The route begins just outside of Mill City, Oregon. Mill City was founded in 1886 and named after the Santiam Lumber Company’s mill which is still on the current city’s site.

Outside of Mill City, where the gravel beings, the road initially pitches up at 7-9% and then settles into more moderate grades of 4-6% at mile 5. The climbing is through a dense forest with pines, maples, oaks, and undergrowth of thick ferns and blackberry bushes.

The Santiam State Forest is ~47,000 acres in the Northern Cascades and was heavily logged between 1880-1930. When most of the trees were harvested, timber companies let the lands go back to the counties and the counties gave much of the land to the state. Oregon state forests or “working forests” often make profits for the local communities and community programs, providing Oregonians with various economical, environmental, and social benefits. Although state forests are “publicly-owned timberland”, the forestry permits hiking, biking, horseback riding, and camping in most forests. You can explore more of Oregon’s state forests here.

Between miles 8.8 and 9.7 there are several small ridge viewpoints looking north to the North Santiam State Forest where you can see the devastation of the 2020 Labor Day fires. Historic drought conditions worsened by climate change, in combination with historic winds caused the fires to grow from 500 acres to over 130,000 acres in just 24 hours. You can read more about Restoring the Santiam State forest here.

At ~ mile 10 you swing around the ridge going from a westerly direction to an easterly direction. The views are now to the south (while the first 11 miles of views are to the north.) This is a very unique feature of this route.

At mile 15.4, the high point of the day, look carefully for where the track goes out to your right a little bit. It can be hard to find the trail, but it leads out to Tom Rock. It is so worthwhile! You get views of the Three Sisters, Mt Washington, and Three Fingered Jack.

Note, on the ESRI and USGS maps Tom Rock is labeled as High Rock. But … this is spot all the locals consider as Tom Rock.

Just after Tom Rock, the route exits the Santiam State Forest and enters Weyerhauser’s private property. This is marked by a gate. Bike and walk-in access are allowed.

At mile 16.2 there is a tricky turn. Stay left when in doubt. This marks the beginning of a short (mile 16.2 to 17.6), steep, sketchy connector “road”. It has several drainage ditches cut across it, some off-camber turns, and larger, sharp flint-type rocks. Some riders may want to walk / hike this section. This is the most technical sector of the day.

~200 yards down the east side of descent, you will pass a gate. After the gate, the technical demand increases as the section traverses through a recently logged area. The road becomes more primitive and there are l ~Mile 17-17.5 are the most technical, steep, and demanding sections of the day.

Once you’re done with the technical section [mile 17.5], the ride transitions back into the forest for great riding on hard-packed gravel again. Gradings return to more moderate ranges of 3-4%. This portion of the descent is much more undulating than it appears in the elevation profile. You will pedal, quite a bit!

At ~ mile 22, Look carefully as there is a hidden waterfall on your left. The descent has some really cool streams you cross over and ride next to for a while.

Just before mile 26, you begin the last pitch down through the forest. It is steep! You’re grabbing the brakes with both hands and squeezing hard. There are spots where it is 17-19% downhill.

When back on pavement it mellows and you get a nice spin of the legs to cool down.