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Unbound Gravel weather
What race day has been like in Emporia, Kansas, the forecast when it’s close, and how to see the wind and rain on every stretch of the course.
- When
- Saturday, June 5, 2027
- Start & finish
- Emporia, Kansas (finish on Commercial Street)
- Unbound 200
- About 207 mi, 9,000+ ft of climbing (2026)
- Other distances
- XL (about 350 mi), 100, 50, 25
- Terrain
- Flint Hills gravel and rough double-track
Live weather
Loading the weather in Emporia…
Race day in past years
The weather in Emporia on May 30, 7 AM to 6 PM, in each of the last 10 years. The race isn’t always on that exact date, but it shows what that time of year is like.
Loading 10 years of weather…
Measured for the base town. Out on the course, especially higher up, it can be colder, windier or wetter.
Forecast the course, stretch by stretch
The town forecast only tells part of the story. Route Forecast times the weather to where you’ll be on the course.
- Get the course from the race: a GPX file, or a Ride with GPS or Strava route link. Races usually publish it a few weeks before.
- Open Route Forecast and drop in the file or paste the link.
- Set the race start time and your pace. You’ll see temperature, rain and headwind, tailwind or crosswind for every stretch.
About the course
- The 2026 course left Emporia heading south and came back from the north, mixing sectors from earlier routes with new roads.
- Long stretches are minimum-maintenance double-track with sharp rock. The climbs are short, but there are lots of them.
- Checkpoints in recent years have been in towns such as Madison, Matfield Green and Council Grove.
- Weather: Late May and early June in the Flint Hills can be hot and humid, and rain before or during the race can turn some roads into sticky mud, as happened in 2023. There’s little shade and little shelter from wind on the open hills.
Questions
What’s the weather usually like at Unbound?
Late May and early June in the Flint Hills can be hot and humid, and rain before or during the race can turn some roads into sticky mud, as happened in 2023. There’s little shade and little shelter from wind on the open hills. This page shows the weather in Emporia, Kansas on May 30 in each of the last 10 years, from 7 AM to 6 PM: temperature, wind and rain.
When is Unbound Gravel?
Race weekend June 3–6, 2027, with the 200 on Saturday, June 5. The 2026 edition was May 30.
Can I get a forecast for the whole Unbound course?
Yes. Get the course GPX file, or a Ride with GPS or Strava route link, from the race, and open it in Route Forecast (free, no account). Set your start time and pace, and it shows the temperature, rain and headwind, tailwind or crosswind on every stretch of the course, timed to when you’ll be there.
When will the race-day forecast be available?
Weather models forecast about two weeks ahead. This page switches to the forecast for Saturday, June 5, 2027 about two weeks before. Until then it shows the weather there now and race-day weather from past years.