Since Velo just did the yawner article about the best gravel races….which was just the same ole same ole list of big races, lets do one for non gigantic races-
So what are the best gravel races that have field sizes less than 1000 riders ****ie not including any Lifetime, BWR, SBT events.
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GRUSK (wv) and Homegrown Gravel (GA) are two that come to mind for me
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Rule of 3 in bentonville. Has more of a quirky adventure vibe rather than “serious” racing, but a challenging day on the bike. It’s a pretty big event, but I believe it’s under 1k riders.
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Yup, i agree with that. Ive done Ro3 3 times and doing it again this year
Le Grand du Nord or Heck of the North. Stunningly beautiful courses on the north shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota. Mostly gravel and forest service 2-track with enough climbing (Le Grand) or snowmobile sections (HOTN) to keep it interesting.
The field strikes a great balance of sharp racing on the front with fun comradery for everyone behind. Always a fun scene at the finish line.
Read a few posts from Jeremy’s Cadence blog to get a sense of what he’s about. Cadence — Heck of the North Productions
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When it comes to local MN races, Filthy50 is probably the most fun imo. Around 50 miles near Lanesboro MN in October. It has a good combination of enough people to make it feel big and enough fast people, the course is fun with enough climbing and rollers to break it up. I’ve done it in kinda snow/hail conditions and 80 degrees and sunny, you never know in October here. I wouldn’t tell people to use it as a destination race, but if you’re in driving distance it is a for sure one each year.
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Lost & Found & Tahoe Truckee Gravel. Just bring a suspension fork or your MTB. 
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I was looking at this race actually. Bit of a drive but doable. Might push me to register hearing it’s a good race.
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Two local (to me in the inland NW) gravel races I’ve enjoyed:
Climb for the Cure: riding a good cause. Route itself is good. Maybe a bit more pavement than I’d prefer. But a you get a nearly 3000 foot climb followed by a fun decent which is partially on single track. Nice atmosphere at the end of the race with drinks, food, music and lots of giveaways.
The Grind: last year was the first year of the race. A pretty stripped down race as it’s a fundraiser for the state park it’s held in. But the route was a blast. 100% dirt/gravel. Mix of singletrack and fire roads. Not super technical but enough to keep you in your toes. It’s an 11 mile circuit done either 2, 4, or 6 times. Three shorter punchy climbs per loop. So lots of racing strategy to either hold on to or drop other riders
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Traka 360 without a doubt, I raced this a few times now and I also like the ethos of the organisation, think that plays a good part as well as cool gravel to ride right?
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I love the Dirty 30 group of races in Michigan: https://dirtythirtygravelgrinder.com
There’s a great vibe, it’s an early season test (April), and there are distances from 3miles to 100miles (plus a 5k), so really, anyone can go.
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Another great one is La Grind Stage Race in Emporia, KS. It’s a month prior to Unbound and shares some of the roads south of town (in years when Unbound goes south). It’s a fantastic group of people who put it on and they close down the main road in town for the start/finish area. Very laid back compared to Unbound and lots of friendly midwest vibes. Options for 2-day stage race 100/65 or single day, lots of distances and categories to pick from. And for a great cause - Handlebars for Hope.
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The Pine Island Gravel Grinder in Spearfish, SD is really beautiful. If you haven’t been to the Black Hills, it truly is a bike rider’s paradise.
I also love the Robideau Rendezvous in Scottsbluff, NE. It’s so freaking beautiful.
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The Southeast Gravel Series puts on several really good events in NC/SC. Each event has a short and long route. Really well organized with great gravel/dirt roads and stout competition (Dylan Johnson shows up every once in a while)
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KowTown Gravel- Kremmling, CO
Wyo131- Lander, WY
Also second Robidoux Rendezvous.
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Salida 76 in Salida Colorado.
I only race local and we have a lot of great races in AL/GA/SC/NC. I’ll put in another vote for Homegrown. Just something about that race. The area has always been good for gravel riding and adventure, putting on a huge event in the small town square with all the amenities and consistently nice weather puts it up top.
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In the PNW:
Gran fondo ephrata - the OG gravel event in WA. The entire series by VC is good, but this is my personal fave.
Cacadia Super Gravel. Gravel for mountain bikers. Smoothish roads but no matter how you slice it they are logging roads not unpaved farm roads. Some singletrack mixed in.
Skull 120, Burns OR. No 120 this year, due to previous fires 60 is the longest course. It’s the middle of nowhere and a scenic and fun course. Or at least the 120 was.
Snoqualmie GRIT. Logging roads at the top of Snoqualmie pass. The middle distance is a nice mix of fun and challenging roads but skips the final climb of the long course which kind of sucks anyway.
Honorable mention: The OR coast two day by Mudslinger events, and the gravel unravel events on the Oly peninsula.
Overrated: Gorge gravel, Cascade gravel. Gorge might be better with the significant course revisions this year.
What was your experience here? I was thinking about doing it… 
With the caveat that the course is significantly revised this year, and I think to the better.
Doing the long course, I found it on the boring side. Lots of go straight for a few miles, turn 90 degrees, repeat, sort of sections. The vast majority of riders do the medium course, and that seems like where the promoters focus is. Consequently even finishing with a reasonable time had me getting there as the whole ‘finish village’ area was being dismantled. Lastly, I think the value for $ is not there IMO. I would have strongly recommended the Wahkiacus one from VC as a more interesting course (and definitely better value), because starting from a similar eastward area, it goes west into more interesting terrain. But that is what the changes Gorge made this year do as well so maybe it’s better.
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