City Escape: Ashland, Oregon

Ashland, OR, is far from any major city, and that is probably the greatest part of its allure. The remoteness, along with the region’s mountainous topography, is the reason you’ll find a good number of fantastic, traffic-free motorcycle roads in the area.

Among the very best is the two-lane ribbon of blacktop known as SR 66, which wends its way south and east out of Ashland’s downtown area before squirming into the nearby wilderness of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. Closing this circle is Dead Indian Memorial Rd, another twisty thoroughfare. All told, the entire loop runs about 100 miles and it should take you around three or so hours to navigate, depending on stops and road conditions.