From Astoria, Oregon south to Lincoln City, miles of wild coastline make for glorious cycling.

The trip starts on a Sunday morning with a complimentary pickup in Portland. We start cycling at a wooded park halfway to the coast, following a peaceful country road through a major elk refuge, past farms, woods, and tiny towns to Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia River. We explore some of Victorian Astoria, the oldest American settlement in the West, and spend the evening at a new hotel on the bank of the Columbia River.

On Monday we cycle through inland forests and farmland on former logging roads — now paved — to the coast near Seaside. We visit Fort Clatsop National Memorial to see a replica of Lewis and Clark’s encampment where they spent the winter of 1805. We watch a re-enactment of their daily life by the park staff in period costume, and learn more about their amazing exploration at the visitor’s center. Afterward we cycle along the shore to Cannon Beach, a popular, upscale tourist destination known for its wide, white-sand beach overlooked by Haystack Rock, one of the world’s largest coastal monoliths. Art galleries abound in Cannon Beach, as do boutiques, bakeries, and ice cream shops. We then cycle or van along the coast to spend the next two nights at the luxurious Inn at Manzanita in a charming oceanside town.

Tuesday morning you’ll have the opportunity to explore the town of Cannon Beach, go for a guided bike ride, get a massage, or just relax in your room’s private whirlpool tub. In the afternoon we’ll lead a great coastal hike up the Clatsop Loop Trail with its panoramic ocean views.

On Wednesday, we ride through dairy country and forests on a lightly traveled side road, which leads us to Tillamook and its world-famous cheese factory. You won’t want to miss the cheese and ice cream. We then cycle the Three Capes Scenic Route, a side road that takes us beside the water and over the dramatic promontory of Cape Meares, past herons stalking fish in peaceful Netarts Bay and through Cape Lookout State Park. Further south we’ll cycle past sand dunes, hang gliders soaring above seaside bluffs, and fishing dories being launched from the beach into the surf at Cape Kiwanda. Our lodging for the night is the Inn at Cape Kiwanda, which offers magnificent views of the Pacific.

Thursday we’ll follow a peaceful country road as it winds through the woods to a great hike on Cascade Head, where trails to wildflower meadows lead to views of craggy islands and a cove of barking sea lions. Our lodging tonight is the dramatic Inn at Spanish Head, where floor-to-ceiling windows highlight unobstructed ocean panoramas.

On Friday we continue our journey south, stopping at several state parks to watch waves pummel the rocky coast and marvel at the beauty of evergreen forest inching down to the white sand beaches. Our route takes us over a section of the old coast highway that slid into the ocean several years ago. It has been beautifully rebuilt as a one-way, one-lane scenic byway with a wide bike path; you’ll want to stop for the photo ops of the forested cliff and pounding surf directly below. After lunch in a lighthouse state park in Newport overlooking the busy fishing harbor, we head back to Portland.