best route from portland to the coast

[RayfromTX]

My buddy and I are flying up to do the STP in July. We're going to keep going down the coast to San Franscisco. We plan to do it in 8 days. If we don't get all the way to Frisco that's ok too. My question is which route is best to get from Portland over to the Pacific coast bike route? We would also appreciate any tips that y'all have learned that might help us out along the way. Our wives will be sightseeing along the way and getting the hotels or b&bs arranged ahead of us. Camping won't really be an option with them along. Thanks in advance.

[mtnbud]

My buddy and I are flying up to do the STP in July. We're going to keep going down the coast to San Franscisco. We plan to do it in 8 days. If we don't get all the way to Frisco that's ok too. My question is which route is best to get from Portland over to the Pacific coast bike route? We would also appreciate any tips that y'all have learned that might help us out along the way. Our wives will be sightseeing along the way and getting the hotels or b&bs arranged ahead of us. Camping won't really be an option with them along. Thanks in advance.

How many miles do you want to do in a day? I'd suggest the Nestucca River Byway. (There is a short stretch of gravel, but traffic is virtually non-existent.) It should be about 65 miles from McMinnville to Pacific City. Your wives would probably like wandering through McMinnville's historic downtown area. I'd bet they could find a nice bed and breakfast nearby.

Link to BLM website.

[Jeff Wills]

My buddy and I are flying up to do the STP in July. We're going to keep going down the coast to San Franscisco. We plan to do it in 8 days. If we don't get all the way to Frisco that's ok too. My question is which route is best to get from Portland over to the Pacific coast bike route? We would also appreciate any tips that y'all have learned that might help us out along the way. Our wives will be sightseeing along the way and getting the hotels or b&bs arranged ahead of us. Camping won't really be an option with them along. Thanks in advance.

This has been covered many times here, but also consult the BikePortland forum: http://bikeportland.org/forum/

If you don't mind a little backtracking, going west/north through Hillsboro, Vernonia, Mist, and the Nehalem Highway (OR 202) is awful pretty.

[adventurepdx]

This has been covered many times here, but also consult the BikePortland forum: http://bikeportland.org/forum/

Yep, it's been talked about before. A few examples:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...c-Coast-in-May
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...rthwest-Oregon
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...Portland-on-26

The two options Jeff and mtnbud said. I've done both, and my general impressions:

• Hillsboro-Banks/Vernonia Trail-47-202 Route (Jeff): Good way to get to Astoria, northernmost point on the Oregon Coast. Two low passes. Light traffic and minimal services. Pastoral scenery.
• Nestucca (mtnbud): The quietest, most remote route to the coast. Good option if you want to get further south for a start, as it drops you off in Beaver, half-way between Tillamook and Pacific City. Even less services than Jeff's route, and the biggest and steepest climb (2,000ft). You won't get a bigger pass until Leggett in Mendocino County, and that's slightly higher than the summit on the Nestucca Road.

A good overview of the various options from Portland to the Coast:
http://www.portlandonline.com/transp...36638&a=301633

You said that you won't be camping. You'll then need to get to the Coast in one shot, as neither route has hotels, etc along the way. If that's the case, the Nestucca might be the best shot as it's about 70 miles to the coast from Hillsboro (western Portland suburb).

[TheHen]

Well, here's a slightly different suggestion. You could head up the Willamette Valley to Eugene and then ride over to the coast from there. The advantages to this are that you get to continue with tailwind-assisted flatland riding and there are plenty of places to lodge in Eugene and along the way if you decide to loaf and make two days of the beginning leg. I haven't ridden from Portland to the coast, but I doubt if the ride could be as nice and quiet as the ride along the Smith River to the coast from Eugene. This also bypasses the part of the coast that seems to have the highest number of negative incidents for cyclists.

Here's a route from Portland to Eugene: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/43128524

Here's the route from Eugene to the Coast (at Reedsport): http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/fullscreen/31073976/
No services between Eugene and Reedsport. Heck, I've ridden that route and not seen any people between mile 20 and mile 75.

If you like quiet roads and with some good hills, you might consider leaving the ACA route at Fortuna and heading through Ferndale and on over the wall to the Lost Coast. That does sacrifice the Avenue of the Giants. You could also do part of the Avenue and then head over to Honeydew and then over Wilder Ridge towards Shelter Cove. From there, you'll have to head back out to hwy101 unless you are set up to ride a bit of dirt road. If so, then Usal Rd. takes you to hwy1 thirty miles north of Fort Bragg (near mp 90).

