Distance: 61 miles out and back
Elevation gain: 3490 ft.
This is one of the Oregon rides that is expertly covered in Jim Moore’s 75 Classic Rides Oregon (see the “Oregon” section in Rides by Region).
This is a wonderful ride, and the only reason it isn’t in the Best of the Best list is because it lacks any sort of wow factor: no awesome waterfall, grand vista, dramatic canyon, or awe-inspiring redwoods. Just really good riding through varied, pretty scenery.
This ride passes through three very different ecosystems, all rewarding. The first stretch, from Indian Mary County Park to the Rogue River bridge/Grave Cree Bridge, is through the open, rocky Rogue River Canyon, which by the end leaves you clinging to the face of a steep rocky canyon wall. Very dramatic, very nice. Lower Graves Creek Rd/Lower Wolf Creek Road, the second leg, is up and down and back and forth, narrower, tighter, through riparian woods and almost car-free. The third leg takes you on a classic “family” ride through sun-lit forests to the interesting ghost town of Golden.
(To see an interactive version of the map/elevation profile, click on the ride name, upper left, wait for the new map to load, then click on the “full screen” icon, upper right.)
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37927330
Two-thirds of this ride (everything except Lower Graves Creek Rd/Lower Wolf Creek Road) is might-as-well-be-flat, and the ride total is a mere 3500 ft. in 60 miles, but since almost all the climbing is in that 15-mile leg of LGCR/WCR that stretch is a bit of a workout.
The route actually begins in Mary County Park, a short ride before Galice, but I liked the “G to G” alliteration. Ride west on Galice Rd., with the Rogue River, one of my favorite rivers on the planet, continuously on your R. In the beginning the ride is no more than very pleasant. The canyon starts out wide and developed, with plenty of resorts and vacation homes, and then passes through the community of Galice (rhymes with police, not malice), which is little more than a convenience-and-T-shirt store, a resort with cabins, and a large river rafting operation. This is Oregon river rafting central, so if you’re there on a summer weekend the place is a bit of a madhouse, but you will soon leave it behind. A mile out of town the buildings stop, the canyon steepens, and the views (of the river below you and the rock wall above) get better and better, until the road unmissably crosses the river on a bridge and the road immediately forks. These first miles are essentially flat, even though you’re riding down-river. You’ll share the road with river recreators and rafting companies, but there’s plenty of room and it’s easy to get up earlier than they do. Most of this leg has an immaculate road surface but unfortunately it’s a moderate chip-seal, nothing like California’s godawful prickly pear but rough enough to jack up the rolling resistance a tad.
After crossing the Rogue River on the unmissable bridge and pausing to watch the rafters navigate the rapids upstream and drift to their pull-out just downstream of you, go R onto Lower Graves Creek Rd, which turns into Lower Wolf Creek Rd in about 9 miles at a noticeable intersection and takes you to the town of Wolf Creek. Everything is suddenly different. The traffic disappears—I typically see 4-5 vehicles in 30 miles (out and back). The road surface is good to perfect, the atmosphere is wooded and shady, and the road is constantly serpentining, climbing, descending, never straight and never the same for more than 50 yards. It’s a joyous contour, road riding at its best. The woods here are not Oregon’s famous redwood forest primeval—it’s drier than that—but it’s still very pretty. Don’t plan on getting off the bike and traipsing through the understory—it’s largely poison oak. It’s upstream heading east, so two-thirds of the elevation change is up in this direction, but I don’t notice much difference in the work load either way.
You will do some work. RidewithGPS says it’s 1950 ft gain in 30 miles (out and back), which doesn’t sound like a lot, but none of it is flat and I guarantee you’ll feel every one of those 1950. Except for two extended climbs, the ups never last long. Some of the longer descents are outstanding.
The two roads, Lower Graves Creek and Lower Wolf Creek (I have no idea where Upper GCR and WCR are), are noticeably different: Graves is narrower, more up and down, less trafficked (even), more dramatic, and more often along the creek—in other words, better. 90% of the ascending/descending is in the Graves half of the leg. By comparison, Wolf is a mellow stroll. But still very nice.
Rogue River canyon
The town of Wolf Creek is tiny but worth a stop. There’s a classic general store and a wonderful old inn with lots of history and a welcoming attitude toward droppers-by. It was a stop-over for outdoorsy celebrity types, so there are lots of memorabilia related to famous guests like Clark Gable and Jack London. Ask about the faked John Wayne photo.
Start of Lower Graves Creek Road: my favorite sign
You might be tempted to skip the few miles between Wolf Creek and the ghost town of Golden, but it’s a lovely stretch of easy, ideal riding through classic sunlit (if the sun is out) woods, and Golden itself is of interest. Head south out of town on Old Highway 99 (the obvious main street) briefly, take the L that takes you under modern Highway 5, go R immediately on the other side of the underpass onto Coyote Creek Rd, and follow CCR to Golden.
Don’t expect something on the level of Bodie, CA. There’s not much to Golden. It’s only a sweet little church, two or three other unprepossessing shacks closed to visitors, and a few historical placards. Still, it was interesting enough that I drove back on a later date to show it to my wife. The church is still used for weddings and such. I was lucky enough to arrive when a family was decorating the church for an approaching wedding, and I’m sure that added to my fondness for the place.
The return ride is easier, a little. Wolf Creek/Lower Graves is downstream in this direction, but as I said I didn’t notice much difference. From the Rogue River bridge back to your car is upstream but imperceptibly so—you’ll do no significant work.
You’ll have one tricky intersection to navigate returning. About 9 miles in from Wolf Creek, the road splits at an unmissable intersection, and the obvious primary road goes L. Don’t take it—stay R on the apparently secondary road. There is a clear sign, but unfortunately the sign says that both options are Lower Grave Creek Rd., so that doesn’t help. Google Maps makes a hash of this: the fork is almost invisible, Grave is indicated as the obvious primary fork, and the L fork is labeled “Archer Mine Rd.,” which the intersection’s signage disputes. Ignore it.
Shortening the route: There is no best leg of this ride. The leg to the bridge is dramatic rocky canyon; the leg to Wolf Creek is pretty woods and serpentining road contour; the leg to Golden is easy, sun-struck woods. Pick a favorite. For me it’s the Graves Creek/Wolf Creek leg, hands down, and the best part of that is the Graves Creek leg. But that’s me.
Adding miles: The miles from Merlin to our start at Indian Mary County Park are very pleasant, domesticated Rogue Valley riding. Bear Camp Rd. (which takes off to the L shortly after our ride begins) to the ocean is a famous bucket-list epic (long, remote, rough, lots of climbing, lots of gravel sections) and only to be undertaken by the adventuresome and well-prepared. Wikipedia, in its article on Bear Camp Rd., lists names of people who have died on it.
Our Tour de Fronds ride is on the next east-west road to the north.
Lovers of loops might want to ride south from Wolf Creek and come back to Galice from the southeast, but I don’t think it’s possible—I see no alternative to Hwy 5 heading S from Wolf Creek. Let me know if I’m wrong.
Lower Graves Creek Road