Forest Grove to Willamina and/or
Tillamook
along & around the Nestucca River
168 miles of foresty, twisty fun.
a motorcycle day trip in the greater PDX metro area.
An
overlooked, terrific motorcycle riding day trip in the greater PDX
metro area is this route to and from Tillamook (168 miles / 270
kilometers) - or a shorter round trip just through Willamina (110
miles / 177 kilometers). You could even combine it with a trip
elsewhere, or explore the various National Forest roads and camp
at one of the 3 or 4 campsites along the Nestucca River in Siuslaw
National Forest (if a campsite is available - otherwise, you'll
have to rough camp - free and legal to do throughout the forest
along gravel roads).
These routes are mostly forest-covered and have great twists and
turns. It's one of my very favorite day trips from the Portland
metro area.
At left is what the entire big trip looks like (168 miles / 270
kilometers). When we skip the Tillamook leg, we LOVE stopping at
Willamina for lunch at the Wildwood Hotel (outdoor seating is
usually available). Carlton is a delightful place to stop for a
late lunch or ice cream or coffee (wish they had a camp site, so
we could take in dinner and wine tasting too!).
Below is a narrative description of the 168 mile-route,
counter-clockwise from Forest Grove (if you are coming from
Portland, come out on US 26 to Banks and then get on 47):
From Forest Grove, take 47 / Tualitan Valley Highway
South through the small towns of Gaston and Yamhill to Carlton
(Carlton is charming, BTW and worth a stop if you have some
time). Make a right in Carlton on North Meadowlake Road, which
will take you out of town and, after an intersection, become
wonderfully hilly and twisty and turn into Nestucca River Road.
Once you pass the reservoir on the left, you are away from the
residential areas and will be in Siuslaw National Forest, and as
mentioned earlier, there are a few places along the road where
you can camp - or just take a pee break. Note that the
campgrounds on Nestucca River Road, like Adler Creek Recreation
site and campground and Rocky Bend Campground, have vaulted (pit)
toilets and no potable water. Most have day use areas, but we just
park near the driveways into the campground when we want a rest
stop.
Nestucca River Road is now entirely paved.
If you want to turn Nestucca River Road into a loop, or
head over to Willamina for lunch, there is a terrific paved
detour: 15.5 miles from the intersection of Meadowlark and NW
Westside Road just outside of Carlton and less than a mile after
the sign for Nestucca River Recreation Area, you will
see a paved road on the left going up. This is Bald Mountain
Access Road, which you can take to Bible Creek Road, and from
there, right will get you back to Nestucca, left will get you to
the town of Willamina. The road is usually marked on
Nestucca River Road with a small metal brown sign for
Willamina - but, unfortunately, assholes with guns sometimes
take out the sign, shooting it into oblivion, so you cannot
absolutely count on it. If you are looking for it as you go
along Nestucca River Road and get to a campground, you have
passed the road, so you need to turnaround - in which case it
will be the first paved road on your right.
Bald Mountain Access Road is
paved all the way, but it is mostly one lane - there are some
small turnouts for people going North, and there is a viewpoint
with a vaulted toilet. It is a lovely forested road, twisty and
paved all the way. It's busiest with recreational vehicles on
the weekend and logging trucks during the week.
Anyway, if you continue on Nestucca River Road going west,
it becomes Blaine Road, and this takes you to 101. You can head
all the way to Tillamook, or you can stop anywhere before then
for lunch if you see an open restaurant (but restaurants come
and go - therefore I can't recommend any because where I ate
last may not be there anymore).
If you
have to get back East quickly, you can take 6 from Tillamook -
on Sunday afternoon, there is a crazy amount of traffic, and
it's even worse on a holiday weekend, so be careful. But if you
still have plenty of daylight, head back down 101 and return up
Nestucca River Road and, before you get to the gravel, make a
right onto Bible Creek Access Road - the access to the road is
on your right, across from a big dirt parking lot on your left.
At left of this paragraph is a satellite view of the turnoff
that shows the big gravel area next to the road.
Bible Creek Access Road will become Gilbert Creek Road, and this
gets you to the small town of Willamina. If you pass Blackwell
County Park, you are well on your way. This is a beautiful
route, paved the entire way but may have some sunken grades,
it's steep at times, and it's very winding. Again - if you are
looking for a terrific lunch, I highly recommend the restaurant
at the Wildwood Hotel.
