5 Star Route / Ridden and Reviewed by Gravel Girl & Captain ‘O‘

Why this route should be on your bucket list!

Plus… a charming agricultural town with a whole lot of history. And double plus… an array of hydrological features of the Fifteenmile Watershed: Fifteenmile creek, the hollows, and Summit Ridge. **Read More

Ride Details

The route starts out of Dufur, with a series of rollers, paralleling Fifteenmile creek, gaining and losing 300 feet at a time, cutting across Shotgun and Stubb Hollows. The first 4 miles are paved and then it is onto smooth and fast gravel. The views are big and expansive. Mt Hood to the west and Mt Adams to the north.

At ~ mile 12, make a left onto pavement just after tumbleweed alley. (See the slideshow above.) Descend easily to Fifteenmile creek, cross it and begin climbing again. After the right back onto gravel, it rolls a bit more until you cross Fifteenmile creek again.

This is the unofficial beginning of the Summit Ridge climb. It gains 2100 feet in 10 miles initially paralleling Standard Hollow (to your right) and then paralleling Douglas Hollow (to your left). The climb averages 4% with short pitches just under 8%. At the old Douglas Hollow school house, you get a short reprieve for the next mile with a net elevation loss of 150 feet. Thereafter the climbing becomes sustained and continuous. When you reach the powerlines you have gained the ridge.

Traverse the “not so flat” crest of Summit Ridge for 7 mile (it looked flat on the map, but it sure didn’t feel flat.) By mile 35 all the hard work is done, and it is a fast “no-brakes” downhill, via Long Hollow, back towards Dufur. The last few miles give you a chance to sit up, relax and spin out the legs.

Ride Notes

The Dufur / Tygh Valley / Dalles area is one of the best spring time riding areas in the state. Moderate temps and little rain. The roads are quiet, the views are big!

The town of Dufur is a great spot to basecamp for several days of riding. The Friends of Dufur city park has camping and RV hookups. There is the Balch hotel in town and Kramer’s Market for groceries. It’s a beautiful, bike-friendly town.

The route can be done in both directions. The clockwise direction (as mapped) rides slightly better than the counterclockwise (CCW) direction. But the CCW direction gives up slightly bigger views of the mountains … but you need a really clear sky day for this to pay off.

The course is a modification of the 2019 Cycle Oregon Gravel Weekend. For a longer ride, combine this route with Tygh Ridge.