The Oregon [Motorcycle] Trail

[Kevin R]

<Please excuse the multi-part post but photos make it real and we can only upload so many at once...>

 

So, we’re stuck in the 2020 Pandemic and a guy gets stir crazy, so what can he do? Well, touring by motorcycle is a pretty good way to get out while staying socially distanced. Late last year my trusty old FJR was “taken” from me by Bambi (or one of its relatives) up near Truckee, CA. A 2019 Tracer900GT became its replacement and has been a great joy to ride. It was terrific on several long day rides but to really find out how good it is I needed a significant road trip, but where to go…? Enter Oregon. Not too far away but, based on previous cage trips to parts of the state, it seemed likely to offer enough riding possibilities to spend several days there. Thanks to the [now defunct] AMA Great Roads list and some great suggestions from folks on Tracer900.net, I was indeed able to pull together more than enough material for a week long jaunt through the state.

August seemed like a good time to go but the summer COVID-19 spike kinda put a damper on that. Then, early September after Labor Day seemed like a good time to go but Oregon went up in flames and most of the roads through the Cascades were closed. Hmmm, is this thing going to happen this year? Finally, at the end of September the time was right and off I went on an 8 day, 3000 mile exploration of the finest twisty tarmac and scenic glory that Oregon had to offer (6 days in Oregon plus one day on either end getting to and from Cali).

Starting in San Jose, CA my original plan was to motor into Oregon via California’s glorious Klamath and Shasta-Trinity back roads. But of course yet another heat wave struck Cali and whipped up the already blazing wildfires and brought road closures or threats of closure (route 36, 96, and others). Sheesh! So I stuck near the coast and made my way north to Crescent City via the 101 highway and Avenue of the Giants. It was a little toasty along the way between Healdsburg and Willits but eventually the temps moderated and became bearable – just as the road became more interesting.

Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt County is always worth the diversion. It was still quite smoky, but riding through the ancient trees tended to mask it a lot.

 

From Crescent City the first of 6 days in Oregon began with a run from there to Bend.

Day 1 in Oregon with a wiggly, scenic route to Bend

 

Rt 199 out of Crescent City is a very entertaining road for the first 20 miles or so as it winds through a redwood forest. After that it straightens out and heads into Grants Pass. Along the way I passed through reconstruction work on the road as it had been impacted by the Slater fire.

Waiting for roadwork on highway 199 in the aftermath of the Slater fire.

From Grants Pass, a quick blast up the 5 to Glendale put me on a 35 mile side trip on Cow Creek Road. Nice, twisty ribbon of asphalt in a pretty remote area with virtually no traffic. Worth it!

Old burn scar on Cow Creek Road along with some inspiring scenery.

After that it was up to Roseburg and across the recently re-opened route 138. Communities along this road had taken a big hit from the Archie Creek fire. There was complete devastation along this route for nearly 20 miles. And, as wildfires are wont to do, there were instances of structures that escaped damage standing right next to others that burned to the ground. My heart goes out to those who will be rebuilding after this tragedy.

As far as riding goes, the first 15-20 miles on the west slope of 138 are pretty nice but the remainder of the route across is not very exciting. It’s mostly a straight[ish] road cut through thick forest with limited or no scenic vistas. There are some interesting views once you get up and over around Mt Thielsen but other than that it’s just a way to get from one side to the other in the southern Cascades.

Overnighted for two days in Bend and came away super impressed with this area. I had passed through in a cage back in 2017 on the way to and from Smith Rock SP to see the solar eclipse, but now having spent more time there my affinity for the place has really grown. Bend is an outdoors mega playground with lakes, hiking, skiing, mountain biking, oh my! My first day of riding out of Bend didn’t actually keep me in the area, though, as I traveled west up and over the Cascades all the way to the coast and then back again. I had hoped to ride route 242 and 126 but they remained closed due to the Holiday Farm fire. So it was route 20 over and back – which I would be happy to ride again and again.

Day 2 in Oregon featured a run to the coast and back

In Lebanon I picked up route 34 to Waldport. Route 34 west of Corvalis is nice, with a few fun stretches here and there, including one twisty bit where a nutty guy absolutely hammered a full size Lexus to stay in front of me, but mostly it is best for easy cruising with New England-like scenery (low mountains, forests, and pretty farmhouses). I took route 36 back from the coast and thought that was a much more enjoyable motorcycling road. But either way, it was route 20 that won the prize for “Road of the Day”. The 20+mi stretch from around Foster on up the western slope through Tombstone Pass to the Cascade crest is awesome! Then, once up there the scenic beauty impresses as the road passes by the famous [to me] Black Butte (namesake for Deschutes Brewery’s fine porter!), Mt Washington, and the Three Sisters.