From Willamina, you head to Sheridan, which will get you back
onto 18 going East, which gets you to 47 and that takes you back
through McMinneville and so on. Boring, but very quick. Or, from
Willamina, you can go back up Gilbert Creek Road and make a
right on Bald Mountain Access Road, which will take you
back to Nestucca River Road and then back through Carlton and
Yamhill.
There are also numerous national forests roads all throughout
this area, but they rarely have road signs. As mentioned
earlier, the campgrounds along the Nestucca River are great
places to base yourself overnight to explore the area, but
frankly, I wouldn't leave anything in these campgrounds during
the day unattended. As this is mostly national forest, you can
legally camp rough along most any gravel road.
Parts of this trip are easily combined with Siuslaw National Forest Service Road 14
or via a 14 mile or so gravel road to Trask River Road, which is
paved starting at Trask River Campground, and from there you can
head on to Tillamook or head back on 6 to the Portland metro area.
More Oregon and Washington
suggested short motorcycle routes.
Disclaimer
Any activity incurs risk. The author assumes no responsibility
for the use of information contained within this document.
And now this word from my husband:
Adventure Motorcycle Luggage
& Accessories
www.coyotetrips.com
Tough, Durable Motorcycle Fuel Containers in two
different sizes,
Top Case Adapter Plates,
Facet Fuel Pump with & without holder (for Honda XRV750
Africa Twin, holder fits RD07 & RD07A only),
& Much More (check coyotetrips.com
frequently for latest offerings - they change!).
Designed or Curated by an experienced adventure motorcycle
world traveler
Based in Oregon. The designer & curator doesn't just sell
these items - they are what he uses himself (& me, his
wife). Nothing here hasn't been FULLY tested by the designer
himself.
You won't find these exact products anywhere else;
these are available only from Coyotetrips.
_______________________________________________
Are you a woman? (however
you define that, I don't care). Have you traveled somewhere and
want to talk about it? Have a travel blog? Have an online album
of photos from your trip that you want to share? Have a tip for
travelers? You can post links to your blog at r/womenwhotravel,
an online discussion group on Reddit (a subreddit). Unlike other
women and travel subreddits and many other online communities,
this group DOES allow people to post links to their blogs,
YouTube channels, etc., so long as it's either focused on women
and travel or is by a woman who travels. Whether you are a
backpacker, a bicycle traveler, a budget traveler, a luxury
traveler, an adventure traveler, a cruiser, and whether its a
weekend getaway or some epic experience in another country, come
share your experiences at r/womenwhotravel.
And if you are an experienced traveler, join the group and help
answer questions from newbies. There's just one thing this group
doesn't allow: the question "Is such-and-such area safe."
Because that question is impossible to answer.
Quick Links
Index of resources for women travelers
(how to get started, health & safety considerations,
packing suggestions, transportation options, etc.
Advice for camping
with your dogs in the USA.
Advice for Traveling Around the
USA & Camping Along the Way.
Saving
Money with Park Passes in the USA
Advice for women motorcycle
riders and travelers
transire
benefaciendo: "to travel along while doing good."
advice for those wanting to make their travel more than
sight-seeing and shopping.
Where I've
been
A list of all of the states in the USA and all of the
countries I have lived in or traveled in, the farthest North
I've been by land, the nearest I've been to the equator,
various other stats. This includes all of the places I have
traveled to and through via motorcycle. If a place has a link,
then the link goes to my travelogue about the place
Some
of
my favorite photos from my travels. Very hard to
pick favorites.
Advice
for Hotels, Hostels & Campgrounds in Transitional &
Developing Countries: the Qualities of Great, Cheap
Accommodations
Disclaimer: Any activity incurs risk. The
author assumes no responsibility for the use of information
contained within this document.
This material is provided as is, with no expressed or implied
warranty.
Permission is granted to copy, present and/or distribute a limited
amount of material from my web site without charge
if the information is kept intact and is credited to Jayne
Cravens
Please contact me for permission
to reprint, present or distribute these materials (for
instance, in a class or book or online event for which you
intend to charge).
The art work and material on this site was created and
is copyrighted 1996-2026
by Jayne Cravens, all rights reserved
(unless noted otherwise, or the art comes from a link to
another web site).
The personal opinions expressed on this page are solely
those of Ms. Cravens, unless otherwise noted.
