The 60-mile bikeway runs through Lane County on Aufderheide Drive between Highways 126 & 58
The newest addition to Oregon’s Scenic Bikeway is the winding route located in the Willamette National Forest on FS Road 19, also known as Aufderheide Drive.
On its way from the McKenzie River (Highway 126) to the town of Oakridge (Highway 58), the route passes the popular Terwilliger Hot Springs before diving deeper into the forest.
The decision to make Aufderheide Drive a National Scenic Bikeway was rather simple, considering the route is already a National Scenic Byway and a National Scenic Waterway.
Oregon’s Scenic Bikeway program began in 2009 as a collaboration between the Oregon Department of Transportation, Travel Oregon, and Cycle Oregon (a nonprofit that provided seed funding). By 2019, when advocates and policymakers celebrated the 10th anniversary of the program at the capitol in Salem, there were 17 routes that had earned the official “Bikeway” designation.
Aufderheide Drive is now the 18th Bikeway designation for the state and the first new one since 2017.
While the Scenic Bikeway designation is a step forward for tourism, the program unfortunately doesn’t come with any infrastructure upgrades for the narrow and winding road.
Many of the bikeways, including Aufderheide, follow roads that are also used by car and truck traffic. Cell service is unreliable in most areas of the 60 mile stretch and emergency resources are scarce.
The state’s scenic bikeways are considered “the best bike rides in Oregon” and are meant to showcase scenery, history and local communities, according to the state parks department.
Designated bikeways also get official routes with printable maps, GPS and on-road signage. There will not be any significant structural changes to the roadways.
Source: Oregon Live