Ty0604

Who else on here has completed the Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway from Portland to Eugene? It officially starts at Champoeg State Park in Newberg but you can connect to it from Portland, which is what I did.

I rode.....

Day 1: Portland ---> Champoeg
Day 2: Champoeg ---> Independence
Day 3: Independence ---> Brownsville
Day 4: Brownsville ---> Eugene

Took Amtrak back due to time constraints

I could have done it much faster but enjoyed my slow ride through the valley while spending 6 or so hours on Saturday browsing farmers markets in Salem. Wanting to hear others peoples thoughts on this bikeway?

Questions, comments, concerns etc!

CliffordK

I did it, except I picked it up in Brownsville.

Day 1: Springfield to Marcola to Brownsville to Peoria to near Corvallis to Albany to Salem to Champoeg to Portland.

It was a nice ride, although it was a rather long day, and I managed to find one of the hottest days in the year to ride.

I generally followed the course for the southward trip, but managed to find a couple of extra shortcuts that shaved off about 30 miles from the ride and made it much more manageable.

I do need to look for alternatives to HWY 99 for the ride around Portland.

enigmaT120

I've only ridden a couple of segments of it, north and south of Salem. I got lost trying to get through Salem on it. Not lost, but I think I got off the actual route. And I've ridden out River Road South to Independence, but I was heading home from there to Falls City so just went south a little ways then cut across to the west on back roads. I don't like riding through Monmouth and Independence.

CliffordK

Yeah, I got lost in Salem too. I was coming from the South. As the route enters Salem, I think it turns back South for a couple of blocks, then hits the south side of Bush's Pasture park, and then through the east/middle of the park....

Coming from the North, heading southward just few days later, I think a HUGE HOLE opened up in the middle of the route through Salem. So, I had to cut along a stream, and wander through Salem a bit to get around that hole. I don't remember any good detour signs at that time either.

There were a couple places where better signs would have been good, but in general the route was pretty well marked. I think in Albany, I never really lost the course, but it seemed as if I would go through miles of city streets without any indication that I was on the correct path.

In Salem, actually, the route signs also changed format which I didn't notice at first.

B. Carfree

I didn't get lost or lose the route in Salem, but I wasn't very happy with the route. Fortunately, it was early on Sunday morning as I (actually we, since my wife and I were riding out then-new tandem home from Seattle). If that's the best that can be done there, then maybe it should be routed around the city. There's some nice roads to ride on a bit east of there (my normal route to PDX is mostly east of the WVSB, although it has its issues as well).

This route isn't really ready for prime time. I would feel bad for someone who came from afar to ride it in the the mistaken belief that it's the among the best we have to offer. Unfortunately, since the staff that puts these together don't really ride much and also don't have much authority to improve the facts on the ground, it's probably going to keep most of its problems.

CliffordK

I'm not sure the history of the route. Travel Oregon is trying to organize some cycle routes around the state including some gravel routes.

My guess is that this route was actually created by a cyclist, or a group of cyclists.

There are certainly multiple demands on bike routes. I don't know if there were better routes. It did wind around a lot, and someone probably designed it to hit every major city between Eugene and Portland. It is about 100 miles from Eugene to Portland as the crow flies. On the scenic bike route, going northward, I think it was 181 miles for my ride.

Heading back south, I took a few shortcuts and whittled it down to about 145 miles. Still quite a few, but the 181 miles pretty much pushed me to my limit. Cutting off 40 miles or so brought it back down to a manageable distance.

I took a rest break at the Talbot Community Church near the Buena Vista Ferry, both directions. On the way back, the pastor offered me some water, and I talked to him for a bit. He seemed quite nice.

enigmaT120

I couldn't get the water to work at the Buena Vista park. Luckily I had plenty, and was going west from there anyway so I filled up a bottle at Helmick State Park just the other side of 99W. I love those roads.

velocity

Anyone have a GPS file on this?
V

CliffordK

From Ride With GPS



I believe the ride can be exported in a number of different formats.

I did deviate from the course somewhat. In particular, heading northbound, I went through Marcola (that big peak early in the route).

Heading southward, I took a shortcut just north of Salem, and then also took HWY 99 from Albany to Harrisburg, then Coburg road and Powerline road.

