"Da Curvy Road Tour - 2026"
Team Leaders: Bob and Elsa Sinclair
Saturday, July 11th @ 10 a.m.
By popular demand this will be the twelfth annual running of Da Curvy Road Tour. (Started in 2015). As before Da Tour will test the driving skills of the average driver as the cars will traverse approximately 70 miles of curvy back roads in East Clackamas County. We’ll be heading East from Oregon City, making a brief visit to a historical site (more below), then heading “North” out of Estacada to the town of Sandy and points north. There are few straight lines between these points, mostly Curvy Roads, including some new roads never taken before. We’ll slow down to gaze at several rivers and vistas along the way. We’ll also stop for a potty break and/or a walk among some huge old growth Hemlock trees draped with moss and a cable swing walkway over Eagle Creek. Time permitting you may have some time to take a short walk in the park’s nature trail.
Near the end of the travel, we will cross over the Sandy River (adjacent to Dodge Park) and make our usual stop at one of the best Mt. Hood viewpoints in the area, Jonsrud Viewpoint, a favorite stop over the years. After our stop at the view point we’ll continue into West Sandy and have lunch at the Smoky Hearth Restaurant (16607 Champion Way, Sandy, 503/668-4466). It’s a full-service restaurant including a full bar and plenty of parking.
As for the historic site, it is the Pioneer Church and Baker Cabin. The Baker Cabin site has two historic structures: the 1856 Baker Cabin sitting on its Donation Land Claim and the 1895 Pioneer Church, moved to the site in 1967 from Upper Logan (Springwater Rd.). The cabin was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1976. To keep the overall tour time reasonable, the plan is to spend no more than 30 minutes at the site. The gate will be opened especially for us so a nominal $5 per person donation is suggested for site maintenance, etc. I suggest visiting the web site, www.bakercabin.org, prior to the tour and to check out the “Site History” tab. Lots of information.
Driving time is about 2-1/2 hours plus about 1 hour for intermediate stops. As usual we will set a relaxed pace to allow for scenery watching and to keep the tour together. Recommend that you fill up your tanks before the tour as there is nothing available on the back roads.
Note: As mentioned, we will be making a stop midway at Eagle Fern Park for a potty break and leg stretch where there is normally an $8/car weekend parking fee. However, due to my negotiations with the County the daily fee has been dropped to $4. I have preordered and prepaid for 18 passes.
So, grab your camera, tighten those lug nuts, hone your driving skills, and join us for Da Curvy Road Tour. We’re scheduled for Saturday, July 11th, starting at the Oregon City Home Depot. Tour rolls at 10:00 a.m.
Directions to Starting Point – Home Depot, 2002 Washington St., Oregon City:
Take I-205, Exit 10 (South Oregon City/Molalla/Hwy 213) toward Molalla. Turn right at 1st light (SE Prairie Schooner Way) then an immediate left onto Washington St. Look for Home Depot on the left. Gather at the West end of the parking lot.
Point of contact is Bob Sinclair, Cell: 503/ 936-7113, bobsinc@comcast.net
Menu Info at Smoky Hearth see www.smokyhearthsandy.com
