Highway 199 Motorcycle Ride - Crescent City, CA to Grants Pass, OR

Webmaster Note: My thanks to Bill Henry who supplied this text. Yours Truly shot the photos.		Del Norte County, Crescent City to Grants Pass, OR
Highway 199 The Redwood Highway

From its junction with US 101 just North of Crescent City, US 199 proceeds through Jedediah Smith Redwoods Park. The corners are tight and the tangents for the most part are short. Traffic can be a real problem for the first six or seven miles through the park so a bit of patience is in order.

After you leave the small hamlet of Hiouchi, you are pretty much paralleling the Smith River on one side or the other. This is an absolutely gorgeous canyon. High rocky walls with an incredibly blue river running down the middle of the canyon. Much of the California portion of the ride flows through the Six Rivers National Forest.

Gasquet is a small community centered around the USFS Ranger Station there; it is also home to the headquarters of the Smith River National Recreation Area.

Riding through the Smith River Canyon

Rapids in the Smith River

After leaving Gasquet there is a short four-lane section about six miles long and signed for 65 MPH, not particularly worthy of much praise, but it does afford ample opportunity to pass the tourista and trucks. After that, legal passing opportunities are few and far between.

Patrick's Creek Lodge is located about 22 miles from the beginning of the route. It's an excellent place for lunch or dinner and even a nights stay. There is a bonafide rest area another 10 miles north, just prior to the Collier Tunnel (straight and well lit).

Another 4 1/2 miles and you enter Oregon. The ride can be what you make of it, but you'd miss a lot of extremely beautiful scenery if you just blasted through. Although, I must admit, given the right (dry) circumstances, it makes for a great canyon dance.

All of the seriously sharp curves are signed and there really aren't any surprises as far as riding the route goes. In the hundreds of times I've driven/ridden this route, only once did I see a deer (or other large animal for what that's worth.) Traffic volumes are highest in the summer as you'd guess. Lots of tourists and trucks.

Headed north into Oregon

The pavement is in excellent condition as almost the entire route was repaved in 2001 with a pavement we call open-graded. This large aggregate paving treatment affords the highest coefficient of friction for wet riding conditions.

However, for the most part the canyon roadway is narrow. Usually plenty wide enough for motorcyclists but watch out for large trucks and trailers trying to encroach on your side of the roadway.

I don't think I'd plan a ride just to tour US 199, but if I was anywhere near the area in Spring or Fall, I'd highly recommend it as a great short side tour. I'd stay away from it in the Winter; too many rock slides and the occasional swath of black ice.

-Bill Henry

Webmaster Note: Highway 199 was a relaxed ride for me as I headed northward into Oregon. It reminded me a bit like Highway 70 through the Feather River Canyon, just a lot more logging trucks. Keep in mind this is the main route in these parts, and there are few paved roads up here so despite the lack of local population, this is still a heavily traveled route, especially the shipping business.

This can be a fast ride, as the road is designed for ample speed. But like Bill mentioned, the scenery is fantastic- pristine, rugged, and untouched. So you might want to stop every now and then to breathe the air.

Oh, and by the way, just northeast of Grants Pass is Crater Lake!

Nearby Roads:

Happy Camp Road

Highway 96

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