Central Oregon trip report + pics

[Mark in Hollister]

My friend in Salem says September is a great time to ride around central Oregon. The weather is good and not too many people on the roads. Well, he definitely got the second part right. To be fair, he did convince me to get some Gerbing heated gear for the trip and thank goodness for that. But lets go back to the beginning....

 

My plan was to take 2 days to get to Salem mostly along the coast. I headed out of Hollister on 9/12 at 5:30 AM so that I could get through the Bay Area without too many traffic delays. I did pretty well only having to split lanes for a mile or so near downtown Oakland. Once I passed the 580/880/24 junction it was smooth sailing across the bridge into San Rafael and up 101.

 

At Cloverdale, I took 128 over to the coast. There was a bit more traffic than I would have liked, but it wasn't too bad and I was able to pass most of the traffic without too much difficulty. A nice road with varying degrees of twisties and terrain. Hills, valleys, farms, and forest can all be found on 128 between 101 and the coast.

 

Taken shortly before reaching Hwy 1

 

I came out on the coast about 10 miles south of Mendocino and headed north and starting to think about food.

 

Taken in one of the few spots that wasn't socked in with fog.

 

 

I had a late breakfast near Fort Bragg and continued north. I didn't take any pictures along this section of coast. Mainly there was a lot of fog, but partly because I was enjoying the twisty road and relatively light traffic. Eventually, 1 heads inland and meets up with 101. Shortly after that, I took the 101 alternate through the avenue of the Giants. You often hear people talk about the different perspective you get on a motorcylce as opposed to a car, but roads like this really get you thinking about how much you miss with all that metal around you. I kept thinking about how special it was and probably had a silly grin on my face the whole way through.

 

Along the Avenue of the Giants

 

 

By the time I reached Fortuna, it was time to start thinking about a place to spend the night. I ended up at a best western in Arcata that had a Hot Tub, which felt pretty good after a pretty long day on the road. I checked in around 4:30 so my plan was to get to bed early and make an early departure.

 

As it turned out, I didn't leave till almost 7 AM. It was still dark, about 40 degrees, and thick fog everywhere. I decided to try out the heated jacket liner, but thought I'd do ok without the pants. Bad idea. While I have often ridden in temps like this, the dampness seemed to make it colder than usual and I soon found my legs getting very cold. I took another alternate through another redwood forest that I think is called William Drury parkway, or something similar. This was a spectacular section of road. The fog wasn't so heavy in the woods and being early morning, there was nobody on the road but me. I stopped for a few pictures and put on my heated pants.

 

 

Redwood forest on the North Coast

 

 

A foggy morning on the North Coast

 

Now that I was plugged in, the cold was no longer an issue. My comfort was now thermostatically controlled and before I knew it, I was entering Oregon.

 

I hadn't been on the Oregon coast since I was a teenager and I was a bit surprised to see how developed it had become. Town after town and continual traffic got to be a grind pretty quickly. Add to that a consistent strong headwind and construction delays at almost every bridge, and after a while it was not enjoyable at all.

 

My original plan was take the coast road north to the point where I could take some backroads into Corvallis. I kept telling myself the traffic would lessen and maybe the wind would die down but it never did. By the time I got to Coos Bay I was ready to head inland. I stopped there for lunch and looked at the map for options. I decided to go a bit further north and take 126 out of Florence and connect to 36 in Mapleton, which would eventually get me to I-5 near Albany.

 

Mapleton is really neat little town on the Siuslaw River. One of those places it's easy to imagine retering to. A nice little house on the river with a little slip for your boat and bunch of firewood to keep you warm in the winter. Some nice roads to ride and it sounds like heaven. I stopped on the bridge before getting on to 36 and continuing inland.

 

 

Cottage by the river in Mapleton

 

 

Oregon's 36 is a very nice stretch of road that starts out along the the Siuslaw river through Siuslaw National Forest. At Swisshome, it follows Lake Creek up to Triangle Lake. It wraps around two sides of the lake and from there winds through mostly farm land before ending at 99 near Junction City. After the monotony of the Oregon Coast, this was a real treat and definitely the highlight of my second day on the road.

 

From here I jumped on 5 and after making a pit stop in Albany to visit some friends, I headed up to Salem under some threatening rain clouds.

 

 

After getting Sushi for Dinner, Todd made reservations at 2 Hot Springs for Thursday and Friday evenings. We looked at the weather and it looked like most of the rain would be North of where we would be so we were feeling pretty good when we hit the sack.