CliffordK

Northbound, I stopped in Peoria for a snack (no water).
Park in Albany with water.
Snack at the Talbot Community Church headed northbound, Water there southbound.
Water at Bush's Pasture park in Salem southbound.
Water at Willamette Mission State Park northbound (one has to go a couple of miles into the park to get it, but I needed water).
Water at Champoeg State Park. Best place to get it was around the tourist center there.

velocity

THANK YOU! very much appreciated
V

Ty0604

I'm not sure why I missed all the replies on here. Oops! Hope it's okay that I'm reviving a 3 months old thread.

Thanks for sharing everyone! I'd like to bus down to Eugene and go North. I leave May 1 for a cross country tour so maybe I can sneak it in before then if the weather cooperates.

CliffordK

I'm not sure there was a huge difference between my ride northward and southward, other than taking a few shortcuts on the return trip.

Looking at my GPS log above, somewhere around the 200 mile point would have been down near the Willamette river in Portland, so I did loose a few hundred feet over the whole trip. The early peak was going out Marcola road which wasn't on the official route, although it was a good start to the trip.

Anyway, dropping 500 feet over 200 miles is about 2 feet per mile Not enough to get excited over going either Northbound or Southbound, with enough small peaks in the middle.

Are you a 1-day masochist? Or a 3-day casual touring type person? 11-13 MPH? 18-20 MPH?

Let me know when you wish to do the ride, and I just might join you if we decided we would have compatible riding styles.

Ty0604

I'm a 3-day casual tourist type person. 10-15 MPH. I'm sure I could do it in one day if I wanted to but touring isn't a race to me. I like taking my time and stopping at farmers markets etc along the way! On my way to Eugene I must have spent 2 hours in Salem at a farmers market downtown.

I live in Beaverton so my home has always been my starting/ending point.

I've only ridden in Eugene a few times but it gives me nightmares. The whole having both bikes lanes on one side of the street is sketch to me. Are you a fan of it? I've never feared for my life more than when I was riding through UO's campus and downtown Eugene.

Ty0604

PS: I was suppose to stay one night at Armitage County Park where the bikeway ends at but when I got there they had NO mention of a hiker/biker camp and I wasn't about to pay $20 for a spot. That and I was soaked from my ride from Brownsville that morning. It rained and then sleeted on me. I went home a day early.

I emailed the park when I got home and they told me they had a hiker/biker camp so I shamed them for not having any signs up announcing this. I hope they've added some. They certainly lost my business that night because of it.

CliffordK

I think Alder street is the only 2-way bike path. For me, it is just fine, although it seems that I more frequently head southbound, so I'm often moving over into the car lane to pass all the skateboards. I'm rarely coming northbound which would be more constrained. The lights at 18[SUP]th[/SUP] and Alder are a bit different from expected, but seem to work. I am so used to just following traffic signals. I'm trying to remember how it was. I think a few years ago, we had a one-way street and a path on both sides of the street, and I never had a problem with that. I suppose the new system gives a bit more of a buffer for northbound bikes.

Actually, I never had a problem with riding on any road that has a speed limit of around 15 MPH, so I would probably prefer a wide northbound bike lane, plus sharrows for southbound. However, slow moving skateboards are so popular that it probably wouldn't work well without completely closing the road to vehicles.

13[SUP]th[/SUP] street, near campus has been changed from a 2-way path to a 1-way path + sharrows, which I think is an improvement.

I do like the bike path and sawdust trail system along the Willamette river, and regularly hit the riverside trail system.

I think there are a few more offroad trails up in Portland, as well as better connections for the springwater trail which is nice.

CliffordK

Your speed is probably ok, I can vary some. I'm trying to speed up a bit, but can't maintain a high speed for hundreds of miles. However, I do more of the dawn to dusk riding (or longer) only stopping for the occasional snack or water refill in the middle. For me, it is as much about the destination as the trip. Perhaps one could try something new and smell a few more roses.

I don't get to Armatage very frequently. Perhaps I'll check it out and get back to you, although this would be the off-season so things could be different in the summer.

How do you get from Beaverton to Champoeg? I'll have to study the bike paths a bit more. As you can see from my map above, I cut over to 99W to Tigard, then up Greenburg/Oleson. The shoulders on HWY 99 are wide, but it is a BUSY street. But, I was also hurting on the distance, so a straight line is always good.