Yours truly waiting on the sunset near Sisters, OR

Sunset didn’t disappoint over the Three Sisters. Still a bit of smoke in the sky, probably from the Cali fires.

 

The next day it was time to leave Bend and head east to Baker City. I crammed as much curvy road as possible into the route while still having some time to get off the bike for a hike and eat lunch.

Day 3 in Oregon with a zig zag route across the middle of the state.

 

All in all it was a terrific day that started with a short drone up to the route 293 turn off north of Willowdale. It was nothing but curvy roads after that. Highlights of the day included the sublime 218 east out of Antelope and then 207 north out of Spray up and over the summit in Umatilla National Forest.

Pit stop along route 218 at John Day Fossil Beds N.M. A nice little hiking diversion on an otherwise stellar motorcycling day.

 

Along the way I came across the National Motorcycle Riders Memorial on route 19 near Butte Creek Pass. I’d never heard of it before but caught a small sign for it out of the corner of my eye as I was buzzing along route 19 south of Fossil. I hooked a u-turn, went back and bounced down a short stretch of dirt road to find a quite peaceful roadside memorial within a place called Shelton Park. There was another mile or so of groomed dirt road with “rest” areas and benches for strolling and contemplation. The monument included a logbook for visitors to sign although I hope Karma finds the fools who chose to use it as a place for a political statement. Kudos to the thoughtful person(s) who created the NMRM as a place to reflect on our fallen brothers and sisters.

National Motorcycle Riders Memorial

[see next part]

[Kevin R]

<part 2>

The winner of this day, though, was probably the 95 miles of the Blue Mountains Scenic Byway from Heppner to Granite. The route travels through some very remote back country and while the pavement was a little worn in places, it was generally very good and the scenery more than made up for it.

Blue Mountains Scenic Byway southeast of Ukiah

But wait, there’s more! The cherry on top was the 20 miles that followed after reaching Granite. From there to Sumpter was a world class stretch of road with miles and miles of sick twisties on perfect pavement. Woohoo!

 

Day 4 in Oregon featured a visit to Hell’s Canyon. I had earmarked this as one of the must see places on this trip and it definitely did not disappoint!

Day 4 in Oregon – Hell’s Canyon and Wallowa Mountains

But first there was a crossing of paths with the real Oregon Trail outside of Baker City.

The plaque tells the story of Lone Tree, a singular and very large tree that lived out in the Baker Valley about 3 miles distant which served as a guidepost for travelers, probably for centuries. However, in 1843 the tree was cut down by “some inconsiderate emigrant axe” for firewood. Of course it didn’t serve the fool’s immediate need for fuel since it wouldn’t burn, because it was green. Nice.

 

The ride along route 86 from Baker City to Oxbow was alternately scenic and fun to ride but the side trip into Hell’s Canyon on the Idaho side to the namesake dam was gorgeous – and a terrific motorcycle road.

Hell's Canyon

Hell's Canyon Dam

Scenic beauty and twisty asphalt – what’s not to like?

The ride into the canyon was slow going due to the overwhelming beauty of the place but the 23 mile trip back out was pure joy.

As amazing as the trip into and back out of the canyon was, the 35 mile ride up Hell’s Canyon Scenic Byway to the overlook 4000 feet above the river was also spectacular. The first 15 miles up the byway once it leaves route 86 was legendary with wide smooth tarmac and endless 2^nd-3^rd gear twisties with good sight lines (and no traffic). It literally felt like my own private track day!

The overlook – great place for a lunch break

 

Day 4 in Oregon ended in Umatilla, which is completely forgettable except as a place to sleep before heading west on Day 5 to get to the Columbia River gorge.  J  I shunned the interstate (of course!) and rode instead on route 14 on the Washington side of the river.

Day 5 in Oregon was Columbia River day

This route took a meandering path along the river past wine country and wind farms before the riverbanks began rising to create the gorge. It has been a while since I saw a river this big (stretching back to my days living on the Mississippi).

Entering the Columbia River gorge – Mt Hood looming in the distance

Up close with Mt Hood

The Historic Columbia River Highway (AKA route 30) is a beautiful 20 mile ride from Troutdale to Dodson on the Oregon side of the river, east of Portland. It winds through the trees from high up on the lip of the gorge down to and along the river bottom. It comes complete with interesting old bridges and abutments (quite an engineering feat 100yrs ago) and several pretty waterfalls.

