Avenue of the Giants
 

I rode through it the last two days and absolutely loved it. For all you Pacific Coast Tourists heading north to south: Exit off the 101 at exit 674, you can't miss it, this will be the most epic redwood seeing road you will ever ride. It curves around massive trees with gentle rolling hills. Traffic is low :) Don't pass it up. You'll see why ;)

Some pics of it on my blog on post "Day 33"

Will do! Like your blog. I'll be reading it as you progress to SF. We're doing much the same route from Florence to SF next year. Great stuff! Thanks!

Awesome pictures!!!

That place was AWESOME! I wish it had lasted longer. I think the real heart of it was only 25 miles long, although there are redwoods before and after...but none form that deep, lush forest canopy like the Avenue of Giants. Little traffic, too.

Yes, you are doing it right! Here's a tip, when you get to Jenner, Calif. turn inland and go to Guerneville on the Russian River. Take the tour at the Korbel Champagne Cellers, then ride up to Sebastipol, Occidental and back to the coast. If you do this there is a bakery just south of Occidental called the Wild Flour, DO NOT MISS THIS it's fantastic. I also enjoy your blog.

Man that is amazing, we're planning on doing some of that route to get over to Santa Rosa for a couple of rest days.

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/14541907

I highly recommend at least riding a bit up bull creek flats road at the northern end of the avenue of the giants, it is amazing!!! I had been riding in the rain for 5 hours, but stll headed up bull flats for about 5 miles to experience the redwoods, didn't regret getting further soaked to the bone.

oh, its nice in there. the whole bit from where the 1 turns inland north of Fort Bragg from the coast seems real nice there, once you get past the first twisty bit. jeepers.

How are you getting to Florence? If you are going to Florence from Eugene, there is a much nicer option for riding to the coast than heading to Florence, at least I prefer it. http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/31073976 This ride takes you southwest out of Eugene, over three bumps and down the Smith River to Reedsport. 91 miles and easily done in one day or there are established campgrounds (slight detour) or riverside camping spots (bring H2O filter). After the first twenty miles, you may not see another soul until you can smell the ocean. Unless you happen to be riding there when something like Cycle Oregon is passing that way (over 2000 smiling cyclists), which they were yesterday. Most of this ride is in BLM land on nearly unused paved roads. No houses from mile 23 until about mile 70. Over the years I have seen nearly as many bears along that stretch as I have had cars pass me. I just love riding there.

If Florence is a must, there are routes through the BLM land that will get you there with just a bit of gravel. You can choose to go over Roman Nose or not, depending on your idea of a good time.

We're following the ACA TransAm route from Eugene. This route you show looks interesting. Touring on fully loaded bikes, I doubt we'd attempt it all in one day. What are the camping options about half way? Towns with grocery stores, etc.?

Florence is not necessarily a must, in fact the camping options there appear to be a bit sketchy...but our ACA maps are a wealth of information for the route we plan to follow.

No stores on the route I gave you until around ten miles from the coast, so you'll have to carry everything. Here's a route with a detour to an established campground (Clay Creek): http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/50624968 It's a little longer, but has a similar amount of climbing. There's only one real climb on day two, up Esmond creek to change watersheds from the Siuslaw River to the Smith River. It is easy to find the turn from Siuslaw River Rd. to Esmond Creek. It is right at the milepost 10. Just before the climb up Esmond Creek (about 4 miles past the turn onto Esmond Creek Rd.) is the only place you could possibly miss a turn; the pavement looks equally good if you take the left fork up the dead-end of Esmond Creek rather than going straight over the bridge. Go straight over the bridge and then start climbing.

If you don't mind camping without an official campsite, you can camp just about anywhere along the Siuslaw or Smith Rivers. Just bring a water filter and you're good to go.

The two routes I gave you are some of the best roads I've ever ridden on. The surface is just chipseal, but the total lack of traffic while you ride along the rivers is awesome. Just ignore the clear-cuts. I'm sure some folks will post some pictures of these roads from this year's Cycle Oregon ride sometime next week. Check them out.

I'm not sure why ACA doesn't have this as their main option. Nearly all of the folks who ride to the coast from Eugene take the first route I gave you. Even fully loaded the ride is quite doable in one day. I've often left Eugene fully loaded in the early morning and ridden to either Bandon or Humbug Mtn. on day one. Of course one is much less likely to stop to smell the roses in one's own backyard.

Thanks for the info BC, we're considering the route. Enough so that we have included on our itinerary (in writing) from Eugene.

I used to live at about mile 15 on that route, on Wolf Creek Road! This time of year, there are probably magic mushrooms growing in the field next to the little creek behind the firehouse, if anyone's still interested in those things...

If you do end up going to Florence, there is a nice state park just south of town-name escapes me at the moment-that I stayed in a few years back very nice, with good bathrooms...

JM Honeyman SP I think. That is our currently planned overnight stop after a front tire dip in the ocean and a celebratory cigar.
Thanks for the positive review on the campground...those really do help in the planning stages of any trip.

Dan, I see on your blog that you are back in Denver safe and sound. It has been fun following your tour via the blog, what a great adventure. Here's to many more adventures, it's a big world out there, go see it!

On our TA we wanted to see just a bit of the coast so we flew into Portland, rented a car one way from Portland to Newport, Stayed a night in Beverly Beach SP, and returned the car in New Port to start the ride. That worked out well for us.

BTW: I just finished my pacific coast tour and Yes the Avenue of the Giants was amazing. The section of Redwoods above Elk Prairie was pretty cool too. Only a few miles, but a great downhill ride to camp through the redwoods. I think that was Newton B. Drury Parkway after Klamath, if I remember correctly.

Hi Dan. I met you on the Kern River as I was heading south on Sierra Cascades.
- Sequoias vs Redwoods?

thanks :) cheers

I enjoyed the coastal redwoods more, because the undergrowth was thicker and there was a higher density of big trees vs. normal trees. How did you like Kernville?

I found that for the actual trees themselves the Sequoias were more impressive to me. On the other hand riding through the Redwoods was better because the beauty went on for miles. Both were really awesome though.

I liked Kernville - a happening little town - but there was a Music festival and everything was booked up. So, I went to Wofford Heights/Lake Isabella. Kernville is much nicer.