This is another one of those interesting Oregon mountain roads. I thoroughly enjoyed it, not to mention that it beats the living daylights out of taking the interstate and droning through the Blue Mountains. Nobody else seems to be on this road on the weekends, and I’d be willing to bet that it’s busier during the ski season than in the summer since the top was littered with shuttered businesses, closed ski lodges, and rentable cabins when I rolled through in June.
And you might ask, “Why’s it so great if nobody else is up there?” Sweepers. Really hot ones. Plenty of opportunity to take your open-class sport-tourer and see what it will do on a nice quiet mid-day ride.
I found it rather amusing really, since so many of the corners up there were marked with speeds that read 30-35 mph. Not sure why they were marked that way mind you, but I could easily do 50+. And the ones that were marked 45mph? They could be taken at truly righteous velocities that my Wee-Strom with its saddle-bags was just not going to attain that day.
Local Landmark:
One thing that every discussion of this area seems to contain is the weather. Even when the sky is clear blue down in the valleys, it always seems to be cloupy up on 204. The day I was down there had turned into a real barn-burner in the Pendleton and Baker valleys but it was only in the upper 60s atop Route 204 and the sun was peaking through patchy clouds that seemed close enough to touch.
- Counties: Union, Union
- Length: 42 miles
- Towns: Elgin, Tollgate, Weston
Google Map for Oregon State Route 204: