Days: 8 - 5 riding
Level: Aggressive
Mileage: 50 ave - 276 total
Start/Finish: Portland, OR
Price: $1500

 

Meals: All included
Restaurants: none
Motels: Belknap Hot Springs (see notes)
Events & Activities: Optional rafting on the Mackenzie River on layover day at Belknap.


With an early start on the day we travel to Cottage Grove where we have lunch and prepare for an easy afternoon ride. We ride the Row River Trail, a rails to trails route that goes up the Row River Valley past Dorena Reservoir. This route is so scenic and accessible, that is is rated as one of Oregon's 10 best bike rides. The area is dotted with old covered bridges and we will have a chance to check out a couple of them along our way. After an easy 26 miles we come to our evenings camp along Brice Creek.

We start our day off on Sunday with our first of three big climbs of the week. With an average grade of 6%, the first 7 miles of this climb serves to get us warmed up for the finale. The pitch goes up to 12% for the last 3 miles so the summit better be worthy of a good Kodak moment. We are rewarded with a great downhill ride as we ride past Hills Creek Lake on our way to Oakridge. Oakridge is the Mountain Biking Capital of Oregon and that accounts for a good part of the towns growth lately. We poke around town and stop for lunch before continuing on our way. As we ride up the Middle Fork of the Willamette River to our evenings camp site you get a taste of tomorrows treasure - the Aufderheide Scenic Byway.

On Monday we spend most of the day riding the Aufderheide Scenic Byway, a ride that is rated as one of Oregon's 10 best bike rides (two of them in one ride, pretty good, huh?). This morning's climb is much easier than the previous morning's ride. We ride about 10 miles at a 2% pitch and the then have 2 miles of an 8% before we get to the summit. Riding down hill on what has been called “the magic carpet ride” the Aufderheide passes through majestic stands of timber as we ride past Cougar Reservoir. A short climb up the McKenzie River past the town of McKenzie Bridge brings us to the Belknap Hot Springs Resort. The resort has a variety of lodge rooms and cabins and we'll set you up in one or the other for our 2 nights here.

For some, the layover day at Belknap Hot Springs means lounging in the Hot Springs and letting the mineral waters do their magic. Others will opt for some whitewater with a rafting trip down the upper McKenzie River.

High Country Expeditions will take care of you for the day on the McKenzie River for what they describe as "one of the treasures of the Pacific Northwest. This Oregon gem is a classic alpine river high in the Cascade Range, with its headwaters located at Clear Lake. Cascading through a canyon blanketed in Douglas fir and old growth forest, this river is a crystal clear jewel with an abundance of dancing rapids."

We leave Belknap Hot Springs with another one of our morning climbs. It is 22 miles up to top of the McKenzie Pass but the steepest stretch is nice constant 6% grade. But from there is it a wonderful downhill ride into Sisters where we stop for lunch. We finish up the days ride with an easy ramble through the Central Oregon ranch land as we make our way to Tumalo State Park where we will camp for the night.

Thursday morning starts out by skirting around the east side of Bend so that we don't experience too much city traffic. After our morning break in Bend we start our last big climb of the week. We have twenty miles and 2800' vertical of climbing to do to get to the pass just past Mt Bachelor that is our "gateway" to the Cascade Lakes. Luckily the grade maxes out at 4% - its just a long slow climb up into the mountains. An easy downhill and we make it in to Elk Lake where we'll stay in the campground.

Our ride through the alpine lakes today will be the highlight of the ride. Expansive views, beautiful alpine lakes, and gentle rolling hills are the calling for the day. This day is all about taking pictures and enjoying the ride! We finish up our circle around the Sisters at Crescent Lake. We camp there and enjoy our last camp dinner together. On Saturday we drive back in to Portland.

 

Tour details may change without notice. Although you'll have an up-to-date itinerary prior to departure,
changes due to unforeseen circumstances may occur at any time.