taverre

I am considering moving the wife and kids out to the PNW from Cleveland Ohio. It looks like we may have a job in The Dalles so I am researching places to live in the Dalles and near by. I bike commute to work now and would like to continue being a one car family. Can anyone on here weigh in on the experience of living, biking, commuting in the Hood River, Mosier, The Dalles cities? I especially like to mountain bike and if there is at least one great mtb single track trail near wherever I live, I will be very happy. These seem like outdoor recreation heavens but also small town/ rural? Which I don't typically equate with progressive, bike friendly...etc. I say all of this having never been and am looking forward to forum members enlightening me.

Tim

Northwestrider

I think you'll like it. I have never ridden around The Dalles area , but for my taste it's a nice city. I'd think for Mt biking it would be great however. Friendly people IMO as well.

trainsktg

Check out Strava Global Heatmap for The Dalles. It looks like there is alot of biking activity in the area.

Keith

dtrain

Mosier is very small. I'd prefer living in Hood River...but probably not if the job is in The Dalles. You aren't going to bike commute that very often.

alove42

The Dalles Archives - BikePortland.org

Boom. This might help seal the deal. Lots of rural but mostly empty roads for hours of riding, folks generally giving lots of room when passing. I haven't mountain biked out there, but I know there are some good opportunities and Hood River isn't too far away (lots of good stuff there). Winters, however, can be nasty. If you are up for investing in a fat bike and the right gear and don't live too far from the new job, you could probably commute >90% of the time year round.

Seattle Forrest

I haven't been that way in a while so my memory could be a bit hazy. That said, I think The Dalles is very much in the desert. Seemed like you had to go east until about Cascade Locks (?) before it's going to look like what most people would recognize as Pacific Northwet. Of course that could be a good or a bad thing depending what's important to you, but be aware.

Also there's a lot more political and cultural diversity here than you might think. It's not just a land of college students smoking legal marijuana and voting Ralph Nader. The further east you go, the more conservative it is, people refer to the mountains as the "Cascade Curtain" and even this is overly simple. But you mentioned progressiveness in your OP and should know there's more to it.

I'd expect lots of good MTB riding in the area. Also plenty of good hiking. I've been wanting to ride the old highway (on my road bike) through the Gorge for a while now...

Are you willing to take your one car and travel around the region? You'll be a few to several hours away from a lot of great stuff (Mt Hood, everything surrounding Bend, Crater Lake, the ocean, etc). A trip up north to Washington gets you island archipelagos, world famous rainforest, towering strato-volcanoes, glacial lakes, channeled scablands, and a major city.

fietsbob

well being a good place for wind surfing on the river will mean you get the good Tail and the Less good Head winds.

taverre

Really great points. On a non biking standpoint, I am seriously torn on this decision as I weigh the cons of low pay, small town and conservative politics as well as potential religious isolation. ( I am NOT religious but culturally Jewish, wife is catholic). I have bad memories of living in a small town without religious or cultural diversity. I also loved in a tiny town for one year when I was young and found the culture shock from Los Angeles to Plymouth Wisconsin too much to bear. The trails and nature out there are way more my speed than where I currently live but constant high winds on a road commute do not make for an ideal situation either. I think if I could afford Hood River, it would be enough of what I want. Wife and I were originally thinking Seattle or Portland so The Dalles is a 180 in so many respects. The PNW look of nature is EXACTLY what draws me there and the Dalles does look very dry (not my thing).
This is hard because I am motivated for a change and this would bring my family closer to our goals in three big ways but further in several more.

taverre

I looked up the population number for mosier and it is around 500. Small seems like an overstatement. ��

taverre

BTW I had a GREATLY appreciated PM that I tried to respond to but haven't got the requisite number of posts yet. If you are reading this, could you send me a quick email at timaverre@gmail.com ? I would love to thank you for your message and follow up with some questions if that works for you.

taverre

Probably a rule against replying to your own replies to build the number of posts but, 50 posts before a reply to a PM???? Erg.

trainsktg

The Dalles is a mere stone's throw from the 'wet side' of Oregon. Its literally just on the other side of the knife's edge that separates the two.

I think you'll find that the relative proximity of The Dalles to Portland and the presence of their multi-billion dollar datacenters means there is much more diversity in the area than you might think. People really don't care who you are or what you do. (Clatskanie, OR for instance, a town much smaller than The Dalles, is 60 miles north of Portland with no such high-tech work force, yet has had its own Buddhist monastery.)

Keith

taverre

Thank you for the perspective Keith. I just had a bad experience as a small child moving into a small town and wouldn't want to subject my kids to it if it was like that in all small towns. Probably hood river would be the place to live if we could afford it.

taverre

This link was EXCEPTIONALLY helpful. Thank you!!!

Shifty

Last year Cycle Oregon started and finished in The Dalles. The riding in that area is great and the city and county are very bike friendly. It can be hot in August, but during Cycle Oregon in September the weather was perfect. Check this out from The Dalles Chamber of Commerce https://thedalleschamber.com/cycling_map.pdf

The first day of Cycle Oregon we crossed the Columbia River and rode up the road along the Klickatat River, it's an amazing ride on the Washington side. The roads to the south of The Dalles are great too.

taverre

Alright so this is off topic for sure but does anyone replying to this love there or near by? If so, can you speak to the schools in the area? Ratings online are pretty low. Also, I have only found three rental properties in Hood River, is this right?

Dabbo

So sorry did not see this and didn't know was difficult to reply.
And don't check in very often.
Glad was able to give you some info.
Dabbo