Why this ride
129 km from Roseburg to the finish, about 2 h 00 of riding. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,700 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Rogue Umpqua Scenic Byway: Roseburg to Diamond Lake
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 129 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 00
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Rogue Umpqua Scenic Byway
Slow enough to look. The surface follows the shoreline, so the corners arrive where the water decided, not where an engineer did. Water arrives beside the road and stays for 64 km. The line follows the shore because there is nowhere else for it to go.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 33 km
- Named road
- Rogue Umpqua Scenic Byway
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Roseburg
Roseburg is the main town of the Umpqua valley in southern Oregon, with around twenty-two thousand people, an old timber economy and a position right where Interstate 5 crosses the South Umpqua River. For many years the city was proud to call itself the Timber Capital of the Nation, and mills, logging trucks and sawdust were everyday companions. The industry has shrunk, but the town still carries a rugged working feel, with a pleasant old downtown, murals, and several breweries.
Read the complete Roseburg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Roseburg is where the day begins. Next is Toketee Falls.
2. Toketee Falls
Toketee Falls drops about thirty-five metres in two steps over a wall of columnar basalt into a dark green pool, and it is one of the best waterfalls in Oregon. The North Umpqua River, which feeds it, runs through a narrow gorge of volcanic rock, and just above the falls it is squeezed into a channel so narrow that the whole river passes through a slot only a few metres wide. The columns of basalt, formed when lava cooled and cracked into hexagonal prisms, give the cliff the look of a giant organ pipe, and the water breaks around them in white threads.
Read the complete Toketee Falls write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Toketee Falls comes up about 96 km into the recorded legs. Next is Diamond Lake.
3. Diamond Lake
Mount Thielsen is the first thing you see, and it is hard to look at anything else. The mountain rises behind Diamond Lake in the Oregon Cascades, a needle of dark volcanic rock about 2,800 metres high, so sharp and so often struck by lightning that it is known as the lightning rod of the Cascades. It is an old volcano, eroded by glaciers until only the plug of hardened lava in the core remains. The lake sits at around 1,600 metres in a forested basin, with the broader bulk of Mount Bailey on its other side, and the water reflects both peaks on a calm morning.
Read the complete Diamond Lake write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 129 km.
Leg by leg
Roseburg to Toketee Falls
Roseburg → Toketee Falls is 96 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Toketee Falls to Diamond Lake
Toketee Falls → Diamond Lake is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.