Ty0604

I live off of Jenkins so starting from there I take Jenkins (1 mile) to Murray Blvd (5 miles) to SW Barrows Rd (1 mile) to SW Scholls Ferry Rd (1/2 mile) to Roy Rodgers Rd (4 miles) to SW Lynnly Way (0.2 miles) to SW Houston Dr (few hundred feet maybe) to SW Edy Rd (1/2 mile) to SW Copper Terrance (1/2 mile) to SW Handley St (few hundred feet maybe) to SW Elwert (1/2 mile) to Highway 99 (5 1/2 miles) to N Springbrook Rd (1 mile) to Highway 219 (2 1/2 miles) to Champoeg Rd (3 miles)

Total distance from my house: 26 miles

I'm sure you could avoid most of those shorter roads by taking the highway but I prefer to ride a few extra miles to avoid the traffic.

99 is very busy. Nothing like a car buzzing you going 60. Luckily as you mentioned the shoulders are very wide. I'm sure if they were any narrower they wouldn't have routed the bike route onto it. I feel pretty safe on it. Only when there's off/on ramps do I get a bit nervous and focus on those until I pass them.

Ty0604

Alder St sounds right. I've ridden from downtown Eugene out to the Valley River Center along that path. It's nice. I got lost once over by the freeway where the path disappears for a few hundred feet. Not an issue if you know the area probably but was for me.

The Springwater Corridor in Portland is okay. Lately they're had a huge issue with homeless people threatening cyclist on there. A few people have even had their bikes stolen. It's become a homeless camp pretty much. I've done the ride from Portland to Boring once and back along the Springwater Corridor and it's sketch. Trash and homeless people everywhere. Broken glass, needles etc. The city is trying to clean it up. I probably wont ride it until it's cleaned up.

I start downtown at Tom McCall Waterfront Park. It's hard to ride through when it's busy. My bike isn't meant to go slow if you know what I mean.

CliffordK

I'll map out your route north of Champoeg shortly.

It has been about 15 years since I've been on the Springwater trail. Earlier, it would just end overlooking McLaughlin, without even a way to get down there without backtracking. East Portland has always struggled with some neighborhoods, while other neighborhoods are certainly getting better.

The last time I was riding that way, I think I headed south into Milwaukie, and finding some fairly new bike paths, although there still were a few pinch points along the roads.

I could imagine being distressed when the bike trail in Eugene dumps out on residential streets, but it is easy to pick t up again after about 1/4 mile. They've done some trail improvements on the norteast side of the river, and the trail goes pretty much uninterrupted through town, while the southwest side uses a couple of residential streets as part of the path. It is pretty easy to cut from the paths over to Coburg Road and the Armitage Park area, once one gets used to it.

Ty0604

I'm only 23 and been in Portland for 2.5 years now. Not sure how long the Springwater Corridor has gone all the way to Boring.

I had trouble following the signs in Eugene where the tail disappeared at. I had to ask some locals. I found my way back okay though.

There's a really cool ride out in Madras that goes around Lake Billy Chinook. I did it last February I think it was. It's 33 miles roughly with some steep hills. I was with a friend who couldn't do the hills so we stayed above the lake and only hit two of the major hills and avoiding about four others. I'd like to do that one again with someone who's in better shape.

CliffordK

We're experiencing some topic drift, but that is ok.

I've boated the Metoleus river, but I haven't biked in that area very much. Man that river bites, but it was a fun boat trip.

Lately I've been doing doorstep rides which is a bit limiting. The McKenzie Pass is an excellent side-trip from Eugene. Best to do before about June 15. I've been working on a route to get up there with minimal riding on HWY 126, as long as one is OK with a little COURSE gravel. But, a direct route to the mountain and back pushes my limits for a one-day ride.

For lake loops, Crater Lake would be on my bucket list... if I had a bucket list.

Ty0604

I want to do Crater as well. I've biked Seattle ---> San Diego twice along the coast. I'd like to do it along the Cascades in my lifetime. Maybe follow the STP from Seattle to Portland and then the Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway to Eugene and go from there.

choteau

The hiker/biker sites at Armitage are just past the "caretaker" rv. Enter from Coburg Rd, go past dog park, turn right, rv is on left, sites are on left next to toilet building. Not my idea of nice, but... Tim

Joeyseven

I never heard of the Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway until I found this thread.

I've only ridden part of the bikeway.From Jefferson to Peoria road or White Oak rd/HWY 34 right outside of Corvallis.

Also the bike path on the north side of 34 from Riverside Dr to Covallis is now complete.