Oregon’s Newest Scenic Bikeway Showcases the Colorful Wonder of the Painted Hills

If you have ever wondered how you would handle being out of cell phone service and disconnected from other electronic gadgets, a ride on the Painted Hills Scenic Bikeway is one way to test yourself.

“You literally have to unplug,” said James Good, owner of Good Bike Co. in Prineville. “That’s attractive for a lot of people.”

The most recent addition to the Oregon Scenic Bikeways program, the Painted Hills bikeway consists of routes laid out on a hub-and-spokes design. The oval-shaped hub offers a ride of about 45 miles that crosses the John Day River twice and skirts the eastern boundary of the Sutton Mountain Wilderness Study Area.

From the hub extends three routes: one heading east toward the town of Kimberly, another meandering generally northwest from the hub and terminating at the Clarno Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, and a third that leaves the hub in a southerly direction and then arcs around the Sutton Mountain Wilderness Study Area before ending at the Painted Hills Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds Monument.

A ride through the Painted Hills should appeal to the scenic-and scientific-minded. The hills display layers of different colors — yellows, golds, reds — shaped many millennia ago by shifting volcanic islands, according to the website rideOregonride.com.

The John Day River is an attraction in itself. It features 500 miles of undammed waters, making it the second-longest such river in the continental United States, according to Native Fish Society.

“That’s pretty awesome and rare,” Good said.

Starting at the Clarno Unit and riding the entire route, including out-and-back on each of the other hubs, makes the bikeway about 161 miles. As the rideOregonride.com site notes, a ride can launch from any of the small towns along the route, including Mitchell, Fossil and Spray.

Camping is offered at several parks along the route, and lodging is available in the small towns along the route (Mitchell, Fossil, Service Creek, Spray and Kimberly).

The rideOregonride.com website ranks the Painted Hills bikeway as extreme — the highest rating used to gauge the bikeways routes — noting the desert environment and the climbing required on the route. The website says the best time to ride the bikeway is late spring to fall, but riding in the summer can make for a toasty day on the road.

Good, whose company offers logistical support for riders covering the Painted Hills routes, emphasized that a rider should understand the magnitude of a ride on this bikeway.

“Go prepared–it can turn out to be a big day,” Good said. “When you’re out of cell service, if something happens, you’re kind of out there on your own.”

Unless riding in a group, solitude is easy to come by on these roads.

“It’s common that I won’t be passed by another vehicle for three or four hours,” said Mark Waters, co-owner of Backcountry Recumbent Cycles in Tumalo.

“If you see a car, you’re probably relieved,” Good added. “It’s a short step to feel like you’re out in the middle of nowhere.”