Long Beach to Garibaldi (Garmin File)
We left the Inn at the Sea in Long Beach excited to enter Oregon. I know we passed many very pretty places. Lisa and I used to live in Vancouver, WA and have been to the Oregon coast many times. Sunset Beach, Seaside, Ecola State Park, Haystack Rock, Hug Point, Arch Cape, Short Sand Beach, Manzanita are all beautiful places and I have fond memories going back 25 years of this area. However, from this trip all I remember from this day is the Astoria-Megler Bridge (url).
Rather than describe it myself, I will just quote Gemini AI, when I asked if the Astoria bridge is safe to ride a bicycle across.
“The short answer is no, the Astoria-Megler Bridge is not considered a safe or comfortable place to ride a bicycle, though it is legally permitted.
While it is a critical link on the Oregon Coast Bike Route (U.S. 101) connecting Washington and Oregon, it is widely recognized by touring cyclists and the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) as a major, high-stress barrier.
The primary safety concerns include:
- Extremely Narrow Shoulders: The bridge is 3.7 miles long, and for the vast majority of that distance, the shoulder is only about 2 feet wide. There is very little margin for error between you and the fog line.
- High-Speed, Large-Vehicle Traffic: The speed limit is 55 mph. The bridge is heavily trafficked by commercial logging trucks, wide-loaded RVs, and tourists who may be distracted by the views or uncomfortable with the narrow lanes themselves.
- The “Astoria Hill” Climb: If you are traveling south from Washington into Oregon, the bridge is relatively flat for the first 3 miles, but the final half-mile features a steep, sustained 170-foot climb to clear the shipping channel. Grinding up this section fully loaded forces you to ride at a slow climbing speed right next to fast-moving traffic, which many riders find highly stressful.
- Severe Winds and Weather: The mouth of the Columbia River is notorious for sudden, violent crosswinds, heavy fog, and rain. A sudden 25–30 knot gust while you are balancing a loaded bike on a 2-foot shoulder can easily push you into the vehicle lane or against the guardrail.
- Debris: Because the shoulder is so narrow and hard to street-sweep, it frequently accumulates road debris, glass, tire wire, and even dead birds (from the cormorant colonies nesting below), forcing you to make quick, micro-adjustments.
The Good News: There is an Easy Alternative
Because of these conditions, many experienced bikepackers and touring cyclists choose to skip riding the bridge entirely.
The Sunset Empire Transportation District (SETD) operates a public bus service (Route 24) that runs between Ilwaco/Naselle in Washington and Astoria, Oregon. The buses are equipped with bicycle racks, allowing you to easily and safely shuttle yourself and your rig across the river for a couple of dollars.
Summary Recommendation: If you are highly confident, experienced with high-stress highway riding, and catch it early in the morning on a clear, calm day, it is entirely doable—hundreds of coastal tourers cross it every summer. However, if it is windy, rainy, or busy with midday weekend traffic, utilizing the local transit shuttle is the much safer and more relaxing choice. “
Photos pulled from the internet.
Now, back to the blog. It was on this day we coined the term, “Bridges of Death”. While the Astoria bridge was the first, it was certainly not the last dangerous bridge we crossed. Most of them were in Oregon, all were old, long, high traffic, and little to no shoulder. If there was a walkway it was elevated above the roadway and narrow.