It says Maine in his post.

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Sorry OP, I missed the mention of dates. April & October are shoulder seasons here in the PNW.
Both can be awesome or miserable, depending on weather.
As for April, not just the weather during your stay here, but general spring weather conditions leading up to it.
All depends on if we get a dry spring or a miserably wet one. The latter seems to happen more often than not.
September and October are my favorite months of the year to ride (or do anything) in the PNW.
BUT... sometimes the fall rains begin as early as the beginning of October and when they do, sometimes they don't let up. At all.
Whenever it stays dry until November (happens more often than not these days thanks to climate change), then October is my fav month of the year to ride here.
April in the PNW is just to iffy for me to recommend.
=sParty

Perfect times to go to Moab, Utah. It’s pretty hot in the summer but April should be pretty nice. September maybe depending on how late in the month you go. Stunning scenery and a ton of non-biking stuff to do. Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park are basically right next to Moab.

3 days from Maine puts some notable limits on where you can go.

If Brevard and Bentonville are within your traveling range, consider the Big South Fork area of TN/KY. There's more frontcountry stuff on the TN side, and there's more backcountry-type stuff heading north from there into SE KY. I know a guy who likes backcountry stuff a lot and he spends a lot of time in that part of KY. He's not so much a frontcountry guy, so he avoids the TN side. Plenty of camping available, though. Had a site and plans to go there for a weekend in 2020, but a tropical storm rolling through the weekend of our plans convinced us to bail.

April & October I'd consider heading for the Sonoran Desert. It's the opposite of Maine and can be a surreal riding experience. Sedona, Phoenix, Tucson, lots of options.

dktxracer said:

Perfect times to go to Moab, Utah. It’s pretty hot in the summer but April should be pretty nice. September maybe depending on how late in the month you go. Stunning scenery and a ton of non-biking stuff to do. Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park are basically right next to Moab.

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Excellent point and by going in October, the Whole Enchilada will likely be in play, should he feel like taking that on.
April's too early.
=sParty

You say you wouldn't mind repeating.

How about going back to Brevard/Pisgah? Surely you haven't done everything down there. Then you could make quick jaunts to Chattanooga, Knoxville, Windrock, Big South Fork. Each of those places have great places to ride.

Two days each down and back, six days to ride. By quick jaunts I mean you could do the drive to and ride any of those places in the same day.

1spd1way said:

We've been to Brevard, rode Bentonville.....rode all over Maine, Vt, and Eastern Canada.
Where to spend 2022's vacation?
Towing a travel trailer and would travel three days from Maine to a new riding area.
We take 10 days in April and another 10 in October.
I love the places we have traveled to so we could ride and would go back to any of them.
She, on the other hand, is a one and done kinda traveler.

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Adirondacks. Tons of road and gravel riding. Some good Mt. Bike areas as well. Then maybe head West to Thousand Islands and down into northern Finger Lakes of central NY.

1spd1way said:

Those ae a little beyond my three day travel.....

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I was going to say, obviously a BC trip is in order. Although technically you can do the drive in 3-days it would be a rather unpleasant 3-days.

Have you explored NB? They are starting to get some pretty cool trail net-works.

Crazy that people immediately suggest places more than 3 days away...

October is a little late for some of the mountain areas...But the drier desert ones are going to be much better. Those dates are hard to work with though. The best way to do it is an area that has options for riding no matter the weather or that is unlikely to get hit hard. CO in October along the Front Range should be fine and you can probably do some interior riding (highly recommended) as long as the weather is holding, which it likely will. In April a lot of stuff can be pretty snowy still. I don't know if Michigan is dried out by then, but it sure isn't here in AK. Also, I'd be looking hard at Montana and Wyoming for the October date. For the April, maybe NM? But that's going to increase travel time again.

That’s easy, I’d go chill out in the chic chocks. I love those mountains. Too often vacations are a race to get somewhere so you can race around to pack in all the thrills possible only to race back home. Chill out, explore around, ride some dirt roads, go for a hike, eat tons of food, enjoy your vacation.