 

 

The bikes are packed and ready to go

 

Since our plan was to go out the North side of the Gorge on Washington 14 we decided to get breakfast and start out after the worst of the traffic. At the "Off Center" cafe, I had something called Squib and Bibble, which was basically eggs, potatoes, cheese, and mushrooms all scrambled together. It was quite tasty and way more than I could eat. A great breakfast spot if you happen to be in Salem.

 

To avoid as much slab as possible, we took Hwy 213 out of Salem through Silverton to where it meets up with 205. Just before we got on the freeway it started to rain and continued till we were a few miles up the Gorge on 14. One of the first viewpoints of the Gorge comes where the road is cut into the mountainside and there is no shoulder except in one turnout area. Because of the combination of rain, sun, and clouds, the view was spectacular and I will forever regret not going back to take a picture after missing the turnout. Although the picture probably would not have captured the moment, I would like to have seen it all the same.

 

Before too long, it looked like we had left any chance of rain behind and we were making good time heading east along the Columbia River.

 

 

Looking west down the Gorge

 

 

We followed 14 east until crossing back into Oregon on 197 headed south looking for twisties. 197 is mostly straight with a few big sweepers mixed in. Eventually we met up with 97 and picked up 218 in Shaniko. Hwy 218 (aka Shaniko-Fossill Hwy) is a fantastic motorcycle road. Great curves, no traffic, and near perfect pavement. I was about this point where I started thinking that this was going to be a very special trip.

 

 

Todd enjoying the curves on his GS

 

What a great day for a ride

 

A motorcyclist must have planned this road

 

At some point along here, we realized it was getting late and we were not going to make it to the planned Hot Springs before dark. Since there lots of deer in this area, we decided to have Dinner in Fossill and then camp at Service Creek.

 

 

A great little restaurant in Fossill

 

 

The campground at service creek is primitive. There were a few other folks there, but we had lots of space between us. It got pretty cold at dusk and I was thinking it was going to be a very cold night but then it seemed to warm up again after dark. I guess that was due to the rain that came about 2 in the morning and continued till a little bit after dawn. When we woke Friday morning, it was about 40 degrees and no sun in sight. We walked a half mile or so to the Service Creek cafe for breakfast. This a nice little cafe, but I can't say the people there are very friendly.

 

 

Service Creek near camp

 

Todd found firewood before seeing the "No Campfire" sign

 

 

By the time we got back to the campground it had dried out a little, but we still had to pack some wet stuff. We had also heard over breakfast that there was snow on the passes above 5000 ft so we set out to try and avoid the higher elevations. From Service Creek we took 19 through Spray and on to Kimberly. From there we picked up Kimberly-Long Creek Hwy that took Monument and Hamilton over to 395. Although the skies were gloomy and it was about 40 degrees, the road was great and there seemed to be nobody out but us.

 

 

Old Barn behind the Service Creek Cafe

 

 

Although our ultimate destination was south, we headed north on 395 to get to a secondary road that looked like it would be lots of fun on the map. We were not dissapointed. Although it started to rain and had not warmed up much above 40, I remember thinking that I was dry and warm thanks to the Gerbing gear and how pleasant it was to just be cruising down a beautiful country road at a leisurely pace with nobody else around.

 

 

A curious horse watches as I fiddle with my camera

 

 

I can't remember the names of the first road although it looks like it may be 220 on the map I have. We turned off 395 near ukiah and went east through Granite, Porterville, and Sumpter. There we picked up 7 south to 26. This may have been 50 miles or so and I don't think we encountered more than one or two cars. If you look at this area on a map, you'll see that there are roads like this all over the place. I think you could spend a week here and never do the same road twice. I definitely plan to go back.

 

 

Great views around every corner

 

Oh, I almost forgot. On hwy 26 we had to cross a pass at about 5200 feet where we encountered snow flurries. Even though the thermometer on my bike said high 30's, it was coming down pretty good. Fortunately, it was not sticking on the road. It did stick on the face shield though and I had to keep wiping it off in order to see. Once again I was grateful for my heated liners and waterproof Jacket and pants.

 

 

More rain up ahead

 

 

In Prairie City, we stopped in a small cafe and ate big bowls of chili and drank hot coffee. At this point we still had a ways to go to reach our destination and both of us were ready for some Hot Springs so we headed south on 395 toward Crystal Crane Hot Springs.

 

while there are some nice sections of sweepers along 395, the majority of it is fairly straight. It is mostly ranch land up in this area, but quite scenic with a mixture of woods, hills, and open plains.

 

Crystal Crane Hot Springs was a great place to spend the evening after a long cold (and wet) day of riding. For $40 we got a room with two beds and use of the facilities. The water comes out of the ground at 180 degrees and they have built this kind of burning man contraption that the water splashes around on to cool off before it enters the pool at about 160. While there are a few spots that are a bit to hot to be comfortable, the majority of the pool is perfect for soaking your tired bones.

