Bend to Boise Epic Bike Tour
LEVEL
Advanced
It was an absolutely wonderful trip. Tough, but doable. Fabulous scenery!
This trip was quite challenging but the great routes, planning and guiding made it all doable. It really stretched my self-expectations and instilled new confidence inspiring me to get out and do rides that I had been hesitant to try in the past.
Overall route selection and scenery is great. Guides are dialed in, very helpful, interesting, knowledgeable, and fun to be with. Lunches they serve are nutritious, tasty, and not fillling or heavy, just right for a day of cycling.
Spin an epic route – not for the faint of leg – through miles of incredible scenery. And what better place to meet than in the athlete-and-brewpub mecca of Bend, Oregon? Start pedaling in the otherworldly region of the Painted Hills and John Day Fossil Beds. Enjoy a century ride on the “Old West Scenic Bikeway”. Tackle the peaks, pine-forests and valleys of the Strawberry Mountain Wilderness. Relax, or go for another great ride, at Wallowa Lake. Ride Oregon’s famously quiet, smooth, bike-friendly roads through Eagle Cap Wilderness and the high pastures of central Idaho. Top it all off with a ride into Hells Canyon … and return home to tell the tale – wow!
Itinerary
Day 1
Cycle from the Painted Hills - one of the seven wonders of Oregon - to the John Day River.
Meals
– Lunch
– Dinner
Lodging
Monument Motel
Distance
83 miles
Elevation
+5,040 ft / -5,773 ft
What better way to start than with a ride to one of the Seven Wonders of Oregon! View millions of years of geological history – one gloriously colored layer atop another – in the Painted Hills. From there head up and over a pass (or is it three passes?) to meet the John Day River, the longest undammed river in Oregon and host to one of the few remaining wild fish runs in the entire Pacific Northwest. Continue upriver to the Monument Motel in the tiny town of Monument (pop: 128), one of the only accommodations in this remote region.
Day 2
Savor idyllic ranches, orchards, ghost towns and a mountain pass between Monument and Prairie City.
Meals
– Breakfast
– Lunch
– Dinner
Lodging
Hotel Prairie
Distance
72 miles
Elevation
+5,790 ft / -4,294 ft
Warm up riding through bright green orchards and idyllic ranches bordering the John Day River. At the end of the valley, begin climbing on twisty roads. The scenery is quickly transformed into colorful rocks and soils filled with carefully stored fossils. Pass through ghost towns and beautiful open forests of juniper and ponderosa pine until you cross Long Creek Mountain Summit and hit the long descent into the town of John Day. Savor beautiful views of the Strawberry Mountain Wilderness on the horizon as you cruise into Prairie City (pop. 878). Stay at the historic Hotel Prairie.
Day 3
Tackle two summits on a century ride on the "Old West Scenic Bikeway."
Meals
– Breakfast
– Lunch
– Dinner
Lodging
Hotel Prairie
Distance
105 miles
Elevation
+7,270 ft / -7,267 ft
No need to pack your bags. Just grab your trusty steed and head out the door. There is a lot to see and a lot to ride hereabouts. Today, we cycle a century loop from Prairie City on the eastern portion of what Travel Oregon has dubbed the “Old West Scenic Bikeway”. Enjoy some of the quietest, lowest traffic, paved roads anywhere on this mountainous loop with a pair of mile-high-summits and great views both distant as well as up-close. Rivers, forests, wildlife, photo-worthy barns, and big skies abound! Stay a second night in lonely Prairie City.
Day 4
A trifecta of mountain passes pave the way to Baker City.
Meals
– Breakfast
– Lunch
– Dinner
Lodging
Geiser Grand Hotel
Distance
67 miles
Elevation
+4,603 ft / -4,712 ft
Pack your bags – we are on the move again. Pedal over three passes in the southern part of the Blue Mountains region. Pass through quiet places and (mostly) deserted towns. Peaceful is the word of the day. The scenery is as spectacular as the cycling is challenging. On the other side of the mountains, enjoy a long leisurely descent into the beautiful town of Baker City. You earned it! Rest up at the Geiser Grand Hotel.
