*Motorcycle Roads NorthWest

This is a really neat grade.

It doesn’t have the magnificence and grandeur of Whitebird, but what you lack in scale you get in rhythm. Harpster Grade seems to almost glissade down the side of a ridge. The corners are all about the same radius and angle of directional rotation, which sets them up very nicely for being dispatched at a speed that might be otherwise uncomfortable on more technical roads such as Spiral Highway or the Whitebird.

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This delightful back-country highway was far nicer than my admittedly low expectations. My cohort and I were hustling along on 223 at a brisk but not unreasonable pace, and enjoying the scenery and sweepers. While this road is certainly no OR47, it has its own charms.

The sweepers are predictable and friendly, with just enough elevation changes and trees to keep things mentally-stimulating. The road is crowned on the straights, but most of the curves are properly banked making it easy to maintain a good clip without worrying about camber. The pavement is reasonably smooth too, while most somewhat-marginal roads are still bowling ball smooth for a V-Strom, my wingman fielded no complaints from atop his ZX-10R either.

The best thing about this road is its status as an amazingly uncluttered alternate to the Route 99 highways or Interstate 5, Unlike so many other routes in Western Oregon and Washington, this thing was just about completely clear. It was scary empty, actually. I don’t think we saw even a dozen oncoming vehicles in 25 miles, and had no problems passing a couple bimbling sport-tourers.
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One thing that is immediately apparent about Apiary Road is that it’s rural. If you’re coming in from the north end around Rainier or Clatskanie, you have to climb up out of the river valley to get there, and then you go up a set of wonderful uphill esses that take you up onto the plateau.

If there’s no traffic, you can have a significantly fun trip up through those curves and still not be in serious hoodlum territory. Those are some good sweepers.

Unfortunately, that also means that the bicyclists like them too. I had to wait at intersections several times for the bicycle race that was running that weekend that went up through Fern Hill Road and then down Apiary back to US 30.

The south end of this road is more timer country than rural. The trees are thicker and taller, and evergreen instead of deciduous, and the farms don’t have lovely manicured lawns out in front of the house once you’re a few miles past the wide spot in the road that is the hamlet of Apiary itself.

One thing to keep in mind. Get gas in Clatskanie or Rainier before you head Apiary Road. There’s no services along the roadside and services are very scant even further south on the roads this one connects to.

Note: On the Streets & Trips map below, the leg east of the yellow #2 marker is technically not Apiary Road. It is however a section of Old US 30 that I enjoy and leads you right up to Apiary Road.

• Road Name: Apiary Road
• Counties: Columbia(OR)
• Length: 23
• Towns: Apiary, Hudson, Rainier, West Rainier

Download the Streets and Trips file for Apiary Road

This is north half of one of the best road pairs in Eastern Washington.

I experienced this road in June of 2007 and I must admit that I had an absolute blast. This road has a fantastic set of corners north of the dam, and its north end leads up to Colfax where one can find reliable high-quality fuel, something that’s not always easy to find in Central Washington.

Please do keep in mind that you need to know when the dam will be open if you plan to cross. As of the Summer of 2007, this dam is only open during banking hours and only during weekdays once every couple hours.

I also highly recommend the road that is on the south side of the Snake River and the Lower Granite Dam, Kirby-Mayview/Lower Deadman Road. It’s pure unadulterated sport-riding fun.

• Counties: Garfield, Whitman
• Length: 20 miles
• Towns: Almota, Colfax

Streets and Trips file for Almota Road

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