Oregon Coast to Cottage Grove

Jeri, Gale & I went on a scouting trip today. It was a long day.  We drove what we felt were the 2 most rideable routes between the coast & Cottage Grove.


From Florence we took Hwy 126 to Noti, then went from Noti to Lorene to Cottage Grove. The drive totaled about 81 miles to the Holiday Inn Express (it and Comfort Inn which is only about a block away from Cottage Grove are the only 2 motels we saw on the west side; unfortunately we have to ride all of the way through Cottage Grove to get to them - not that there is much to drive through in Cottage Grove!). Hwy. 126 to Noti is pretty much all uphill with 1- 5 mile & 1 - 8 mile stretch of fairly steep grade. The tunnel is about the length of 2 football fields and is uphill at the end of one of the steeper grades (I think the 8 mile one, but it may have been the 5 mile one). There was about the amount of traffic you would expect on a weekday for a main highway between the coast & the valley. Some of the road was very smooth with a good shoulder, other parts weren't so good. This road is doable, though not terribly safe. An advantage is that there are services, such as perhaps a small restaurant or small store at reasonable distances along the way. A big concern is that it is a very long uphill grade, particularly with a tunnel with no shoulder at the end of a particularly difficult grade - if you get really, really tired you CANNOT stop.


We had lunch in Cottage Grove, then headed back to Lorene (there is a steep hill between Lorene & Cottage Grove that there will be no way for us to avoid no matter which route we take). At Lorene we took the Siuslaw River Rd to Alma (really not quite sure if there is anything in Alma but an "intersection"), then turned left & went over Oxbow Pass to where we picked up Smith River Rd. (went the wrong direction on Smith River Rd. until Jeri realized the river was flowing the wrong way! Fortunately she was on her toes because we had driven less than 1 mile). We took Smith River Rd. to 101 then went about 1/2 mile south into Reedsport on 101. This route was about 89 miles, with virtually no traffic (between Lorene & 101, a distance of about 65 miles we saw exactly 2 log trucks & 6 cars, & 4 of those cars were in the last 10 miles before we got to 101!). It's a beautiful route and not as hilly as 126. Oxbow Pass has a pretty steep grade for about 2 miles. The disadvantage of this route is that the road is a bit rougher (it's all paved, so gravel is not an issue), it's 8 miles longer, and there are no facilities along the way except a campground. Because there was no traffic (if you calculate you'll realize we saw exactly 4 vehicles in 55 miles!), it is much more scenic, and it is not as hilly, I think all of us preferred it to 126 even though it is longer. It would be important to have support vehicles checking on us because it is quite isolated. However, if/when any of us got tired we could easily stop anywhere along the road to catch our breath - not true on 126 - you'd have to be cautious on 126 where you stopped. Also, if Oxbow Pass just felt too steep to bike one could walk the steepest part as it is only about 2 miles (there is about a 6 mile uphill grade before the steepest part but it is a fairly gradual climb - I'm ok with it & I am not a climber!). And, there is no tunnel! This is not a road any of us would ride by ourselves because it is so isolated, but with a group it would be fine & we could designate meeting places where we would meet the "sag" vehicle. We were thinking we might actually like to bike part of this one day before the trip just to make sure, but our consensus was that this was the better route. The big concern is one that probably can't be overcome - the first day will be LONG and not easy.

We did not drive 36 as we felt it was just too long (also, I'm not sure but I think Jeri said she had ridden it before & that it had no shoulder & there was a fair amount of traffic on a good part of it - if it wasn't Jeri it was somebody else that told us that). We also did not drive the part of the Siuslaw River Rd. from Hwy 126 to Alma because that is longer than the Smith River Rd., and you don't cut off of Hwy. 126 until after you've passed through the tunnel; basically if you go that far on Hwy 126 you might just as well ride to Noti as the turnoff for the Siuslaw River Rd is more than 1/2 way to Noti.

Deciding the best route will not be an easy decision!