Bonanaza

5 Star Route / Bend, Oregon / Published: May 2018 / Directions

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Route:

Lollipop | 51 mi

Gain:

3,200 ft

Surface:

100% gravel road

Technical Difficulty:

Demanding

Navigation:

Straightforward

Locale:

Rural

Tire Suggestion:

40 mm

Options:

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Even Little Joe Cartwright from Bonanza would be impressed with the history lesson along this ride. Meek’s Lost Wagon Train went through this area in 1845. (Meek wasn’t the brightest bulb, trying to use this area as a shortcut to make it to the Dalles.) The wagon train stopped at the now rustic Coffelt Barn and when children went to gather water some distance from the camp, they came back with shiny pebbles of gold! (Maybe you will find the Lost Blue Bucket Mine which nobody has been able to locate since 1845!)

Map

Brown = gravel / dirt road

Blue = single track

Red = paved road

Purple = paved bike path

GPX Download Version 1.0

Ride Details

When We Like to Ride This

Spring (when the creeks are flowing). The Roberts road section is closed Nov 15 to Apr 15.

Terrain & Riding

Beyond the history lesson, the route is scattered with tumbleweeds, big cattle ranches, rolling hills and bold vistas. Places you are sure that good ole Little Joe came to retire. This ride is 100% gravel with very little traffic. When we mapped this route, the gravel was in excellent condition … but in the rain, the roads have enough clay to clog up your bike so be careful with the weather.

This route covers part of Meek’s Lost Wagon Train – some history behind it.

…Cooley’s group of wagons went a different route than the others of the Tetherow group after reaching Little Bear Creek. On reaching the site of the Coffelt Barn, instead of going up Little Bear Creek past Sheep Rock, he turned down Little Bear Creek to Bear Creek and then again hit the Tetherow group trail near the Dunham Ranch. Cooley mentions returning to the same creek they had been on a few days earlier …

The Coffelt barn site is the picture with the caption “Go right!”. Keep your eyes peeled for the Lost Blue Bucket Gold Mine:

…single nugget was eventually recognized as gold, another version holds that when the Stephen Meek Wagon train stopped along the trail in present-day Crook County near Bear Creek, children went to gather water at some distance from the camp. They returned with a bucket filled with shiny pebbles…

More information can be found at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meek_Cutoff
http://www.oregonhistorictrailsfund.org/trails/meek-cutoff-1845/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meek%27s_Cutoff

The Start

Lat / Long: 43.872818, -120.488759

At the end of the pavement at the intersection of Camp Creek Road and Merrill Road, approximately 12 miles northeast of Brothers, Oregon.

Food & Water

None.

Notes & Options

Route Options

The roads are wide and easy to navigate. The route rides equally well in both directions. The route description and pictures detail the route in a clockwise direction.

Counter Clockwise: RideWithGPS

Comments

Have you ridden this route? Got a question? Join the discussion!

Ridden and Reviewed by:

BenG / Team Dirty Freehub (Alum)

Ben was the first bike-packing guru at Dirty Freehub, publishing multi-day routes that he curated. He is also the creator and developer of the Bend Shorts series. (2018 – 2022)