biking from Eugene to the Oregon Coast

[SHOEMAKER Lee]

I'm looking for a good bike route to the coast from the Eugene area. I'm also interested in roads not to take. This would be a group ride. Any ideas are greatly appreciated....Lee

Lee Shoemaker
Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator
City of Eugene Public Works
99 E. Broadway, Suite 400
Eugene, OR 97401-3174
Voice: 541-682-5471
Fax: 541-682-5598
www.eugene-or.gov/bicycles

[Douglas C. Hintz]

I strongly recommend Smith River Road. I rode it this summer from
the coast back to Eugene and there was virtually no traffic. Paved
the whole way. There is one store about 15 miles upriver from the
coast. Comes out about two miles north of Reedsport. You have a
couple of options to get there. Lorane Highway to Lorane, west on
Siuslaw River Road, then either turn south on Buck Creek Road, which
is about 10 miles west of Lorane, or stay on Siuslaw River Road, past
the turn off for Wolf Creek, past the old forest work camp, until you
hit the Oxbow Burn Road. There is a nice big wooden map at that
junction. Or you can go Crow Road to Wolf Creek then right on
Siuslaw River Road to the Oxbow Road. Total distance is probably
around 90 miles.

Doug

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[Shane Rhodes]

Do we have this on the GEARs ride list page? If not it would be great
to put it up there and mark it as a Coast route.

http://eugenegears.org/ridelist

Shane

[Sue]

The Smith River Route is certainly nice, and free of traffic (but also
free of services. You have to be sure to have plenty of water and
food). The last time I was out there, the big wooden sign at the
Oxbow wasn't.

The other not-bad alternative is Highway 36 (you can go out past Fern
Ridge and then Lawrence Road to Highway 36). It certainly has more
traffic than Smith River Road, but it still has relatively light
traffic, presents only one very mild hill to climb, is pretty (goes
past Triangle Lake, Lake Creek Falls, and farmland along the North
Fork Siuslaw), is shorter than the Smith River Route, and has several
stores along the way. It brings you out at Mapleton, where you face
the somewhat ugly last stretch along 126, with heavier traffic and a
likely afternoon headwind--but at least there's a very wide shoulder
on that section.

I often make a loop of it--take Smith River out to the coast, spend
the night, and then head up to Florence to take Highway 36 home.

Sue