Scheduled Departure Dates
Luxury Inns & Restaurants: $4,500
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$4,500
Per Person
OREGON | Road Bike Tour
BACHELOR & CRATER LAKE ROAD BIKE TOUR
The Cascade Mountains & Crater Lake
Road Biking
- Families with Older KidsPrivate Tours and Custom ToursSolos, Couples & Friends
- Departure: Eugene, OR
- Tour Offered:
Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct
- Departs On: Sunday
- Duration: 6 Days
- Lodging: Luxury Inns & Restaurants
- Fitness Level: 2-4
- Elevation Range: 2,000 - 8,000 ft.
Overview
Our Mt. Bachelor/Crater Lake Road Bike tour is unmatched in interpreting and experiencing the best wilderness stretched across Oregon’s diverse interior.
It’s a stretch of the vocabulary to properly describe the otherworldly blue water of Crater Lake beneath our cycling route. And of course, we have the towering presence of Mount Bachelor, “the volcano with a big view.” From the deepest lake in the Western Hemisphere—and third lowest in the world—our peloton ascends to the base of Mount Bachelor, (20-miles southwest of Bend). There we behold the 9,068-ft volcano: standing alone from the nearby Three Sisters, a tight band of 10,000-ft volcanic peaks. Beyond Bachelor, we sweep past snow-fed lakes on a circuit of roads where (fun fact) astronauts trained generations ago, preparing for Apollo missions.
Bachelor and the adjacent Deschutes National Forest contain a fantastic array of outstanding, little-used backcountry roads. Crossing three Oregon counties, we’ll find that the wilderness here shelters glittering waterfalls amongst the big evergreens.
Day 1: Meet-up in Eugene, Oregon (pop. 168,916). From the south end of the Willamette Valley, roughly two hours south of Portland, we shuttle to Butte Falls. The biggest little town in Oregon, Butte Falls (pop. 400) is built around a gorgeous, terraced waterfall. Our first stage egresses from Butte Falls, about 40-miles northeast of Medford, towards Prospect: a sweet little hamlet edging the Rogue River; better known as the gateway to Crater Lake. Here we find lush alpine meadows beneath dense, unbroken forest, Western hemlock to Giant Yellow cedar to majestic Douglas fir—we gain a visual cue of the once-a-century cataclysmic volcanic activity that rocks this wet, green region. After our warm-up/get acquainted ride, we overnight in at the historic Prospect Hotel. A nationally registered 10-room b&b dinner house, Teddy Roosevelt, Zane Grey and Jack London vacationed here en route to Crater Lake. A short stroll from the Prospect, at the Living Tree Stump monument a stand of Douglas fir trees live communally, nourishing one another amidst a dormant lava flow.
Day 2: Our next stage wends us from Prospect into 183,224-acre Crater Lake National Park. One of the Seven Wonders of the World, Crater Lake is arguably the clearest and bluest lake on Earth, as well amongst the deepest (1949-ft). Building out from yesterday, we add a dozen miles; though given all the staggering visual stimuli it’s unlikely you noticed the extra distance. Beginning at 4196-ft elevation, Bicycling Magazine hailed our route as “one of the top rides in the US”. At the culmination of a terrific ascent, the stage closes out at Crater Lake Lodge. For the next two nights we overnight here, swept up in unparalleled views of the lake, and its figurative overlord: 8394-ft Mount Scott. Originally constructed by William Gladstone Steel in 1915, Crater Lake Lodge underwent a renovation in 1995.
Day 3: Call it a seriously big spin around a big, otherworldly blue lake. Day Three’s stage is the stuff of an outdoor epic. Circumnavigating the rim or caldera of Crater Lake, the profile of our course is marked by four climbs, peaking out at 7,900-ft. On this route, the givens are that it’s a strenuous one, and that you’ll quickly realize that there’s no such thing as a ‘best vantage point’ on Crater Lake Drive. In sum, it’s all gorgeous. Especially so the view finding onto the Cascade Range: which stretches from Southern British Columbia, to here/its midsection and south into Northern California. Backdrop to foreground now, in a landscape of endless superlatives even the roadbed stands out. Built in 1919, Crater Lake Drive’s stonemasonry and unique engineering were meant to harmonize with its rugged environment.