 

 

Sunrise over Crystal Crane Hot Springs

 

 

On Saturday morning, we headed into the town of Burns, which was probably the biggest town we had seen since leaving the Portland area, but that isn't saying much considering where we had been. We ate breakfast there and headed out together for the last time on 395S/20W. Where the two roads split, I went south to California and Todd kept going east back toward Salem.

 

On the map 395 looks like a major highway, but in reality there is hardly anything between Burns and Lakeview. The one town in between that was supposed to have gas was closed up and I was beginning to worry I would run out before I got to civilization. It was 140 miles and I bet I saw less than a dozen other vehicles.

 

 

Along 395 aka Desolation Road

 

 

At this point I was getting tired of just blasting down straight road and was looking to see how far I could get by 4 o-clock or so and find a room. As it turns out, I made it to Susanville around 4:30 and found a room at a place with a hot tub to soak in. After a soak and a meal at the Black Bear Diner that would have fed a family of four I crashed with the idea of getting an early start in the morning.

 

Although I did get up early, I decided to have breakfast before leaving and then encountered a fellow biker at the Hotel who's battery did not want to work in the 40 degree weather. I gave him a jump and by the time all was done it was after 8.

 

Rather than just trudge on down 395, I went east on 36 to 147 south around lake Almanor. This took me to 89 south and eventually to 70, which I followed down the canyon all the way to Oroville, where I gassed up. On 89 and 70, I saw lots of bikes out on the road enjoying the fall weather. When I got to Oroville it was about 75 and for the first time in days, I was able to unplug and shed the heated gear.

 

From there it was just a race to the barn, blasting down 70 to 5 and on toward home. After one more stop in Stockton to fill up I made it back to Hollister around 2:15, just in time to catch some Sunday afternoon football.

 

The whole trip was about 2100 miles. Thanks to the Gerbing heated gear and my all weather jacket and pants, I was dry and warm despite some pretty nasty weather. The Guzzi ran great and average just under 40mpg. I think the next time I go, I'd like to find a place to stay in one of the small towns and just do day trips.

 

For anyone that likes smooth pavement with lots of curves and little traffic, you need to get up to Central Oregon and check this area out. You won't regret it.

[Martin Barrett]

nice

[antonio carroccio]

I love this Cali

[Guzzirider]

Thanks for the report and pics!

 

You have just reminded me that there is so much more of the USA that I need to explore on 2 wheels!

 

 

 

Guy

[badmotogoozer]

I really MUST get down to central Oregon again. I've never been to a place with nicer paved roads, so little traffic, beautiful scenery and twisty, twisty roads. In one day I remember going from rain forest, to sub zero and snowing mountain passes, to farmland, to badlands, to desert, and back to rain forest again.

 

We have incredible riding up here in BC too but I can't imagine a better place to spend playing for a week or so.

 

Beautiful pics!

 

Rj

[Steve G.]

I've spent days upon days in north central to north east Oregon. It is a place made for bikes. Those town names locked in my head, Fossil, Condon, John Day, Shaniko, Enterprise. The street riding is astounding! Really, you could draw a series of lines, from The Dallas to the Idaho border, and 125 miles south, ride anywhere in this rectangle. I recognise all the pictures taken above, and bring back good memories.

I do have a question though Mark. Where is this hot spring you went to? I've been to Challis Hot Springs in central Idaho, a more or less natural spring, fantastic. This one interests me very much.

Ciao, Steve G.

[Mark in Hollister]

I've spent days upon days in north central to north east Oregon. It is a place made for bikes. Those town names locked in my head, Fossil, Condon, John Day, Shaniko, Enterprise. The street riding is astounding! Really, you could draw a series of lines, from The Dallas to the Idaho border, and 125 miles south, ride anywhere in this rectangle. I recognise all the pictures taken above, and bring back good memories.

I do have a question though Mark. Where is this hot spring you went to? I've been to Challis Hot Springs in central Idaho, a more or less natural spring, fantastic. This one interests me very much.

Ciao, Steve G.

 

Crystal Crane Hot Springs is 15 to 20 miles East of Burns on Hwy 78. There is a town called Crane just east of the Hot Springs but it's not much of a town.

 

Most of the roads near the hot springs are flat and straight, but its a nice place to stop on your way to somewhere else.

[Mike Stewart]

Beautiful pictures Mark! Love the picture of the Beemer loaded up with wood

 

I have a craving for a tour very soon,

Mike

[Guest Catenaccio]

Beautiful pics. I was in theat area in April. Being a desert rat, it was a nice change to see mositure and green.