*Motorcycle Roads NorthWest

This road is a fun little stretch of highway that zips across the Deschutes River Valley (via Tygh Valley) south of Tygh Ridge. The road intersects with US 197 about 7-8 miles north of Maupin’s sweet twisties and heads back to the Deschutes River and its own set of twisties.

There’s fuel and food in Maupin, whose location down in the narrow river valley is really quite interesting. The speed limits are low in town, but that still doesn’t prevent you from scriping pegs on the south side of the valley or leaning over on the sharper curves going up the hill on the north side.

The twisty bits themselves in the Deschutes River Valley are like a mini-Rattlesnake Grade. Just like WA 129/Oregon Route 3, you go down from a ridgetop through an impressive set of twisties and cross a reiver before heading back up the other side.

Deschutes River Valley from atop the East side of the ridge:

Deschutes River just upstream from Sherar’s Bridge:

Photo by Glenn Williams (CC: Attribution)

• Road Name: Oregon Route 216 (Tygh Valley-Buckley)
• Counties: Wasco
• Length: 17
• Towns: Buckley, Fargher, Sherar Grabe, Tygh Valley

Download the Streets and Trips file for Oregon Route 216 (Tygh Valley-Buckley, OR)

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Long known by its name, the newly minted Oregon State Route 402, is considered by some Portland sport-riders to be a destination road in its own right.

It’s a mere 35 miles long and links the towns of Kimberly and Monument and the hamlet of Hamilton with US 395 on the east end and Oregon SR19 (aka John Day Hwy) on the other.

This road is reputed as the sport-bikers dream shortcut due to its low traffic volume and excellent curves. I’m sure it is enjoyable, although I’d hate to have to decide between the southwest route of the wondrous southern leg of SR19 and heavily-patrolled US26 and the northeastern route of SR402/Kimberly-Long Creek and the also-heavily-patrolled US Route 395.

I imagine this is a common sight along Oregon 402. Do keep an eye out for them.

Photo by Angie H. (Creative Commons: Attribution)

• County: Grant County, Oregon
• Length: 34.88 miles (per ODOT)
• Towns: Kimberly, Monument, Hamilton

Microsoft S&T file for Oregon State Route 402 ‘Kimberly-Long Creek Highway’

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A fine example of the Eastern Oregon highway-building, Oregon Route 19 does a little bit of a Jeckyl & Hyde routine. With this in mind, I’ll be covering this road in sections.

Viewing the road from south to north, it follows Eastern Oregon’s John Day River from the US Route 26 junction in the midst of the John Day fossil beds up to the Route 207 split at Service Creek. This southern third of the 120 mile route (43.9 miles) forms a wonderfully scenic stretch of roadway that hardly ever seems to be moving in a straight line. The riverine bends simply sway back and forth along the river, usually without any discernible rhythm or pattern except alternating lefts & rights.

Fuel & Services are kind of thin in this section of the roadway, but in the village of Spray, you can find gasoline, food, and even lodging can be found at a couple local bed & breakfasts.

Cathedral Rock along the John Day River:

Courtesy of the US Nat. Park Svc.

The upper two-thirds of this road between the OR207 and the Columbia is much less interesting than the lower third. While it’s definitely not perfectly straight, the road doesn’t necessarily curve as much as it changes heading slightly every mile or so. This part of the road does have much more in the way of services, with the larger towns of Fossil, Condon, and Arlington in the north half.

Amongst those services, is the Shelton Wayside(Wheeler) County Park. They offer three dozen campsites at very reasonable rates.and are located about 20 miles SE of Fossil and roughly 5 miles north of the OR207/19 split. Before you stop there, you may want to double-check if the park is open however, as I heard that a wildfire destroyed several buildings in the park in August of 2007.

One suggestion, if you’re actively hunting out twisties while you’re traveling in a north and westerly direction, I’d recommend taking OR 207 at the 207/19 split instead. You’ll enjoy the wild twisties of 207 far more than the gentle sweepers of the rest of Route 19.

• Counties: Grant, Wheeler
• Length: 40 miles
• Towns: Service Creek, Spray

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This little stretch of road is a welcome break if you’re droning along I-84. I’ve seen it mentioned in a number of different motorcycle forums as an alternative route to whatever other road they had originally planned to do.

Obvious from the responses of other motorcyclists, it’s not perceived as a destination road in its on right on the merit of its own twisties, but I rather like it from the aforementioned welcome break from droning and the historic merits of this road as past of the Oregon Trail and an old US-30 alignment.

While it often looked down upon by motorcyclists, it’s a very scenic route with rolling hills and the Umatilla River nearby. Indeed, it’s a notable favorite of long-distance bicyclists who are avoiding the trash-filled shoulders of nearby Interstate 84. The OPRR itself isn’t exactly race-track smooth as it’s a lightly-traveled County Road throughout its length. I think it’s one that you’ll enjoy if you’re not in a hurry.

Photo below: Glen Williams (Creative Commons: BY-SA)

• County: Umatilla
• Length: 23 miles
• Towns: Pendleton, Echo, Stanfield

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This listing requires a bit of explanation.

Most of the road that you see below is only marginally a “motorcycle road”. In the summer, it’s hot and straight and not generally much fun throughout its length. Most riders could take it or leave and grudgingly acknowledge that it’s better than slogging up Interstate 5.

But I also said “most of the road”. Straddling the Washington / Oregon border you’ll find an amazing piece of pavement called the Rattlesnake Grade. When you mention this to any rider who’s done this twisty piece of paved paradise, their face will light up with an appropriately beatific smile.

