Date Reviewed: 08/05

Length: 42 miles

Technical Difficulty: Medium - due to sharp corners and debris on road edges.

Location: Connects Hwy 97 at Shaniko (N45° 00' 12.89" and W120° 45' 13.45") to Hwy 19 at Fossil (N44° 59' 46.00" and W120° 12' 53.91").

Amenities: Full amenities in both Fossil and Shaniko. Clarno Field Station has restrooms only.

Places of Interest: Shaniko, a friendly ghost town. Antelope, a town briefly named after a cult leader. Clarno Field Unit with 44 million year old palisades and fossils. The town of Fossil, where you can dig for fossils and spend the night.

Review: With its wide variety of corners, decent pavement, and multiple places of interest, Hwy 218 defies rigid classification. It obviously fits the sport and sport touring categories perfectly. However, because of multiple historical areas and the chance to dig not far from 44 million year old palisades, touring bikes may find Hwy 218 most interesting. Just keep in mind that Microsoft Streets and Trips allotted this 42 mile road over an hour of transit time. Cruisers will feel clumsy on this road and sport touring bikes will be in their element.

The town of Shaniko felt somewhat dead. Hence, it was no surprise that Shaniko's Website describes itself as Oregon's best known Ghost Town. Quasi ghost town might be a better term. Shaniko has gas, food, and advertises old style ice cream. Additionally, there are turn of the century buildings including a jail, city hall, school, and a renovated luxury hotel.

The term "diverse" best classifies the 8 miles between Shaniko and Antelope. The first four miles out of Shaniko are virtually straight. As if making up for this initial boring stretch, Hwy 218 dives into a 4 mile shallow canyon run. Ultimate kudos goes to a Norton Commando rider who put a Suzuki GSXR 750 to shame in this section. Look for the picture of this area below. It's easily identifiable as looking like a slot car track gone awry.

Built in 1871, Antelope represents a true ghost town. In 1898, all but one building was destroyed by a fire. Quickly rebuilt, the town was eclipsed by Shaniko. As of 2005 it boasts a population of 59 people. Its Post Office appears to be a converted mobile home. Included in the pictures below is one abandoned building. In a sadly amusing way, Antelope claims a more recent fame. In 1984, by a vote of 57 to 22, Antelope was renamed Rajneeshpuram. The Rajneeshpuram community, founded in 1981 by the Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh in central Oregon, was the object of controversy from its beginnings. When thousands of the Bhagwan's followers streamed into this conservative area of the Pacific Northwest, the stage was set for a clash of cultures. Rajneesh's liberal views on human sexuality, and his opulent style of living, were viewed with suspicion by the local people. In 1984, the followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh decided they wanted their candidates to win the local elections so they could get more favorable zoning treatment. They decided to poison and sicken as many local residents as possible just before the election so their candidates wouldn't have much voting opposition. They poisoned the salad bars of at least 10 local restaurants with salmonella, sickening hundreds. The first recorded bioterrorism attack on our soil, then, was in 1984 in tiny Antelope, OR! Internal struggles further weakened the commune and shortly thereafter, the cult's leader fled back to India on immigration charges. Allegedly, said leader took some of the good town's money with him and by 1985 the town was renamed Antelope once again. Sporting a general store and no gas, Antelope is quite interesting to ride through.

East of Antelope, Hwy 218 opens up a bit while climbing a ridge and one hits a rare straight stretch on occasion. Although some 15 mph turns lurk, most are sweepers bordering on tight. This, combined with grippy pavement results in a thrilling ride. During the ridge climb and descent between Antelope and the John Day River, it was hard not to notice odd colors in the ground. Reminiscent of the Painted Hills, Hwy 218 appears to have clay deposits of various types. In any case, this section is both fun and beautiful.

After leaving the John Day River Basin, Hwy 218 follows Pine Creek for many miles. These are fun miles where the road hugs valley edges through low lying canyon areas. Pavement here becomes more rippled. Corners remain sharp and with liberal throttle usage, the V-Strom gave an occasional head shake while exiting them. It's in this area that one finds the Clarno Fossil Field Station. Even if 44 million year old Palisades and ancient rainforests don't peak your interest, this isn't a bad spot to stop, stretch the legs, and empty the bladder.

Speaking of fossils, a ranger mentioned that in the town of Fossil, a special site near the school allows guest digging. For a small fee, you get to keep whatever fossil artifacts you unearth... A web search confirmed this fact along with other information about local bed and breakfasts, places of interest, etc.

From the Clarno unit to Fossil, Hwy 218 simply rocks both from a cornering and scenery perspective. Some roads are ridden just for the website. This will be ridden and checked regularly. It's painful, but this page must be accurate and that dig site in Fossil deserves documentation. Hwy 218: heartily recommended for all bikes.

Rider Comments:

"Stop in Antelope at the little restaurant, a wonderful lady runs it and makes fabulous homemade marionberry cobbler! The rest of the food is great also! The short distance from Shaniko to Antelope is awesome with new pavement and great slow speed corners, err, supposed to be slow speed corners ." - From RECON at http://vstrom.info

"It is impossible to overstate the quality of this road, both technically and scenically. It's definitely required riding. If stopping to stretch at the Clarno Unit wayside area in late spring, look for the Mariposa Lily, a spectacular desert flower you won't spot while strafing apexes.For those looking for local lodging, the Wilson Ranches Retreat B&B located 2mi west of Fossil is run by a 5th generation ranch family that is very biker-friendly, playing host to a number of motorcycle groups throughout the year." - John Sharrer, Coburg, Oregon

"Hello and thank you for this site. We explored this road about a week ago on July 19 , 2006, and all we could say was fantastic! Sweepers, tight switch backs, uphill and downhill corners. Well engineered banked corners and great pavement. Truly one of the best we had ridden on our trip in Oregon. The other plus was the scenery. We could not see it as much as we would have liked as the road keeps your attention focused. Thanks for your website. We will be back." - Gary Keen, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

"I rode this from Fossil west to Shaniko on Sunday. The road itself is in great shape but there is definitely a lot of gravel on the curves. Picking your line around corners is a must or you'll go low-sided in a heartbeat. It's a shame because this route would be absolutely fantastic otherwise." - Steve Williamson, Sandy, Oregon

"Shaniko to Fossil (46 miles) is a FUN, FUN road, well worth the ride. One of the twistiest roads I've ridden in a long time and the pavement is in great shape. There's gas in Shaniko (non-credit card pumps) and Fossil (non-credit card pumps) so don't plan on fueling there in the middle of the night but they were both open during business hours. At the intersection in Fossil where you'll stop, go north up main street and find the Big Timber Family restaurant about a half-mile up. They make the best burger you'll find anywere; small and friendly place. Leaving Fossil ride south to Spray, also a very fun road. Spray has two gas stations (all card pumps) and a nice clean looking motel right along main street. Lots of bikes stopped in the Spray cafe, must be descent...? Leaving Spray, continue south to Kimberly then east to John Day. Nice roads but a little more traffic." - Ronnie Lyons, Meridian, Idaho