Columbia River Gorge fly & ride
Anyone interested in this 500 mile ride along the Columbia River?
Looks like a great motorcycle ride. Here's the map with directions.
EagleRider rents a variety of bikes 20 miles from the Portland airport, making the great northwest accessible to all would choose to ride.
TripCheck website provides current highway info from Oregon DOT.
Head 25 miles southeast of Portland on US Hwy 26 for a great view of Mt. Hood.
http://traveloregon.com/trip-ideas/oregon-stories/best-views-of-mt-hood/
Google Maps photo of Mt. Hood by Heather Rogers Thompson May 2008
Bend, Oregon
Bend offers good riding, including the 66 mile Cascades Lakes Scenic Byway.
“Round a bend to find Mt. Bachelor looming larger than life—and find its image perfectly reflected in a mile-high lake around another bend—and you’ll understand why Scenic America named the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway one of the nation’s most important byways. The Byway passes through the heart of central Oregon, with the towering Cascade Mountains providing a constant backdrop for a recreational paradise that offers first class fishing, boating, hiking, rock climbing opportunities and wonderful alpine and Nordic skiing in the winter. The mountains provide practical as well as scenic pleasures; they block moist air from the Pacific, giving this region as many as 250 sunny days a year!”
22 miles northwest of Bend, Oregon take Hwy 242 west for a twisty narrow ride thru heavily wooded terrain. This road may be closed due to weather so check with Oregon DOT's TripCheck website. Hwy 242 is part of Oregon Scenic Byway's McKenzie Pass - Santiam Pass Scenic Byway.
"The 82-mile McKenzie Pass-Santiam Pass Scenic Byway runs
through the east end of Linn County, connecting east Linn County’s snowcapped Mt. Jefferson and Mt. Washington, and the very unique Three-Fingered Jack, gorgeous Clear Lake and Sahlie and
Koosah falls on Highway 126, on the west end, with Sisters at the east. " http://trailstolinn.com/scenic-byways
Steven Michael has nice photos and the map below on his blogspot page.
Quartzville Creek Backcountry Byway is also nearby. This ride follows the creek for much of it's 50
miles from just east of Sweet Home to just south of Marion Forks.
"Explore the charm and elegance of the Quartzville Creek Backcountry Byway. Wander a forest path beside Green Peter Reservoir. Stop and take a swim. Meander alongside the blue-green depths of Quarzville Creek, a wild and scenic river, carving a corridor amidst towering old growth forests - some trees are over 450 years old, and more than 200 feet tall. Enjoy wildflowers in spring and glistening reds and golds in autumn. No matter the season the byway is marked in drama and subtlety. Give yourself at least 1 to 2 hours for the journey. Perhaps more. The byway is 50 miles long, and there is much to delight ..."
http://www.travelbywaysandgetaways.com/dir/quartzville-creek-backcountry-byway.htm
The very top of the figure 8 is the Quartzville Creek Backcountry Byway.
The bottom loop of the figure 8 is the McKenzie-Santiam Scenic Byway.
See larger map with directions.
Crater Lake National Park is 90 miles south of Bend, about 65 miles north of
Medford.
By Epmatsw (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crater_Lake_Panorama,_Aug_2013.jpg
Here's another loop in southern Oregon.
See larger map with directions