If you’ve ever seen my review of the Spiral Highway, that’s pretty much what you can except to see out on the Rattlesnake Grade. It twists back and forth for miles to traverse the elevation change of the Rattlesnake Grade. The primary difference is that there’s no nearby town for this road. There’s nothing much else to do expect ride this road over and over until you get low on gas and have to slog back in to Joseph, OR (40 miles) or Asotin, WA (25 miles) to fill your tank.

View of Oregon 3 / Washington 129 near the border:

• Road Name: Washington State Route 129/Oregon Route 3
• Counties: Asotin, Wallowa
• Length: 85
• Towns: Anatone (WA), Appleton (OR), Asotin (WA), Clarkston (WA), Enterprise (OR), Flora (OR)

Download the Streets and Trips file for Washington State Route 129 / Oregon State Route 3

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This is a shining example of Oregon’s fine sweeper roads. Another riverine highway, it connects US 395 with I-84 within 10 miles of connections to Old Emigrant Trail Road on one side and Oregon Route 82 (and Halfway, OR) on the other.

From west to east, it leaves Ukiah and at first follows Camas Creek and then Grande Ronde River to Hilgard. There’s several State parks along the way to help relax if you’ve already had a long day and a campground just east of Lehman Springs.

• Road Name: Oregon Route 244 ‘Ukiah-Hilgard Highway’
• Counties: Umatilla, Union
• Length: 47
• Towns: Hilgard, Lehman Springs, Starkey, Ukiah

Download the Streets and Trips file for Oregon Route 244 ‘Ukiah-Hilgard Highway’

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While not a destination road in its own right, this is another road that presents a refreshing alternative from slabbing down I-84 wearing the middle of your tires out.

The interesting part starts south of Union where 203 heads southeast around the outside of the hills at the edge of the Powder River valley. The southern end swings back around to the west where it meets back up with I-84 at exit 298.

• Road Name: Oregon Route 203 ‘Medical Springs Highway’
• Counties: Baker, Union
• Length: 38
• Towns: Benson, Jameston, Medical Springs, Miles, Park, Pondosa, Sunset, Union

Download the Streets and Trips file for Medical Springs Highway

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Oregon Route 7 runs across the section of Eastern Oregon where three big National Forests meet, starting in Austin Junction along US 26 and ending in Baker City near where US30 and I-84 rejoin.

The western section of this road runs up into and through the Blue Mountains. Near Sumpter, it enters the Powder River Valley and follows this valley first southeast and eventually curves around to head northeast and into the Baker Valley.

If you’re still looking for great roads when you get close to Baker City, you can head south instead of north to Baker City and partake of Oregon 245. Oregon 7 used to run over that alignment, but was switched to the current route because the old one was too twisty and hilly in the section immediately south of the 7/245 junction. It’s about 30 miles out and back that are added to the trip, but I recommend it.

• Road Name: Oregon Route 7 (Austin Junction-Baker City)
• Counties: Baker, Grant(OR)
• Length: 50
• Towns: Austin, Austin Junction, Baker, Baker City, Bates, Denny, Larch, Lockhart, McEwen, SaliSbury, Stewart, Summit, Thompson

Streets and Trips file for Oregon Route 7 (Austin Junction-Baker City)

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This road is part of the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway. It wends its way down from Imnaha Highway near Joseph through the Hells Canyon back-country past a number of peaks in the Blue Mountains range before dropping you out east of Halfway.

Obviously, this road isn’t in one of the more populated parts of the lower 48 states. Food, fuel, and water are all important issues for travelers through this area. You can get food (Safeway!) and fuel in Enterprise and probably even in Joseph (just a tourist town, really) and that you can at least get food (only a ‘maybe’ on fuel) in Halfway.

If you’re travelling through this area in the extreme ends of the riding season, I would recommend keeping an eye out for road closures. It’s often closed through much of its length in the winter and gets officially closed at least from Salt Creek Summit down to Oregon 86 (east of Halfway).

One item of concern with this road is that it is part of the Hells Canyon Scenic Loop. There’s lots of things to go see and do out here amongst the hay and wheatfields, and lots of tourists driving around. I needn’t belabor how poorly tourists drive when they’re in sight-seeing mode.

I would recommend visiting Hells Canyon Overlook also, it’s got a wonderful view. Several resources have listed a number of horse camps, so be careful not only of horse trailer but equestrian near the roadway.

• Road Name: Wallowa-Whitman
• Counties: Baker, Wallowa
• Length: 52
• Towns: Pleasant Center, runs near both Joseph and Halfway at each end

Download the Streets and Trips file for Wallowa-Whiteman FS 39 / North Pine Road / Wallowa Mountain Road

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While this road is certainly no Aufderheide, it’s a fantastic road that I highly recommend. It’s scenic, from disturbingly fresh-looking lava flows and fantastic views of Mt. Bachelor to sobering views of recent forest fires and the distinct possibility of up close and personal visit with the extremely large elk in the area.

Here’s a few links:
GORP- Cascade Lakes Highway
Travel Oregon
OregonTravels.com

Here’s a few photos from my recent visit.

View of Mount Bachelor

A good friend and I stopping for a breather and some photos on the North end of the Road.

View back up Cascade Lakes Highway

• Road Name: Oregon State Route 372 ‘Century Drive Highway’, Lava Lake Road, and Cascade Lakes Highway
• Counties: Deschutes, Klamath
• Length: 68
• Towns: Bend, Crescent Lake Junction, Elk Lake

Streets and Trips file for Cascade Lakes Highway

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