A classic southern Oregon gravel loop. I’ve been riding variations of this route for at least ten years now and it never disappoints me. It used to start at the at the Greensprings summit on Hwy 66, but since so many folks show up for the Honey Badger Rides, I’ve moved the start location to the E Hyatt Rd intersection of Hyatt Prairie Rd and Buck Divide Rd to have a bigger parking area. This route covers quite a bit of terrain. The ride has a huge variety of terrain and biomes on it, as its right next to the Cascade Siskiyou Monument, one of the most biologically diverse regions of North America. You’ll have amazing views of the Rogue Valley, Mt McLoughlin, Mt Bailey, and Mt Shasta. You’ll pass small lava flow beds, creeks, a couple of lakes and finish it of riding next to an irrigation canal with no other cars for over 15 miles. The hardest part of this ride is passing by the Greenspring Inn and their cold drinks and great food when you pass by. Be prepared to go around a few gates on the canal section of the loop. The Talent Irrigation District which manages the water has it blocked off to keep vehicles from damaging the canal. Be respectful of the access.
There’s two route length options. The Classic Greensprings route is almost 50 miles long and has about 3100ft of climbing and the Greensprings Shorter loop is about 35 miles with almost 2900ft of climbing. The shorter route knocks off about 16 miles from the full Greensprings Honey Badger route, but you’ll still get the 15 miles of car free and flat canal service road which the ride is known for. This shortcut eliminates the Burnt Creek to Buck Prairie section. It also lets you pass right by the Hyatt Lake Resort if you want to stop for refreshments. This route has probably the most pavement of the three length options, but is still predominantly gravel.
Both routes are perfect for a gravel bike with around the 38-42c tire. If the road along the canal has fresh tracks from the excavators TID uses to clean it out then a tire with a bit more volume is nice, but not needed.
Ride With GPS Links
Greensprings Honey Badger Short
Length
Greensprings Honey Badger Short 35.2 Miles
Greensprings Honey Badger 48.7 Miles
Altitude
Greensprings Honey Badger Short 2288ft
Greensprings Honey Badger 3107ft
Honey Badger Rides 