Your spouses' car better be off-road worthy if they are going to try to drive on Usal Rd., and have them bring chains and maybe a winch if they try. Usal Rd. is a clay one-lane road that is nestled between a wilderness area and a private hunting preserve. It is fairly hilly and gets over 100 inches of rain, so it can have drainage ruts that are well over a foot deep. It's great fun on a touring bike; I'm not so sure about a road bike or a car.

[RayfromTX]

Thanks Y'all. I think we will ride from Portland to beaver on the Nestucca river byway and take Sand Lake rd around the south section of the three capes to Pacific city if that sounds good. We will ride about 100 miles a day and 5,000 feet of climbing in a day is about as much as we'll want to do but is completely manageable especially if it's not every day. That gets us through day 3. Any suggestions further south or a nice hotel or B&B near Pacific city? I'm really getting excited. We started riding last spring and I think we'll be ready. We live in the hill country so climbing is sort of what we do. Next weekend we'll do 3 days in a row of 100 miles to see how it feels when we start stacking them on top of each other. We still have almost 3 months to train so I think we will be a bit stronger by then as well. Thanks for the help so far.

[moleman76]

Just a bit north of downtown Tillamook, do stop at the cheexe factory, enjoy an ice cream cone, and watch the bricks of cheese on the conveyors for a break.
For dining in Pacific City, try the Grateful Bread bakery.
In Newport, "Local Ocean Seafoods", toward the east end of the street on the bayfront.
Try "Trip Advisor" for lodging (and other dining) suggestions. and, "traveloregon.com" has a lot of help, too.
http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/BIKEP...e_map.pdf?ga=t is the State of Orygun's official handy-dandy map; you may find them at visitor centers, too.

There are a lot of nice places to pull off and look at the scenery; it will be a bit different than you're used to in Texas!

[RayfromTX]

Thanks for the tips moleman. I have only visited Oregon once several years ago to visit my sister. It was beautiful and the flora was amazing. I decided I didn't like rain enough to have that much plant life so I didn't move there on the spot but it was tempting. I can hardly wait to do this trip. I wish I could have convinced the others to spend a couple more days. My plan to keep from feeling rushed is to only ride what feels comfortable and if we don't make it to Frisco in the time allowed, we'll drive the rest of the way at the end. Local Oceans sounds like a good place for lunch based on where we will probably be. We need to find a destination somewhere near Florence for that night.

[mtnbud]

Awesome! I'm looking forward to reading your trip report after it's all done!

The climb out of Carlton to the coast range crest is steep. The rest of the ride to Pacific City should be a piece of cake. A friend and I did a 110 mile day utilizing that same road. I'd get an early start to play it safe. I haven't done much of the hotel and bread and breakfast type lodging - others should have some good ideas.

I used to like the Pelican Brewery in Pacific City, but no so much after my last visit. The last time I ate in PC, I tried the Oar House Bar and Grill and that was fairly decent. There's a little spot that serves breakfast in Pacific City called the Village Cafe that was awesome IMO. (Small run-down place with homemade bread and cinnamon rolls and breakfast like grandma used to make.)

Down the road in Lincoln City there's an Indian Casino that has a buffet if you like that sort of thing. It's not the best, but if you're hungry it's a pretty good deal. Speaking of buffets, Izzy's buffet in Newport has about the best view in town. Florence has a burger joint called Bliss Hot Rod Grill that has a fairly unique exterior and interior. Their burgers are pretty good and their milkshakes are awesome. Others will know where the nice restaurants are - sometimes there aren't a lot of choices. I find there's less and less as you head further south.

Be sure and use the detours outlined in the Oregon Coast Bike Route. The detour at Neskowin (Slab Creek Road) will add 5 miles , but it'll take you away from the traffic of 101 for awhile and is worth it. After Depot Bay, keep your eyes open for the Otter Crest Loop - that's a must do - one lane is bicycles only and the view along the road is fantastic. Keep your eyes open for Oregon Coast Bike Route signs, they'll direct you to low volume side roads when possible. When you get to Coos Bay, I'd take the wives over to Shore Acres and Cape Arago State Park for a little sight seeing. If you haven't seen the Redwoods in Northern California before, you're going to be awestruck by their size. You may want to spend a day with the wives exploring once you get there.

I'm really excited for you guys! I hope you have a great trip this summer!