Along the western edge of the Lake, give your calves and thighs some recovery time for an optional hike. Hiking a mile down to lake level at the Cleetwood Trailhead, a motorboat awaits us. Our cruise allows for viewing of Wizard Island, a 755-ft volcanic cinder cone; as well as the ghost ship conjuring volcanic rock formation known as Phantom Island. Feeling spry? Remount and finish the loop. Or van it back to the lodge for superb hors d’oeuvres, a small batch/local beer and decompression on the porch.
Day 4: Deferring to one of the favored routes of tour guests, our stage gets underway from Osprey Point. Shuttling north for 90-minutes from Crater Lake, our peloton follows the gorgeous Cascade Lakes Highway towards Bend. In more effusive language, straight through the heart of Central Oregon: alpine lakes that give way to expansive High Desert with great sentinels of pine, fir and hemlock forests in between. From paralleling the Deschutes River we cycle past Mount Bachelor. Edging the eastern slopes of the Cascades range, we wind past no less than 13 lakes. Reflecting back, in the respective surfaces of those lakes are The Three Sisters, Broken Top and Mt. Bachelor. A phenomenal day in the saddle closes out with a 3,000-ft descent into Bend, (pop. 76,693), called “the perfect small city”. A bit of downtime allows for visiting Bend’s local art galleries and smart shops. Or, go completely off reservation with a peaceful riverside stroll. Tonight we dine at a local favorite restaurant using locally grown ingredients.
Day 5: Unfolding in Bend, today’s storyline is packed with all manner of smart subplots. Reaching for leafy Sisters via high-arid Smith Rock State Park, our route sweeps over discreet country roads into the big pine forest around Sisters. If you feel slightly self-indulgent, one of only three four-diamond spas in Oregon—Shibui at Five Pine Lodge (25-minutes from Bend)—stands foursquare on our route. An oasis for the body, the Shibui health/wellness center is set within a modern grand lodge. Before stopping for lunch at the physically striking Smith Rock preserve, our group sweeps deep into Oregon’s high desert. A world-class climbing area, the canyon that defines Smith Rock ultimately resolves into the backcountry path that wends us into the forest around Sisters. This evening wraps with a culinary flourish: a group dinner at the intimate Open Door in downtown Sisters.
Day 6: Viewed as either gateway—or divide—between the dry and wet sides of the Cascades, the day’s stage connects Sisters to McKenzie Bridge via McKenzie Pass. Spanning 42-miles, this popular Pacific Northwest road ride includes: a 16-mile climb, albeit at a moderate grade; peaking out with superb views of the broad lava flows and regal succession of Cascade peaks, including Mt. Hood. Our scenic route also crosses the McKenzie River via the 80-year old Goodpasture Covered Bridge: 165-ft long, its hallmark louvers and arched windows speak to a more gracious era of travel. Arguably, the highlight of this stage looms off the bike. At the historic Dee Wright Observatory, we encounter a wildly imaginative viewing station built atop a vast lava flow. Constructed by the CCC eighty-four years ago, in harmony with its environs, this fortress of lava stone offers a span of very specific viewpoints onto each adjacent peak. What better way to both parse and celebrate one’s conquest of the Cascades. Staging from here, we sweep 22-miles, near all downhill. From a pass through a dense forest canopy, the stage climaxes alongside the equally gorgeous and rambunctious McKenzie River.
After lunch, it’s shuttle time: last stop, Eugene.
*ebike available for this tour. Some restrictions apply.
$4,500
Per Person
BACHELOR & CRATER LAKE ROAD BIKE TOUR
Luxury Inns & Restaurants: $4,500
Family Getaways & eBike Available -
Escape Adventures
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