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Geographic region: Willamette Valley farmland, Oregon Coast Range foothills
Municipality/town: Carlton
Route configuration: loop
Distance: 20.0 miles
Min/max elevation: 159’/1,648’
Total ascent: 2,076’
Max grade: 13.3% up/13.5% down
Surface: ~12.5 miles gravel/dirt road, ~7.5 miles paved road
Bikes allowed: yes (gravel or mountain bike recommended)
Obstacles: gate on High Heaven Rd at the 14.2-mile mark may be closed to automobile traffic but allows pedestrians and bikers to cross
Best months: spring, summer, fall (higher areas may be covered in snow during the winter)
Permits: none required
Traffic: mostly light to very light (can be moderate on NW Meadowlake Rd; virtually no traffic on NW Von Rd and the western half of NW High Heaven Rd). There may be some logging traffic on NW Von Rd and NW High Heaven Rd during the weekdays.
Feels safe to go alone (my personal comfort level): mostly, but the NW High Heaven and NW Von Rd sections are quite isolated and I bring bear spray when I go alone.
Driving distance from downtown Portland: 40 miles
[Click on buttons above to get route links on Gaia GPS or Ride with GPS]
To get to the start: Locate Carlton, OR. Head west on W Main St – go 0.3 mi. Continue onto SW Meadowlake Rd – go 0.9 mi. Turn L on NW Westside Dr – go 1.2 mi. Turn R on NW Shelton Rd – go 0.5 mi. Turn L on NW Fir Crest Rd – go 0.5 mi. Park at this intersection.
Head north on NW Hill Rd – go 0.5 mi
@0.5 mi: L on NW Shelton Rd – go 1.0 mi
@1.5 mi: L on NW Meadowlake Rd – go 2.0 mi
@3.5 mi: L on NW Panther Creek Rd – go 3.8 mi
@7.3 mi: L on NW Von Rd – go 3.3 mi
@10.6 mi: L on NW High Heaven Rd (at 4-way) – go 4.0 mi
@14.6 mi: L on NW Willis Rd – go 2.6 mi
@17.2 mi: L on NW Fir Crest Rd – go 1.7 mi
@18.9 mi: R to stay on NW Fir Crest Rd – go 1.1 mi
End @20.0 mi
Starting in fairly flat and open farmland for the first few miles, this course eventually heads into some steep and forested foothills of the Coast Range. Early in route, you will follow NW Meadowlake Road, which will be much quieter if you tackle this early on a weekend morning. Once you turn of this road, the rest of the course is very quiet.
You will then head west on NW Panther Creek Road through more farmlands and intermittent residential areas. Around seven miles, the paved road turns to gravel, and all but about a mile of the rest of the course will be on gravel and dirt roads as you loop through the Coast Range foothills back to open farmland.
At the 7.3-mile point, you will turn left onto NW Von Road, with the next six miles void of homes or farms as much of this area is owned by logging companies. The first three miles on NW Von Road is an arduously steep three-mile climb through the forest, but you will soon be rewarded with some stunning views of the lush, wooded foothills and valleys surrounding you.
The last six miles takes you downhill, sometimes quite steeply, through forest and farmland. The last mile-and-a-half opens up into wide crop fields, a stark but beautiful contrast from the hills behind you.
Geographic region: Willamette Valley farmland, Oregon Coast Range foothills
Municipality/town: Yamhill, Carlton
Route configuration: loop
Distance: 26.1 miles
Min/max elevation: 159’/1,647’
Total ascent: 2,743’
Max grade: 13.5% up/13.5% down
Surface: ~23 miles gravel/dirt road, ~3 miles paved road
Bikes allowed: yes (gravel or mountain bike recommended)
Obstacles: gate on High Heaven Rd at the 6.7-mile mark may be closed to automobile traffic but allows pedestrians and bikers to cross
Best months: spring, summer, fall (higher areas may be covered in snow during the winter)
Permits: none required
Traffic: mostly light to very light (virtually none on the western half of NW High Heaven Rd and NW Von Rd). There may be some logging traffic on NW Von Rd and NW High Heaven Rd during the weekdays.
Feels safe to go alone (my personal comfort level): mostly, but the NW High Heaven and NW Von Rd sections are quite isolated and I bring bear spray when I go alone.
Driving distance from downtown Portland: 40 miles
[Click on buttons above to get route links on Gaia GPS or Ride with GPS]
To get to the start: Locate Carlton, OR. Head west on W Main St – go 0.3 mi. Continue onto SW Meadowlake Rd – go 0.9 mi. Turn L on NW Westside Dr – go 1.2 mi. Turn R on NW Shelton Rd – go 0.5 mi. Turn L on NW Fir Crest Rd – go 0.5 mi. Park at this intersection.
