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There are five one-day rides, beginning and ending in John Day – or you can
choose your own starting point.
RIDE 1 65 miles
Leave John Day headed west on Highway 26 approx. 18 miles to Forest Service Road 21. Sign reads Fields Creek,
Murderers Creek. Go south on FS Road 21 being sure to turn left where road T’s at Murderers Creek as the right
fork becomes gravel after a few miles. Stay on FS Road 21 to Paulina/Izee Highway (Grant Co. Road 63) and turn
left going approx. 4 miles to Highway 395. Turn left and go approx. 17 miles to Canyon City and John Day.
RIDE 2 84 miles
Leave John Day headed east on Highway 26, 13 miles to Prairie City. Turn right on Main Street and left on Logan
Valley Road (County Road 16) approx. 55 miles until you reach Seneca. Turn right on Highway 395 and travel
north approx. 26 miles back to John Day.
RIDE 3 108 miles
Leave John Day headed west on Highway 26 to Mt. Vernon. Turn right at the intersection and go north through
Long Creek on Highway 395. Turn right on County Road 20, ride approx. 34 miles to Highway 7. Turn right on
Highway 7 and go 1-1.5 miles to the intersection with Highway 26 at Austin Junction. Turn right and ride over
Dixie Summit and into Prairie City, go 13 miles and you’re back in John Day.
RIDE 4 125 miles
Leave John Day headed west on Highway 26 through Mt. Vernon and Dayville. In Picture Gorge approx. 7 miles
west of Dayville, go north on Highway 19. You will pass the John Day Fossil Beds Visitors Center. At the Kimberly
Store you turn right to go through Monument to Long Creek. In Long Creek turn right on Highway 395 and drive
south to Mt. Vernon. Turn left on Highway 26 and head east back to John Day.
RIDE 5 197 miles
Leave John Day headed east on Highway 26 through Prairie City. At Austin Junction turn left on Highway 7
approx. 25 miles and after you cross the railroad tracks watch for the sign for Sumpter. Turn left and it’s about 2-
3 miles into Sumpter. From Sumpter go north on the same road approx. 19 miles to Granite. Continue on the
same road to Ukiah. 18 miles east of Ukiah is Lehman Hot Springs on Highway 244. Returning to Ukiah, go west
on Highway 244 to Highway 395. Turn left again and take 395 south to Mt. Vernon and Highway 26, turn left
and head back to John Day, approx. 8 miles.
BILL HUTCHINSON
What started as a way to encourage
motorcycle riders passing through to stay
and explore Grant County has made Prairie
City resident and Come Ride With Us map
creator Bill Hutchinson known around the
world.
When he made his first motorcycle map
of Eastern Oregon 14 years ago, he didn’t
realize just how popular they would
become.
Now, with seven maps covering areas
throughout the Pacific Northwest,
Hutchinson said he met a rider from
England in John Day who had been using
the maps for several years to lead tours for
people from Europe.
Hutchinson started riding in 1958 and
said Grant County has “some of the best”
rides with good roads and little traffic. He
once rode an 80-mile loop and saw only
four cars, which were all in the last 10 miles
near Prairie City.
Hutchinson said he has lived in Grant
County for 30 years but still can’t pick a
favorite ride because “there’s too many that
are too good.”
He said rides through Fields Creek and
Murderers Creek (Ride 1), around the back
side of the Strawberry Mountains (Ride 2)
and on the Middle Fork of the John Day
River (Ride 3) are some of the best.
See more at comeridewithus.net.