Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Fat Bikepacking the Oregon Coast Trail (Video)
Dallas and Jerry are at it again! Earlier this spring, they toured the northern Oregon Coast on fat bikes. This time around, in late September, they went bikepacking along the southern Oregon Coast from Yachats to Port Orford. Watch their 28-minute video and learn more about their route here…
Words and photos by Dallas Mignano
The Oregon Coast Trail (OCT) traverses the majestic 362-mile Oregon coastline between the northern and southern borders. Many thru-hikers will backpack the OCT, while swarms of cycle tourists can often be seen riding along the Oregon Coast Bike Route (OCBR) that follows Highway 101 and alternative side roads.
Fat bikes are an awesome way to explore the Oregon Coast. We mixed up our adventure, doing sections of the OCT (especially beaches) when possible, then taking the OCBR when bikes weren’t permitted or the tide was too high to pass. We checked tide maps to time our rides with low tide (and stay away from cars) as much as possible. This video is the resulting GoPro footage from our five-day tour. Hopefully, this inspires you to get out on your own wild ride sometime soon.
The Route
Starting in the isolated town of Yachats, along rugged sections of Oregon coastline, the South Coast Beachcomber allows adventure cyclists to experience this majestic area in a whole new way. Most of the beaches along the Southern Oregon Coast are not accessible by bikes at all from March 15 to September 15 due to state restrictions that protect the nesting season of the Western Snowy Plover. That means that this route is only rideable from September 16 to March 14, leaving a fairly narrow window in late summer and early fall to follow the low tides and make it happen without too much rain and headwind.
Luckily, the south coast has a very temperate climate for most of the year, and some winter weeks can be sunny. The Oregon Coast is wild and spontaneous, making every ride on this route a completely different experience. Being specific to fat bikes (and possibly plus bikes), this route will take riders along gravel roads in mountainous forest, then beach-hopping many long stretches of sandy beach, including the world-renowned Oregon Dunes.
Some of this route overlaps with the Oregon Coast Trail, a route that many thru-hikers will backpack from the northern and southern borders of Oregon. The route will also overlap a bit with the Oregon Coast Bike Route when other options are not permitted or possible (due to tides). Because of all of the variables with this route, it should feel like a true adventure, all while you’re still consistently passing through towns and amenities along the way.
Further Reading
Make sure to dig into these related articles for more info...
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