[Jeff Wills]

Thanks Y'all. I think we will ride from Portland to beaver on the Nestucca river byway and take Sand Lake rd around the south section of the three capes to Pacific city if that sounds good. We will ride about 100 miles a day and 5,000 feet of climbing in a day is about as much as we'll want to do but is completely manageable especially if it's not every day. That gets us through day 3. Any suggestions further south or a nice hotel or B&B near Pacific city? I'm really getting excited. We started riding last spring and I think we'll be ready. We live in the hill country so climbing is sort of what we do. Next weekend we'll do 3 days in a row of 100 miles to see how it feels when we start stacking them on top of each other. We still have almost 3 months to train so I think we will be a bit stronger by then as well. Thanks for the help so far.

The Anchorage Motel http://www.anchoragemotel.net/ is owned by a couple of bicycling friends. (Although it's been a while since I visited.) I wouldn't call it "superb", but Pacific City is pretty small.

FWIW: don't assume that your route is flat just because it's near the ocean. There's plenty of ups and downs, especially once you get further south.

[skiph]

To get from the greater Portland metro area to the coast...you might take a look at the route that is used by the Reach the Beach ride that is done in mid-May.

You can join the route at a number of places, but the actual route to the coast is probably better and easier than that Nestucca River Byway.

One of my buddies rode that last summer; with about 20 pounds of gear (very light packer), and it was a killer route.

And, as one other poster mentioned, it sort if dumps you out on Hwy 101 litterly in the middle of nowhere.

The Reach the Beach route also ends in Pacific City and is a very nice ride over a good road from Grand Ronde, over a low pass and then down the Little Nestucca River, hitting Hwy 101 about 4.5 miles south of Pacific City.

That Reach the Beach ride has about 3,000 riders in it each year, with starts from several towns along the way, giving routes of 100 miles, 80 miles, 55 miles and about 25 miles.

See info and maps of the route here:

http://action.lung.org/site/TR/Bike/...nal&fr_id=5060

The maps on the RtB site are not very good, so if you look online at a site called RideWithGPS.com you can find better maps of the RtB route, and maybe one of the route from Salem if you wanted to start there (was from West Salem, actually).

I've ridden the Amity to P.C. route a few times. There used to be a start in Salem, but that was eliminated several years ago (rode that one also). I've also ridden the RtB route backwards from P.C. to meet friends who were riding from Salem or Amity, then I rode back to the coast with them.

Here's one for example, started in Beaverton, rode to P.C. then on south to Lincoln City (land of a 1,000 motels...):

http://ridewithgps.com/trips/42701

Here's the one from Newberg to P.C.:

http://ridewithgps.com/trips/42044

As I said, you could pick up that route at a number of places...near Newberg, Dayton, etc. if you didn't want to ride all the way from Portland to the beach in one day.

FYI, I live in Newport, ride up and down the local stretch of Hwy 101 a lot. We also sometimes go up north and ride from the P.C. area, do the Three Capes in a loop through Tillamook.

Again from talking to a rider one day heading down the coast, and my riding buddy about that Nestucca River Byway...I'd take the RtB route to the coast.

[mtnbud]

One of my buddies rode that last summer; with about 20 pounds of gear (very light packer), and it was a killer route.

Don't let the climb scare you. Being from out of state, you owe it to yourselves to experience something out of the ordinary. The Nestucca River route will be the quietest section you'll experience on your whole ride. It's about 5 miles of climbing with some sections being fairly steep. It's a tough climb, but it'll be worth the effort.


"That which does not kill us makes us stronger."
Friedrich Nietzsche

[RayfromTX]

We'll the Nestucca route. We live in the hill country and climb hills is all we do. We will reall be trying to find the roads with the best scenery and the least traffic. One of my riding buddies was run over and killed by a car last weekend. An elderly man took the wide shoulder he was riding on to bypass stopped traffic and get up to his right turn. My friend was hit at near highway speed and died very quickly. Hills don't scare me but cars do. The last thing he said to me was that everybody gets hit eventually and that my time would come.

[mtnbud]

One of my riding buddies was run over and killed by a car last weekend. An elderly man took the wide shoulder he was riding on to bypass stopped traffic and get up to his right turn. My friend was hit at near highway speed and died very quickly.

I'm very sorry to hear about your buddy Ray. That truly sucks.

I sure hope you enjoy your trip this summer. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about Oregon.