While the climate activist in me is pretty much panicking at the fact we have not gotten any snow in Central Oregon since the beginning of January, the me who loves bikes has been chomping at the bit to get out on a bike tour. I had a random weekend free up and with nothing but blue skies in the forecast, I decided to pull together a last minute solo overnight tour.
With the dry sunny weather, it's easy to get a little too excited and try to ride stuff that is a muddy mess from the freeze-thaw cycle, and realistically, winter riding options are pretty slim. Since I had already explored some of the rideable stuff near Terrebonne and Warm Springs, I decided to head a little further afield towards Maupin. And then I saw it... Mack's Canyon, an easy out and back with tons of camping options along the Lower Deschutes River.
I love gems like this, especially to recommend to people who are new to bikepacking or for people bikepacking with kids. But I never recommend anything I haven't ridden, so figured this would be a good way to shake out my gear, get a little solo time, and get some intel.
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| The beginning of the gravel into this really ugly canyon. |
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| All the of major climbs are paved! |
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| So many birds! |
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| My little oasis at the campground. |
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| After setting up camp, I went for a hike... exposed ridge means that it's definitely not bike friendly. |
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| Also, all this rock fall means not so good for bikes. |
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| But good for rock hounding! |
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| Very early season wildflower. |
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| Happy hour. |
A few tips for cycle tourists:
- While camping is plentiful and access to the Deschutes river easy. I highly recommend packing in your water. There is a lot of agricultural runoff upstream that makes this water less than ideal to filter. At this time of year, I did see a few tiny waterfalls and one stream feeding in on a trail past the end of the gravel road that would have been filterable, but I can't imagine these run most of the year.
- I camped at the Mack's Canyon Recreation Site, and Site #1 is a gem of a walk in site, tucked away in a little grove of trees. I imagine during the hotter times of year, this is THE campsite. I stayed in that site because I love privacy more than the sun, even with the short days. But if you are a sun lover and out here in January/February/March, then head over to the sites closer to the boat ramp for the most morning and evening sun.
- I can only imagine how popular this site is in late Spring through early Fall with people fishing, boating, and rafting. There were only about 3 other sites occupied out of the 16 sites, but they are well spaced apart for privacy, all things considered.
- Fires are only permitted October 16th - May 31st.
