Date Reviewed: 05/2006

Length: 37 miles

Technical Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult for its narrow pavement and some stunning corners on the west end of the route.

Location: Road review begins at Nye Junction at the junction of U.S. Hwy 395 and State Hwy 74 (N45° 27' 37" and W118° 58' 46") and ends in Heppner at the junction of State Hwy 207 and Hwy 74 (N45° 21' 12" and W119° 33' 12")

Connects With: Hwy 395 - Mt. Vernon to Nye Junction and Hwy 207 - Heppner to Mitchell

Amenities: Gas, food and lodging in Heppner, none along route.

Places of Interest: The view from atop Franklin Summit. Miles and miles of nothing.

Review: This road was not on our "to do" list. It was stumbled upon during the long weekend reviewing Hwy 395. My original intention was to follow Hwy 395 all the way to Pendleton and circle back to Heppner via I-84 and Hwy 207 so I could ride and report on Hwy 207 from Heppner to Mitchell. When I got past Battle mountain on Hwy 395 heading north, I realized there was little to mention about the road and that it would probably stay that way all the way to Pendleton. So when I rounded a corner and saw a sign that pointed left and said "Heppner 37 Miles", I did a quick u-turn. This would save me probably 100 miles and a couple hours at least. I had no idea what to expect. My map indicated a paved road and that was good enough for me. So off I went. I love riding into the unknown!

It didn't take long at all to realize I'd lucked into a great adventure. The road starts up a hill in a series of nice smooth corners for about a mile before descending into an amazing canyon. The descent lasted for a surprising five miles and the ride at the bottom of the canyon went on for nearly three more miles.

The land around this area is remarkably uneven. There are almost no trees and the barren hills look sculpted by hand. There is very little exposed rock so the canyons and hills aren't rugged in the typical sense. If you flew over this area in a plane the hills and valleys would look smooth and soft. When amongst them on a motorcycle they are a seemingly endless maze of hilltops and valley bottoms. You'd definitely need a compass or know how to navigate by the sun if you were to be deposited, blindfolded, out there in the middle of nowhere. To get a sense of the variations of elevations, Franklin Summit is at 3,456 ft while Heppner lieas at 1,955 ft. Not that that's a huge elevation change in 20 miles, but the land goes on and on like that.

The ride along the valley floor is real nice. The pavement thus far isn't the best but it's not bad either. It's narrow for a two-lane state highway with almost no shoulder. The road follows the contours of the hillsides with nearly constant, highway-speed corners with a few tighter curves thrown in. The sight lines are almost all good since there are no trees and no brush. The climb out of the valley lasts about five miles and once again you're struck by how high you climb. At the top is Franklin Summit. The view from here is outstanding! It's 360°s of vast, open, treeless, undulating landscape for as far as the eye can see. It is beautiful in a stark, lonely way. The only remarkable landmark here is Franklin Hill, a flat-topped rocky plateau to the south.

After pausing here to soak in the view, it was time to see what was over the next hill. Let me tell you, the road down from Franklin Summit is nothing short of fantastic. The pavement improves, the corners are banked just right and it becomes a virtual thrill ride. Take a look at the last two photos below to get the idea. Even the tight hairpins are engineered so well, nothing feels forced. The smooth countours of the hills lend themselves well to a great motorcycling experience. A few miles down the road and a few hundred feet of elevation loss is another fairly nice pass, Jones Hill Summit on Freezeout Ridge at about 3,100 feet. (Some locals claim the temperature is always significantly colder here than anywhere else in the vicinity but Oregon Geographic Names author, Lewis McArthur, claims it's named after the loss of 1,000 head of sheep during a spring blizzard after shearing.) Then it's all downhill to Heppner. Again, the sight lines are good and the pavement is outstanding through multiple hairpin configurations and countless contour-following long curves.

From Franklin Summit you get the feeling you've lost too much elevation to still be above sea level. But of course that's impossible. It's just that the road switches back and forth so effortlessly without any precipitous plunge. Finally off the hill, I expected to see Heppner any moment but it was still a ways to go. I wanted to go back to the top and ride it again but time was fleeting and I needed to get to Mitchell before dark. So I forged ahead and wasn't much disappointed with the ride into town. By this time I was into farmland in an increasingly wider valley but the road was built along the north side of the valley and still hugged the contour of the hills giving a nice curvy, pleasant ride nearly all the way to Heppner.

The best gifts are usually the ones you don't expect. I didn't expect to ride this road let alone have such a good experience. I highly recommend this road if you have time to ride off the beaten path.

Rider Comments

"One of my favorite rides. Watch for cattle on the road." - Jim Coxen, LaGrande, Oregon