Day 5
Massive peaks beckon us toward magnificent Wallowa Lake.
Meals
– Breakfast
– Lunch
– Dinner
Lodging
Wallowa Lake Lodge
Distance
60 miles
Elevation
+3792 ft / -2004 ft
Begin today with a shuttle through some of the more populated areas hereabouts. Ride beside the Wallowa River as it twists along beside the northern Wallowa Mountains of northeastern Oregon’s Columbia Plateau. Closer to today’s destination, the roads open out into farmland with tiny glimpses of Eagle Cap Peak. Come around a corner, and – boom! – you are suddenly face to face with Wallowa Lake and the Eagle Cap Wilderness. Thirty peaks topping out at over 8000 feet tower over a majestic lake. Stop for a photo, or maybe a dozen. Ride the lakeshore to tonight’s lodging at Wallowa Lake Lodge. Watch for deer and eagles. Spend the next two nights enjoying spectacular views of the mountains and the tall pines.
Day 6
You've earned a rest day at wonderful Wallowa Lake!
Meals
– Breakfast
Wallowa Lake Lodge
Distance
Layover Option Route: 71 miles
Elevation
Layover Option Route: +3,671 ft / -3,671 ft
We recommend taking today off. This place is simply too good to miss! Or you can ride the Wallowa Lake Tramway (not included), swim, hike, or rent a canoe or paddleboard. Head over to the art-rich town of Joseph to shop, visit museums or the chocolate factory. Check out one of the several breweries. Or simply spend the day in peace by the lodge watching the deer on the lawn. Not enough biking yet? There are two very good options for rides: a mountain bike ride from the tramway down or a road ride to Imnaha with a 30-mile descent… followed by a 30-mile climb. Lunch and dinner are on your own today.
Day 7
Peer down into Hells Canyon on your way to Halfway.
Meals
– Breakfast
– Lunch
– Dinner
Lodging
Pine Valley Lodge
Distance
83 miles
Elevation
+5,819 ft / -7,626 ft
Ride from Joseph into the Hells Canyon Wilderness today. Non-stop views accompany us as we climb the high Wallowa Mountain Loop / Hells Canyon Scenic Byway to the Hells Canyon Overlook. Peer down the deepest river gorge in North America. Try not to get dizzy as you snap a few incredible photos. Tomorrow, we head into the canyon itself. For now, pedal on to Halfway, Oregon and spend the next two nights at Pine Valley Lodge.
Day 8
Ride to hell ... and back!
Meals
– Breakfast
– Lunch
– Dinner
Lodging
Pine Valley Lodge
Distance
63 miles
Elevation
+3,494 ft / -4,427 ft
Today is utter hell … Hells Canyon, that is! Leave Halfway and pedal (or coast) all the way down to the Snake River. Savor a ride along the banks of the river into a rugged and remote location of Hells Canyon. Continue beyond the dam to the Visitors Center to see what the natural flow of the river looked like before the dam. Wild! This stretch of road is so quiet and free of traffic you will have plenty of time to reflect on the past week. Who knew eastern Oregon was so magnificent! Return to the Pine Valley Lodge in Halfway for a dinner celebration. Now you can truly say you have been to Hell and back!
Day 9
Pedal across the Snake River and enter Idaho on your way to Boise.
Meals
– Breakfast
– Lunch
Distance
57 miles
Elevation
+3,744 ft / -3,711 ft
Enjoy another cruise back downhill to the Snake River this morning. Cross over into Idaho and cycle south along the river (now a lake) above the Oxbow Dam. Climb out of the gorge through aromatic sage and grasslands all the way up to the pines before coasting the final 15 miles downhill to the quaint little town of Cambridge. Following a celebratory lunch, we will load up and shuttle to Boise.
