Deschutes Rail Grade Today

ttrd:

I have looked at this lower trail on the river side of the road but always been in too big of a hurry to make it to the old homestead. Never taken the hiking trail on the mountain side of road up the canyon as it was marked as hikers only. In the off season , like now, it would have been the prefect time to ride it.
In the last couple years I have taken a couple spur roads that seem to peter out.

Sparty,
Eerie is right. Most fisherman and hikers go no more than 6 miles up the canyon. (the first wooden train car.)
When I am far back in the canyon by myself I think I hope nothing breaks as this would be a long cold walk out of here.
I am amazed every time I go back there that the old homestead is still standing. It is just on the edge of total collapse. (1890's vintage with Chicago Time newpaper on the walls.) What amazes me more is how it has escape all the fires in the canyon all these years.
One summer day I rode back about 17 miles but the road gets pretty ruff.
Below is a picture of a Big Horn sheep taken on the bluff just behind the home stead.
Amazing to watch those sheep climb that rock. Also a great rock formation formed when they blasted for the rail grade.

I wish the state park would develop more bike trails. The east side of the canyon has great potential.

It's a great place for BOBing, that's for sure. I hope to finally take my preschooler camping there when it warms up a little bit this spring. There are "developed" campsites about 4 miles and 7 miles in, and you can go a total of about 17 miles before you hit the total washouts.

Past the 17 mile point, there's only about a 2-3 mile gap from there until you reach the end of the riverside road that comes down from Maupin and Sherars, but it's EXTREMELY slow going. As Sparty will no doubt recall, back in 2002 I did a 90 mile loop of the Deschutes trail: Started at the end of the road above the "gap", then through the "gap" and all the way down to the Columbia, then looping back up onto the plateau on pavement, through Grass Valley and back down into the canyon. It was one of the coolest trips I've ever done -- except for the 2-3 mile gap, which took me something like TWO HOURS, much of it scrambling precariously around washouts with the bike slung over my bike, sometimes on my hands and knees. If you've ever craved a challenging and unusual epic gravel/pavement/scrambling cyclocross adventure, this is your ride. You will probably be the second person in the world ever to do it on a bicycle.

More fun, though, is camping in the canyon. Like dirt farmer, I love listening the trains snaking along the opposite side of the river in the middle of the night. Eerie, but awesome.