Trail Length

36 miles

Trail Start and End Details

The Covered Bridges Scenic Bikeway features a fun cycling experience of bridges, lake views, foliage, and flowers in Cottage Grove, Oregon, which has a historic downtown.

The start of the bikeway is along the Row River Trail, an off-street, paved path which crosses the roads at several points. The return route is on a low-traffic scenic road with one very short yet steep hill. The Row River Trail runs along Dorena Lake’s north side, passing three of the six covered bridges. All three bridges are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. A store in the modest community of Dorena provides snacks. The in-town part of the bikeway includes a ride through the Chambers Bridge, a historic railroad bridge built in 1925 and restored in 2011 for pedestrian and bicycle crossing.

Cottage Grove is a National Register-listed Downtown Historic District. There are a number of coffee shops, restaurants, pubs, and a bike shop on Main Street.

Description and Tips

The 17-mile trail to rail ride is along Dorena Lake and is very safe, and there are parts of the 31-mile trek that are on the road with narrow bike paths. Park at the Bake Trail Head and stay on the trail to the rail path. A canopy of trees frames the path, with a good portion of the trail along the lake. Awesome. Slight incline but relatively flat. Along the way, you can see a tresses bridge used in a movie as well as five covered bridges, all in a beautiful forest in Oregon.

Camping with full hook-ups is available at Baker Bay Park, close to the bike trail head. Hotels are available in Cottage Grove, about 30 miles south of Eugene. Eugene, Oregon, is where the University of Oregon is located and has many good bike paths. There is an excellent breakfast and lunch at Creswell Bakery in Creswell, Oregon, about 15 miles from Cottage Grove.

Submitted By

Lynn Dubay

Photo Source

Lynn Dubay