Maintenance
Part of Before starting scenic drives: a planning guide
What first-time visitors miss about scenic drives
The things a first scenic drive teaches the hard way: working roads, single lane sections, no phone signal, and stops that exist only on the map.
What to take away
- Many scenic routes are working roads. Log trucks, cattle and trains do not yield to sightseeing.
- Single lane sections with turnouts change how fast you can travel far more than the surface does.
- No phone signal is the normal condition, not the exception.
- A mapped recreation site is not always a developed one. Read what facilities are listed.
The first back road drive teaches four or five lessons that nobody puts on a poster. None of them are dramatic. All of them change how the day feels, and most can be handled by reading the route page properly the night before.
These are working roads
A byway designation does not empty the road of the people who use it for a living. The BLM's page for the Cow Creek Back Country Byway in Oregon, a 45 mile route connecting Riddle and Glendale, tells visitors to stay alert on the blind corners because logging trucks are common, notes that the railroad alongside is still active on a grade built in 1869, and asks people not to trespass on the private mining claims marked along the creek.
That is a fair description of a great many scenic drives. Expect ranch traffic, gates, cattle on the road and equipment that is wider than you are.
Width matters more than surface
New drivers on back roads worry about gravel. The thing that actually slows them down is width. A single lane section with occasional turnouts means constant judgment about who backs up, and it turns an hour of mileage into two.
- Read for the words single lane, narrow, turnouts and blind corners.
- Assume the vehicle coming the other way is larger and less able to reverse.
- Yield uphill traffic the road where the page or the signage says so.
- Slow down long before you can see why you should.
Facilities you assumed were there
A recreation site on a map may be a boat ramp and nothing else. The BLM's description of the South Fork John Day River Back Country Byway in Oregon is unusually direct about this. It describes a 50 mile gravel route through the river canyon, says the road is suitable for most passenger vehicles but that some stretches are single vehicle width, states that no developed recreation facilities exist along the route, and notes that phone service is not available along the byway.
Dispersed camping is possible there, which is a different proposition from a campground with water and a toilet. Read the facilities list, not the site name.
The lessons in short
- Fill the tank before the route, not on it.
- Carry water even on a paved drive with towns at both ends.
- Expect to lose signal and plan the day so that it does not matter.
- Treat gates as instructions, and leave them as you found them.
- Give yourself permission to turn around, and decide the trigger in advance.
Where to go next
Most of these surprises disappear if you settle surface, access and services in advance, which is what the planning guide for scenic drives is for. The wider habit of putting distance and conditions ahead of destinations is set out in the slow road travel guide.
Common questions
How much slower is gravel, really? Plan for roughly half your paved speed, and slower again on washboard or after rain. Tire damage is the usual cost of hurrying.
Is it rude to stop for photographs? Only where you stop. Use turnouts, never a blind corner, and get the vehicle fully off the traveled surface.
What do I do if I meet a truck on a single lane? Stop, make yourself visible, and back to the nearest turnout if you are the smaller vehicle. Do not try to squeeze past.
Do I need to tell anyone where I am going? Yes. On a route with no signal it is the cheapest safety measure available, and it costs one text message before you start.
