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Cycle Analysis(541) 899-9190
Riding guide · Road and gravel

Road and Gravel Loops

Quiet roads and long gravel climbs out of Jacksonville into the Applegate Valley, both starting at our door.

Open the route mapsAll riding guides
Sterling Creek Road curving through pine forest near Buncom.
The roads

South and west into the Applegate.

Head up Cady Road from town and you're quickly on Sterling Creek Road, a quiet paved climb through the pines that drops down to Buncom and the Little Applegate. From there you can loop back through Ruch and over Jacksonville Hill on Highway 238.

Past the pavement, the Little Applegate Road turns to gravel, and roads like Anderson Creek and Anderson Butte climb to ridge views over the valley. Bring wide tires, extra water and a layer: it's remote up there, and the weather changes fast in spring and fall.

Road route

The Sterling Creek loop.

26.3 miles and about 2,600 feet of climbing, all paved. Cady Road to Sterling Creek Road, down to Buncom and the Little Applegate, then Upper Applegate Road to Ruch and back over Jacksonville Hill on Highway 238. The high point is about 3,030 feet on Sterling Creek Road.

Open this route on Ride with GPS → Download the GPX, send it to your bike computer, or follow it on your phone.

Gravel route

Spring Fling: Anderson Butte.

44.8 miles and about 4,900 feet of climbing, 41 percent unpaved. This is one of the shop's gravel-series routes: out Cady Road and Highway 238, up the Upper and Little Applegate roads, then Anderson Creek and Anderson Butte before heading home. It's a big day. Go in dry weather and tell someone your plan.

Open this route on Ride with GPS → Download the GPX, send it to your bike computer, or follow it on your phone.

Out there

Photos from our rides.

From the Cycle Analysis team blog.

Four riders round a bend on a gravel road through oak-covered hills.
The first gravel on Little Applegate Road.
Two riders on a gravel ridge road on Anderson Butte above forested valleys.
The view from Anderson Butte Road.
Three riders with bikes look over the Applegate Valley from Woodrat Mountain.
Looking over the Applegate from Woodrat Mountain.
Riders on a wide gravel road through pines and oaks.
Cutting across to Sterling Creek Road.
Sterling Creek Road curving through pine forest near Buncom.
Sterling Creek Road from Buncom.
A two-lane road past green pastures toward forested mountains.
Descending 238 toward Ruch.
From our blog

Ride reports from these roads.

Before you ride

Set up for gravel?

We can fit wider tires and look your bike over before a big day. Call (541) 899-9190 or stop by 110 N 5th St.