Dalnegorsk is a mining town of around thirty-eight thousand people in a narrow valley of the Rudnaya River, on the eastern slopes of the Sikhote-Alin, a short distance from the Sea of Japan. It was founded as a lead and zinc centre, and boron production followed, which is why the surrounding hills are scarred with old workings and the local mineral shops sell astonishingly good crystals, including datolite and calcite, from the nearby deposits. Krasnorechenskiy lies a few kilometres away.
Riding in, you come down from the mountain pass on a road that twists through dense forest, with steep slopes and sharp turns, before the valley opens into the town. The surface is variable, with good tarmac mixed with patched sections, and trucks haul ore along some stretches, so expect dust and slow vehicles. It is a lovely ride in autumn, when oak, maple and birch burn red and gold against the dark conifers. Fuel is available in town, and you will want it, since the road to the coast and onward toward Terney has few services.
Dalnegorsk has a fascinating industrial past. Its earlier name was Tetyukhe, after the river, and it was renamed in 1972. Lead-zinc smelting dominated for decades, and the town has a faintly ghostly feel, with large Soviet-era buildings and a landscape shaped by mining. It also has a minor fame in a different field: in January 1986 a strange glowing object was reported near a hill outside town, which became one of Russia's best-known UFO stories, and locals will tell it with a shrug and a smile.
The nature around the valley is extraordinary. The Sikhote-Alin forests shelter Amur tigers, bears, deer and wild boar, and the rivers run cold and clear. The coastline a short ride east has rocky headlands, bays and small fishing villages, with Rudnaya Pristan the main port. The air in the valley smells of pine and, sometimes, of the smelter, but out on the coast it is all salt and cold sea.
For practical purposes, fill the tank, buy food and water, and check the weather. Fog off the sea can be thick, and the roads can be wet and slick. The reward is an authentic, little-visited corner of the Russian Far East.