Priest Hole

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Terrain & Riding: What to expect …

Beautiful hills that explode with color. Ranchlands. Vista views of the John Day River.

The ride is deceptively more difficult than most anticipate. The first 25 miles go by quickly, but a majority of those miles are on pavement. The one gravel sector is usually hard-packed and fast. From mile 25 it is mostly gravel and dirt roads where the riding is more demanding with pitches up to 10%. The last 5 miles look flat but are not, there is a slight incline 1 to 2%. This section can be the crux of the day for some!

Difficulty^{[what this means]}

• Technical Difficulty: Moderate
  Intermediate. Due to length and some short steep pitches (15+ %) coming out of Priest Hole / John Day river.
• Navigation: Moderate
  There are not a lot of turns on the ride but knowing which turn cues are important.
• Locale: Rural
  There is little to no traffic along the way.

Highlights & Anchor Points

John Day Fossil Beds: Painted Hills / ~ Start of Route

The John Day Fossil Beds are made up three separate units: Clarno, Painted Hills, and Sheep Rock. The Painted Hills is the most visited. The red and tan colors of the Painted Hills are composed of fossil soils from deciduous forests over 33 million years ago. These soils are very fragile (so please be sure to stay on the trails and Don’t Hurt the Dirt!) There are five small trails (0.25 miles to 1.3 miles) to hike and see more viewpoints of the surrounding area. Different times of the day and seasons can bring out different tones in the soils but the afternoons are best lit for photography as well as wildflowers in the Spring. ^{[National Park Service]}

Cow Crossings / ~ mile 3

As soon as you turn out of the picnic area and onto the paved road, there is often a lot of cattle nearby. Many of them also cross the pastures and are sometimes in the roadway. Use caution.

Gravel Climb / ~ mile 5.6

The first main sector begins around mile 5.6. You will begin the climb right out of the gate!

Climbing the Hat / ~ mile 11

Around mile 11 you will continue climbing for ~4 more miles but a bit more gradual and on paved road. Watching the climb profile on the bike computer made this section look like we were climbing a witch hat! Up/down with a pointy top (but we promise it is not very pointy on bike.)

Descending Through the Canyons & Into Priest Hole / ~ mile 16.5

Descending on a paved road and through the canyons makes the climb worth it! You first descend on pavement then after turning onto a gravel road you will do a little bit more climbing before descending again into the Priest Hole Recreation Site. The gravel descent has some more looser, and chunkier rock in spots than earlier in the ride. It is easy to get going fast down this descent but watch out for those looser spots.

Priest Hole Recreation Site / ~ mile 32

The Priest Hole Recreation Site is open year-round for swimming, fishing, camping, and hiking. There is an outhouse available for restrooms. ^{[Bureau of Land Management]}

Food & Water

None

Other Notes

1) We recommend a red blinky light for the paved sections.

2) When passing cattle: (a) determine if there is a bull within the herd, if so keep your distance and use caution, (b) pass as a group, slow up your speed, and keep to the opposite side of the road. The goal is not to increase the stress of the animals and their young, something which is detrimental to their development.