Dm23 Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 Planning a 9 day trip from Sonoma County to WA and back. I know there is awesome riding around the columbia gorge but looking for specific roads to hit (scenery appreciated but fun roads biggest priority) and also camping suggestions. First 2 days are planned, looking for suggestions from Crater Lake north. Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted May 10, 2021 Supporting Member Share Posted May 10, 2021 46 minutes ago, Dm23 said: Planning a 9 day trip from Sonoma County to WA and back. I know there is awesome riding around the columbia gorge but looking for specific roads to hit (scenery appreciated but fun roads biggest priority) and also camping suggestions. First 2 days are planned, looking for suggestions from Crater Lake north. Thanks in advance! What part of Washington or Oregon are you planning to visit? I have many suggestions based on what region you will be in. If you don't have a specific destination yet then I can just suggest lots of good roads for you to choose from in various areas. ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salish900 Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 16 minutes ago, betoney said: What part of Washington or Oregon are you planning to visit? I have many suggestions based on what region you will be in. If you don't have a specific destination yet then I can just suggest lots of good roads for you to choose from in various areas. Listen to what @betoney tells you! There are quite a few of us 900 folks here in lovely WA, but he seems to know the back roads really well. It's hard to go very wrong. If you just meandered around the passes and roads of the Cascades or up near the San Juan Islands, it is an amazing state to wander. Have fun! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dm23 Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 Awesome. Will do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dm23 Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 21 minutes ago, betoney said: What part of Washington or Oregon are you planning to visit? I have many suggestions based on what region you will be in. If you don't have a specific destination yet then I can just suggest lots of good roads for you to choose from in various areas. Thanks! We have a campsite at crater lake booked. My buddy grew up in Lake Steven/bothell so I guess that’s the final destination (unless we decide to really push it and make it past the border). I’d definitely like to see the columbia gorge since I’ve heard so much about it and mostly specifically in regards to riding. But other than that we are pretty open. Just looking to ride, see some sights and camp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted May 10, 2021 Supporting Member Share Posted May 10, 2021 @Dm23 - I will just give some 'must ride' suggestions that mix fun riding and awesome scenery, you can pick and chose sections and configure them into a route to meet your schedule. North Cascades and Grand Coulee Google Maps Columbia River Gorge Google Maps Mt Hood/ Maupin/ Antelope/ Fossill/ Heppner/ Pendleton Google Maps Morton/ White Pass/ Canyon Road Google Maps Mt St Helens Google Maps 1 ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dm23 Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 Awesome. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member keithu Posted May 24, 2021 Premium Member Share Posted May 24, 2021 Here's a good route to take from Crater Lake to the Gorge: Basically you leave the north entrance of the park, take the Cascade Lakes Highway around Mt. Bachelor and into Bend, Powell Butte Hwy towards Prineville, then up through Fossil, Antelope, Shaniko, Bakeoven Rd. to Maupin, and US-197 into The Dalles. It's 359 miles of insanely good riding and diverse scenery. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dm23 Posted May 24, 2021 Author Share Posted May 24, 2021 Awesome. Thank you keithu! I will definitely use that route, saves me a couple hours on maps and crossing my fingers i picked good roads. much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nvzman Posted May 24, 2021 Share Posted May 24, 2021 X2 on what keithu said about riding east of Prineville. Take 26 east towards John Day, left on 395 at Mt. Vernon, north to Long Creek, then west on 402 to Hamilton, Monument and Kimberly. Take 19/207 to Spray and Service Creek, then north to Fossil. Then 218 to Clarno, Antelope and Shaniko. Grandma's Ice Cream shop next to the Shaniko Hotel is worth the stop if it's still open. She was the one who lined me up on taking 218 to Antelope and Fossil. The Oregon Hiway crew had just finished paving the road over to Fossil. New tarmac, no traffic -- it was heaven. This was many years ago. The last time I went through that area it was on fire. The road was fine, just couldn't see anything because of the smoke. Have fun!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin R Posted June 3, 2021 Share Posted June 3, 2021 Hey @Dm23, if you haven't seen the write up I posted from my trip up thatta way last October, check it out. https://www.tracer900.net/topic/9216-the-oregon-motorcycle-trail/?tab=comments#comment-116111 I took the great suggestions from @betoney and others and pieced together a heavenly itinerary for my trip from SJ. In addition to the great suggestions already here, I can highly recommend some of the riding in the eastern part of the state if you should have the time/opportunity to get there. I think my two favorite stretches of twisty asphalt were out that way. Have a blast! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dm23 Posted June 4, 2021 Author Share Posted June 4, 2021 (edited) awesome thanks!! I will have to look and see how i can incorporate some of that into what i have planned. this is what i have planned so far. wanted to keep miles between 300 and 400 per day. day 2 is short but ive been told crater lake is a must and we have a buddy parting ways from there. open to any suggestions or road swaps anyone has. also camping suggestions. we only have night 1 and 2 booked now. thanks in advance! day 1 - santa rosa to del norte state park Google Maps day 2 - del norte to crater lake Google Maps day 3 - crater lake to dallesport area Google Maps Google Maps day 4 - betoneys columia gorge and mt hood loop Google Maps day 5 dallesport to leavenworth Google Maps day 6 leavenworth to granite falls using most of betoneys cascade loop Google Maps day 7 granite falls to short sand beach Google Maps day 8 Short sands to grants pass Google Maps day 9 is just getting back home.... 😥 Edited June 4, 2021 by Dm23 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin R Posted June 5, 2021 Share Posted June 5, 2021 33 minutes ago, Dm23 said: awesome thanks!! I will have to look and see how i can incorporate some of that into what i have planned. this is what i have planned so far. wanted to keep miles between 300 and 400 per day. day 2 is short but ive been told crater lake is a must and we have a buddy parting ways from there. open to any suggestions or road swaps anyone has. also camping suggestions. we only have night 1 and 2 booked now. thanks in advance! Looks terrific! On day 1, perhaps you've already done it since you live in the area, or maybe you're looking to make time, but taking the diversion on Ave of the Giants along the way is a great way to break up the long 101 freeway drone. The northern half is better than the southern. Re: short day 2 - Definitely make time to do a couple short hikes at Crater Lake - it is spectacular. On day 4 when you get to Mt Hood, if you can divert closer to Portland on rt 26 (you don't have to go all the way downtown; can cut over on surface roads) and then hop on the Historic Columbia River Hwy near Troutdale you wouldn't be sorry (it parallels I-84 and passes some terrific waterfalls and the Vista House). Whether you do this or not could come down to the day of the week. I don't know but suspect that midweek should be fine for this - it was in early October when I was there - while weekends may be a zoo (locals on this forum will know better). On day 8, you could break up the freeway drone by taking the Cow Creek loop, starting near Riddle and ending near Glendale. It's a pretty good road and adds about 35mi to your total. Enjoy! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member dazzler24 Posted June 5, 2021 Supporting Member Share Posted June 5, 2021 So jealous of you guys living in that part of the world! The whole area looks awesome, not just for riding but for sight seeing as well. Fantastic. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted June 5, 2021 Supporting Member Share Posted June 5, 2021 14 hours ago, Dm23 said: open to any suggestions or road swaps anyone has. On the last few days there is a lot of interstate travel, the section in Washington between Everett and Olympia can be terrible at times and in Oregon you will be missing out on some very nice coastal highways, Hwy 101 goes through a lot of small coastal towns and can be slower travel but at least its very scenic. Otherwise it looks like a great route. When leaving Hood River, take a very slight detour to Mosier and Rowena Crest Viewpoint. Great scenery and fun road. Google Maps 1 ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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