Larch Mountain Road Ride
Distance: 55.35 miles (or less or more)
Elevation Gain: Approximately 4800′ according to my Garmin
GPX file: click here
Strava Activity
A long, long time ago in an America far, far away, cars had trouble going up steep grades. Responding to the needs of the Model T, civil engineers created roads with maximum grades of 6%. The Model T’s inability to climb is your gain, especially on this ride. 4800′ of climbing at 6%. That’s good, really good. So, if you want a spectacular road (pavement only) ride near Hood River, if you want waterfalls and trees and excellent pavement (well, for half, anyway), this is the ride you want.
Larch Mountain, 4061′ tall, stands about 3000′ above iconic Crown Point. You can ride to the parking lot near the top of Larch from Troutdale (nice), Corbett along I-84, (brutal), or anywhere along Highway 30 (pretty! waterfalls! great pavement!). Your choice of starting points will be determined by the day of the week and the hour of the day, as well as by the season; if it’s summer vacation, or if it’s just a nice day, you’ll want to start early to avoid the traffic. If it’s the weekend, you’ll want to avoid this ride altogether – traffic gets intense near Multnomah Falls. It gets so intense that you now need a timed use permit to drive Highway 30 in the summer.
My preference for this ride is to start at Ainsworth. There’s plenty of parking right off the freeway. There’s a nice long, nearly-flat warmup. You can also park at Multnomah Falls (assuming the parking lot isn’t full – it always is on a nice day) and head west. On second thought, never mind. Don’t do that! You’ll never get a spot in that parking lot. Anyway, The ride starts with gentle rolling pavement followed by a gorgeous 5-6% climb. It’s about 13 miles from Ainsworth to Crown Point. It’s shady. Waterfalls and creeks line the side of the road. A gazillion wildflowers add color to the understory in spring.
You’ll climb to Crown Point (this is the best dang climb in the Gorge, I think), where there’s a restroom and water (after 9am). Climb a little farther and take a left on Larch Mountain Road. It’s about 14 miles to the top, nearly all of it in the shade under a canopy of fir trees. Be careful… the road has a lot of potholes. Wait, someone told me they repaved it. Guess I’d better get out and ride this one again soon and confirm that it’s been made awesome again.
When you reach the top, hike your bike along the trail 1/4 mile for a spectacular view of the Gorge. Or don’t. I usually don’t. Leave. Ride down. Watch for potholes. Take a right at the stop sign, and you’ll be on your way down past Crown Point. What a descent it is! You’ll zoom past all those waterfalls, you’ll zoom on shady pavement, you’ll zoom along with a bit sh*t-eating grin on your face.
A couple of notes: by 10am, there’s quite a bit of traffic headed west from Portland towards Multnomah Falls and the rest of Highway 30. Use lights on your bike. Expect slow drivers on your ride back to your car. This ride is truly spectacular. Five stars.
Have an awesome day.
Love, Temira