<see next part>

 

[Kevin R]

<part 3 of 3>

The view looking east from Vista House on the Historic Columbia River Highway

Bridal Veil falls

 

After meeting friends for dinner on the riverbank in Vancouver, WA the day ended back on the coast in Newport.

Day 6 in Oregon: time to head south for home in California. This was an easy ride down the coast with periodic stretches of twisty tarmac and beautiful scenery. The Oregon coast is very nice with some truly impressive long beaches flanked by big sand dunes. Would love to come back and rent a dune buggy or ATV for some real beach fun!

Central Oregon coast

By the time I reached Gold Beach in southern Oregon at 3pm the marine layer had packed in and I could no longer see anything more than the road and the trees immediately alongside the rest of the way to Fortuna, CA. But that’s okay because I’d had a brain overload of scenic eye candy for the past week!

 

Last day of the trip included another jaunt over to the California coast at Leggett (after, of course, another pass through the Avenue of the Giants). The 15 mile stretch of route 1 from Leggett to the coast is always a terrific ride with endless 2nd gear corner carving through dense forest. Then the coastal highway itself is equal parts scenic and fun (read: sea stacks, crashing surf, and twisty pavement). There were even a couple of 10 mile stretches north of Fort Bragg which were freshly paved and added to the fun even more. This was good since the marine layer hung around dampening the best viewing of my favorite stretch of California coastline, the Mendocino coast.

I expected the same grey weather all the way down to San Francisco, but was happy and surprised when it became sunny and warm as soon as I passed into Sonoma county. This area is arguably the second best stretch of California coastline (read: scenic with unrelenting twisty pavement for, like, a hundred miles).

Lunch break along the Sonoma coast on the last day

 

Pulling into San Jose at the end of the trip, I was glad to be home but also wished I could keep going for another 8 days. The motorcycle performed that well and was very comfortable. I think it’s a keeper!

[keithu]

It looks like a great trip! Many of these roads are right in my backyard. 

Quote

So it was route 20 over and back – which I would be happy to ride again and again.

It's funny you mention this. I've ridden and driven that stretch of US-20 so many times that I'm ashamed to say I'm getting a little sick of it. It is a great road though.

[Kevin R]

Haha, I know what you mean. We tend to get de-sensitized to the great riding we have in our own backyards. It's like the pasture's always greener on the other side of the fence.

The trip was great and I'm glad to have had the chance to explore a big chunk of the state.

[Clem Fandango]

You hit most of the highlights! Oregon is an amazing state for motorcyclists.

[betoney]

@Kevin R - Thanks for the ride report and photos, it sounds like a fantastic trip. 

I have ridden everything you mentioned many, many times and never get tired of it.  Washington has some very nice motorcycling but everyone I ride with all agree that Oregon is the ultimate motorcycling destination, with Northern California coming in a close second. 

[betoney]

6 hours ago, keithu said:

It looks like a great trip! Many of these roads are right in my backyard. 

It's funny you mention this. I've ridden and driven that stretch of US-20 so many times that I'm ashamed to say I'm getting a little sick of it. It is a great road though.

Isn't it funny how that happens?  I was showing a buddy around in an area that I travel so often that I don't give it a second thought but he was in awe with his eyes bugged out.  

[vincep]

Very nice Kevin and very envious.

[koth442]

Fantastic ride!

[Kevin R]

15 hours ago, betoney said:

@Kevin R - Thanks for the ride report and photos, it sounds like a fantastic trip. 

I have ridden everything you mentioned many, many times and never get tired of it.  Washington has some very nice motorcycling but everyone I ride with all agree that Oregon is the ultimate motorcycling destination, with Northern California coming in a close second. 

Oh, I'll agree that Oregon is great but have to disagree with that assertion.  :-)  I've ridden most of the lower 48 (and southern Canadian provinces) and while Oregon is primo, there is none better than California. From top to bottom and east to west there is an amazing quantity and quality of motorcycling roads.

But then, I guess that topic is kinda like tire wars or endless oil threads!

[knyte]

What a great write-up, thanks for sharing!

...sooo jelly...can't wait to ride the US a bit.  Soooo much ground to cover...

[keithu]

It's true, California has everything, and nicer weather to boot. I know there are a crapton of people in California, but they strangely all seem to stick to the urban areas. I was constantly amazed how easy it was to find twisty canyon roads completely bereft of traffic, even in LA County. 

[Trippinontrips]

CR 199 is one of my favorite roads I've ever been on, great post, thanks for sharing!