Head west on NW Fir Crest Rd – go 1.1 mi
@1.1 mi: L to stay on NW Fir Crest Rd – go 1.7 mi
@2.8 mi: R on NW Willis Rd – go 2.5 mi
@5.3 mi: R on NW High Heaven Rd – go 4.0 mi
@9.3 mi: Slight R on NW Von Rd – go 3.3 mi
@12.6 mi: L on NW Panther Creek Rd – go 0.9 mi
@13.5 mi: R on NW Meadowlake Rd – go 0.4 mi
@13.9 mi: L on NW Moores Valley Rd – go 2.3 mi
@16.2 mi: R on NW Old Moores Valley Rd – go 1.5 mi
@17.7 mi: L on NW Puddy Gulch Rd – go 3.1 mi
@20.8 mi: R on NW Moores Valley Rd – go 0.7 mi
@21.5 mi: R on NW Rockyford Rd – go 1.3 mi
@22.8 mi: Continue straight on NW McBride Cemetery Rd – go 1.8 mi
@24.6 mi: Continue straight on NW Shelton Rd – go 1.0 mi
@25.6 mi: R on NW Hill Rd – go 0.5 mi
End @26.1 mi
This long and challenging route offers a fantastic combination of rolling farmlands, lush woods, and panoramic vistas of mountains and valleys. All but three miles are on gravel or dirt roads.
The first mile and a half take you along the edges of crop fields. From there to around mile 10, you will be going mostly uphill, at times very steeply, as you venture into lush forest. Around the 6.7-mile mark, on NW High Heaven Road, you will pass a gate which is normally open, as you enter logging country.
The peak of the entire route occurs just before mile 10, and you will be rewarded with some gorgeous views of richly green hills and valleys. For at least a couple of miles after the peak, you will be coasting down NW Von Road through more dense forest, until it eventually opens up into some recently clear-cut areas. From there you will make your way north via NW Panther Creek Road, over NW Meadowlake briefly and then onto NW Moores Valley Road. After going through a bit more forested area, the route will open up around mile 16 into farmland once again, with large herds of cattle on either side of the road.
At close to 18 miles, you will head east on NW Puddy Gulch Road which has a bit more trees again, but with peekaboo views of the farmland that are gorgeous. After a brief return to NW Moores Valley Road, you will take a sharp right on NW Rockyford Road to start the last four-mile stretch, with the last mile and a half flattening out for an easy finish.
Geographic region: Willamette Valley farmland, Oregon Coast Range foothills
Municipality/town: Yamhill, Carlton
Route configuration: loops
Distance: 26.4 miles
Min/max elevation: 170’/896’
Total ascent: 1,935’
Max grade: 5.7% up/10.0% down
Surface: ~18 miles gravel road, ~8.5 miles paved road
Bikes allowed: yes (gravel or mountain bike recommended)
Obstacles: none
Best months: any
Permits: none required
Traffic: mostly light to very light (NW Meadowlake and the pave portion of NW Moores Valley Rd can be light to moderate)
Feels safe to go alone (my personal comfort level): yes
Driving distance from downtown Portland: 39 miles
[Click on buttons above to get route links on Gaia GPS or Ride with GPS]
To get to the start: Locate Carlton, OR. Head west on NW Meadowlake Rd – go 2.5 miles. Turn R on NW McBride Cemetery Rd and park on the side of the road.
Head north on NW McBride Cemetery Rd – go 1.8 mi
@1.8 mi: Continue straight on NW Rockyford Rd – go 1.3 mi
@3.1 mi: L on NW Moores Valley Rd – go 5.0 mi
@8.1 mi: L on NW Old Moores Valley Rd – go 1.5 mi
@9.5 mi: L on NW Meadowlake Rd – go 2.5 mi
@12.1 mi: R on NW Moores Valley Rd – go 2.3 mi
@14.4 mi: R on NW Old Moores Valley Rd – go 1.5 mi
@15.9 mi: Slight L on NW Puddy Gulch Rd – go 3.1 mi
@19.0 mi: R on NW Moores Valley Rd – go 1.3 mi
@20.3 mi: L on NW Old Railroad Grade Rd – go 1.2 mi
@21.5 mi: L on NW Oak Ridge Rd – go 0.5 mi
@22.0 mi: L on NW Rockyford Rd – go 2.6 mi
@24.6 mi: Continue straight onto NW McBride Cemetery Rd – go 1.8 mi
End @26.4 mi
Over a marathon in distance, this course loops through rolling, gorgeous farmlands with plenty of livestock to visit with. You’ll start by heading north on a sparsely populated gravel road through open crop fields.
Just after three miles, you will head west to complete a figure-eight loop that gets a bit hillier as it winds through a mixture of farmlands, forest, and a few small residential neighborhoods. There are some friendly cattle along this section who are more than happy to take a chomp of grass from you.
The two paved portions of this figure-eight sections are fairly quiet regarding traffic as long as you get an early start on a weekend day. Most of the rest of the course follows quiet gravel roads. Around mile point 14, you will start to pass by some more cattle pastures. You will finish the figure-eight section on NW Puddy Gulch Road which has more tree cover from both coniferous and deciduous varieties.
You will then head to do another smaller loop on NW Old Railroad Grade Road, wrapping back around to head south on NW Rockyford and then NW McBride Cemetery Road for the home stretch through rolling farmlands again.
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