Moro to the Columbia River

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Moro, Biggs, Deschutes River, Colimbia River, Sherman County, OR, US

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Route Overview

Bicycle Rides Northwest

Bicycle tours in the Pacific Northwest on both road and gravel.

54 mi.

3,472 ft.

This is a great ride across the Columbia Plateau. Starting in the small town of Moro, this route heads north through farmland before dropping through a beautiful canyon to the Columbia River. On the return to Moro, the route passes through rolling grain fields full of giant, white wind turbines.

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Route Details

This is a great ride across the Columbia Plateau. The route follows small country roads that pass through dryland wheat farms. The farms in the eastern portion of the ride passes by large wind farms full of giant white turbines that weem to strech on for miles. Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams and the Columbia River Valley can be seen from almost any point along the route. It's beautiful and quiet.

## Route
* The ride starts in the small town of @poi[Moro](1028792) that has a wonderful little cafe. You can park on Main street near the city park that has public restrooms.
* Start riding north on Main St. and turn left for a short climb out of town and into the surrounding farmland. 
* The route rolls north and turns left onto the rouad to Fulton Canyon. Take in the views of Mt. Hood and Mt. Admas before entering the canyon and the fun 2.5 mile descent to the frontage road on the Columbis River @photo[Columbia River](715290). 
* You can turn left at the bottom to go to the @photo[Deschutes River](715294) confluence with the Columbia or turn right to head to Biggs Junction. The Deschutes River Recreation Area is a beautiful place to camp, having big shade trees, restrooms and showers. You might consider this as a possible starting point for a weekend of riding.
* Traveling east along the frontage road goes to Biggs Junction, @slice[follow the frontage road along the Columbia River](d,36286.3,44426.22) where Highway 97 has an access ramp to I-84 and a bridge acrss the Columbia to Washington State.
* Continuing east brings you to the twon of Rufus. There is a restaurant here and a market.
* From Rufus, the route travels up Scott Canyon to wheat farms at the top.
* It's possible to stay on Scott Canyon Rd. and go directly to the town of Wasco and shorten the route back to Moro, but the ride through the wind farms is much more interesting.
* Stop at the wind farm interpretive siogns to learn some facinating facts about the area and the wind turbines in particular.
* Part way up Scott Canyon turn left on Herin Lane and follow the route as in zig-zags along the farm roads as they rool through the wheat fields and giant, white wind turbines.
* The route here travels past the wind turbines before returning to Moro.There are beautiful views of Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams as well as the Columbia River while on the high sections of the ride.
* Of course, it is better to ride on a calm day when the winds are not spinning the turbines like crazy.

## Notes
Water, bathrooms, and optional camping at @poi[Deschutes River State Rec Area](1028793)

@slice[Biglow Canyon Wind Farm](d,65111.37,69485.31)

@poi[Moro Cafe and Bakery](1031653)

**Cautions**
*This can be a challenging route when it's windy, so make sure you check the forecast before heading out*

*Biggs Junction has a lot of traffic, particularly large trucks. Use caution crossing the highway.*

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Moro to the Columbia River

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