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Vernonia - Astoria back roads; highway 47 & 202 + ADD NEW ROUTE

17 in Oregon Oregon89 Miles

By MCR Contributor
on May 23, 2011

3.6out of 5

5 Riders rated

Scenery

Road Quality

Roadside Amenities

Written Directions

Route can start either end. One end is Astoria, Oregon at the mouth of Columbia river. Highway 202 travels inland south and east to the town of Mist, where you join Highway 47 into Vernonia....and on thru to Highway 26...where you travel in to Portland or wherever. From Astoria taking Highway 30 back to Portland makes a nice loop back to where you started at almost 150 mi round trip. This is my favorite route for a long long ride pushing corners a bit and not having to worry about people or cars.

Scenery

lots of deep forest, some creeks, very little development along the route, small towns, great views and ridge top vistas, ocean views in Astoria.

Road Quality

lots of twisties and good pavement except in winter (gravel & a few potholes). almost no traffic or stop signs even. Note: this is a logging area and it pays to be extra careful around the corners on this road for the big trucks..

Roadside Amenities

Vernonia is a great little ride destination town (Axmen site) with a couple decent eateries and a motorcycle shop (V&V leathers). Astoria has some fine eateries and museums.

Additional Info

Nickname (optional) : Tallannie

What Riders Say About this Route Add Review & Rating

By palacinky
on September 28, 2016 3 out of 3 members found this review useful.

4.0out of 5

Motorcycle Year 2009

Motorcycle Make Piaggio

Motorcycle Type Other

9/2016 Just went on 47 to 202 and the roads have been carefully resurfaced and are of excellent quality... no potholes, sinkholes or major cracks. It's my favorite way to get to the Oregon Coast, perhaps along with the not-as-well-paved Nestucca River Road.

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By Nukadog
on July 10, 2014 2 out of 2 members found this review useful.

2.0out of 5

Motorcycle Year 1995

Motorcycle Make Honda

Motorcycle Type Sport-Touring

The road surface has deteriorated badly since the route was added. There are places near the middle of the route where the decision is which pothole to hit rather than best route around...it's still a great ride, but way slow and hard on your bike in places.

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By yooperjb
on September 8, 2014 1 out of 1 members found this review useful.

3.0out of 5

Motorcycle Year 1998

Motorcycle Make Kawasaki

Motorcycle Type Enduro

This is a pretty good route although the scenery isn't that spectacular. There are decent amenities along the route. They were placing fresh blacktop the day I was riding so the surface quality of the route is greatly improving.

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By GJRonK
on August 31, 2014 1 out of 1 members found this review useful.

5.0out of 5

Motorcycle Year 2000

Motorcycle Make Yamaha

Motorcycle Type Cruiser

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Beautiful ride. Backcountry through trees, farm, and a few little towns. Not much traffic. Enough curves to keep it interesting. Would ride it every week if I lived there.

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By wiggledbits
on November 17, 2011 1 out of 2 members found this review useful.

4.0out of 5

Motorcycle Year 2004

Motorcycle Make BMW

Motorcycle Type Sport

Great bunch of roads out that way. I've even taken a wrong turn and didn't turn around because it was still a nice ride. 202 is a very nice stretch of road, good condition with some nice twisty sections. I've been on it in the summer and only have to pass 2 or 3 cars. Watch for gravel at the logging road intersections.

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