Triumphrat

GoinPostal · 07-28-2007

I am putting together my ride for the end of August, beginning of Sept. I will be leaving from The Bay Area (SF that is) and I was wondering if the trip across Oregon (northeast) is worth it to ride Hells Canyon. If so, what would be the best roads from Crater Lake? I am not into 70-80 mph on 3-4 lanes of straight blacktop, the more sweepers, curves and elevation changes, the better.

Thanks

seumas · 07-29-2007

I didn't actually stop by Hell's Canyon when I went through Idaho on my way to British Columbia, but I can tell you that hwy 95 in Idaho was pretty nice. It goes through that area on the Idaho side of the border.

BTW, where are you in the Bay Area? My mom's in Martinez, sister in Discovery Bay and brother in Santa Rosa.

plowboyzzt · 07-29-2007

I'll offer what little bit I can....we rode to Yellowstone from Portland last summer. We stay north of Hwy. 26 across OR, to Pendleton and liked it a lot. From Pendleton we took Hwy. 11 ( I think) a little way east and took some back roads down to the crossing into ID. Those back roads were quite nice but the closest we got to Hell was a great overlook (and a gravel logging road in ID). The campgounds along those backroads fill up on the weekends, but are empty during the week.
Good luck.

GoinPostal · 07-29-2007

Thanks for the info. I've seen some photos of Hells Canyon and it looks great, but I figure the ride from the coast is 6 or 7 hours (one day each way) plus a day or so riding around there. Not sure if I want to invest 3 to 4 days of my trip on an unknown location, but I guess that's what it's all about. If it turns out good, I can post some pics and a ride report for all to see.

As for where in the North Bay, I live in Sonoma not far from Santa Rosa

Pablo · 08-06-2007

Sweepers? No! TWISTIES! YES!
Last April a bunch of us went south out of Pendelton to Hywy 26 then east to Hywy 7 and stayed overnight in Baker City. The next day we took 86 east toward Hells Canyon. At Oxbow we turned off, visited the Hells Canyon Dam, then back to Cambridge Idaho. We spent the next night in McCall, then headed north to Grangeville, Lewiston and back down to Joseph Oregon. If instead of north you decide to head south from McCall, though we didn't take it this time, Hywy 55 to Boise is another great 2 lane road.
It is hard to pick highlights as every day was more phenomenal than the previous but here is what I would recommend:
Between Mitchell and Dayville turn off on Highway 19. A couple miles up the road is the John Day Fossil Bed Research Center. Really interesting stuff and a great diversion.
Definitely make the side trip to the Hell's Canyon Dam, not so much for the dam, though the views are pretty cool, but for the trip. If I remember right it is about 20 miles from the bridge to the dam, all of it narrow two lane, hanging on the side of the ravine. I am blasting along, concentrating on the twisties and suddenly realized that I had gone from 20 feet off the water to about 1000 feet, inside of a mile! and most of it is without guard rails!
Fill your tank at Halfway because there is no gas between there and Cambridge.
Watch your speed going through the town of Oxbow. You are out in the middle of nowhere and suddenly it says "25 MPH". You go through a little bit of development and then it opens up again. It is still 25 MPH, believe me. When you get up on the edge of the cliff overlooking the Oxbow Dam you will understand why. There is one outside corner with no guard rail that will scare the $#!+ out of you. Especially if you meet a truck pulling a boat coming the other way! Oh yeah, and the cop drives a pickup truck!
If you can avoid staying in McCall it will probably save you $100. They are trying to make it into the next Sun Valley and the prices reflect it.
And the only 4 lane you will see is about a mile in Baker City!
Have fun, let us know how it goes.

seumas · 08-06-2007

If you're camping there's a state park in McCall. It sits right on the lake and has plenty of campsites.