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Late spring, western Oregon advice needed

glenfiddich

TravelsWithBarley.com
Glenlivet and I will be setting out from Vermont in our sidecar rig in late April. After lingering in the Ozarks, southern Utah, and Sequoia NP, we'll hit the California coast at Morro Bay and ride north catching Big Sur, the Golden Gate, and Redwoods NP on the way to my favorite part of the Pacific Coast - the stretch between Brookings and Bandon OR.

From there I was hoping to revisit Crater Lake and scatter some of Barley's ashes, but the timeline (early June) won't work unless a miracle melts all the snow at that higher elevation park. So I'm looking at options to get us north into Washington where our goal is to camp at one of the lower elevation campgrounds in Mt Rainier NP before heading to Forks WA and around the Olympic Peninsula.

Option 1 is to simply continue north along the Oregon coast to Astoria, meet my young niece and her husband, then cross the river and continue to Rainier and beyond. I think, however, that by that point I'll be ready for a break from the coast.

Option 2 is to head for the spine of the Western Cascades past the Three Sisters and on up to Hood River or The Dalles where my niece and her husband would meet up with us. Then cross the river and continue as above. But I'm not sure what that route looks like in early June. Are the roads clear? Campgrounds open? Route suggestions?

Pete and Glenlivet
 
Crater Lake indeed "iffy"

1. The Crater Lake loop indeed may still have snow in June, and road remain unplowed. However, this is, so far, seemingly a very low snow year so you should check online at the very last minute to see if the road is open. <Tripcheck dot com> website has Oregon road conditions, video cams, etc. Sometimes it is only the last quarter-mile that is unplowed and 4x4's may have been crossing even unplowed sections. With a sidecar you might try a short unplowed section that has existing wheel tracks???

2. The Oregon Coast is a fabulously beautiful ride because much of it is--unlike Washington--actually along the coast. (Much of Hwy 101 in Washington is set back from the coast and not readily accessible.)

3. From Sisters: There is a nice road east from Sisters (Hwy 242.) Then there is another nice stretch from Detroit to Estacada (Hwy 224.) However, both these routes are closed by snow in winter so check to see if they are open before you try them (otherwise you have to backtrack.) This will drop you into east Portland/Gresham but you could then go east on Interstate 5, cross the Columbia at Bridge of the Gods, then up to Carson, WA, which would be scenic. But check on snow.

4. If you can tolerate some about 10 miles of good quality Forest Service dirt roads, you can go up the Rogue River at Gold Beach to Agness and then on to Powers. All but about 10 miles are paved. But this road would cause you to miss a beautiful area on the coast, Port Orford environs. There is a nice motel at Agness, Cougar Lane Lodge <cougarland dot com>

5. If you were to go all the way up the Washington Coast you could take the Ferries from Port Angeles to the San Juan Islands or Victoria, BC, although there may be some issues with taking a mutt into Canada.
 
Option 2 is to head for the spine of the Western Cascades past the Three Sisters and on up to Hood River or The Dalles where my niece and her husband would meet up with us. Then cross the river and continue as above. But I'm not sure what that route looks like in early June. Are the roads clear? Campgrounds open? Route suggestions?

Some suggestions:

Aufderheide Scenic Byway

<iframe src="https://ridewithgps.com/embeds?type=route&id=31593515&sampleGraph=true" style="width: 1px; min-width: 100%; height: 700px; border: none;" scrolling="no"></iframe>

I think the roads will be clear and this is an awesome, if not somewhat remote, road. DEFINITELY check road conditions before riding!

Also...

The other Lolo Pass on the western slopes of Mount Hood.

<iframe src="https://ridewithgps.com/embeds?type=route&id=2759976&sampleGraph=true" style="width: 1px; min-width: 100%; height: 700px; border: none;" scrolling="no"></iframe>
 
Eugene to Hood River

Oh yes! I would go for this one! For sure the restaurant in Detroit,OR. is a must stop.
 
Visian showed some excellent roads. Consider on your route to Eugene, running up the coast to Waldport and east on Hwy 34. It is a beautiful, coastal valley and mountain road. A short detour can bring you to the top of Mary's Peak, the highest peak in the Oregon coast range, The road to Mary's Peak is paved, but sort of rough but it goes all the way to a mountain top meadow. winter winds gets so harsh that trees don't grow on the peak, so lush wildflowers and unobstructed views reward the detour. PM me when you make the trip and I might share some road.
 
Visian showed some excellent roads. Consider on your route to Eugene, running up the coast to Waldport and east on Hwy 34. It is a beautiful, coastal valley and mountain road. A short detour can bring you to the top of Mary's Peak, the highest peak in the Oregon coast range, The road to Mary's Peak is paved, but sort of rough but it goes all the way to a mountain top meadow. winter winds gets so harsh that trees don't grow on the peak, so lush wildflowers and unobstructed views reward the detour. PM me when you make the trip and I might share some road.

Is 34 a better ride east than 38 a bit to the south out of Reedsport? Once I leave Bandon my goal for the day is a place to camp near McKenzie Bridge/Cougar Reservoir. I'll probably stay an extra day in that area to give Glenlivet time to mark a few trees before heading north along the Aufderheide Scenic Byway and up to Hood River. I haven't seen my niece (5'6" 104# Marine veteran who was detained by the police in Amsterdam for beating senseless a pickpocket who had the misfortune to mistake her for an easy mark) since her wedding a few years back. Love that kid!

Appreciate the offer of a local escort!

Pete
 
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