Get the bicycles ready and make a little room on the back roads. Southern Oregon is about to welcome a few hundred miles of cycling, scenery and summertime fun as Cycle Oregon brings its signature Rally to Grants Pass for a five-day adventure through some of the region’s most colorful countryside.
From Aug. 28 through Sept. 2, cyclists from across the country will roll into Southern Oregon for a ride that is as much about discovering the region as it is about logging miles. Grants Pass and Jacksonville will serve as basecamp communities for Rally 2026, with riders traveling through vineyard country, alongside river corridors, across forested ridgelines and over roads tracing the historic Applegate Trail. For Grants Pass, the event provides an opportunity to introduce visiting cyclists to the Southern Oregon landscape that stretches well beyond the interstate and into the rural communities, valleys and back roads surrounding the Rogue River.
Riverside Park will become the Rally’s opening home base, filling with bicycles, riders and the energy of people preparing to spend several days exploring Oregon from two wheels. From there, participants will have a choice each day between road and gravel routes ranging from approximately 33 to 77 miles. By the time the last bicycle returns to Grants Pass, riders will have traveled between 188 and 300 miles depending on the routes they select.
Those miles will take cyclists through a landscape that can change quickly in Southern Oregon, from river country and shaded forest roads to open valleys, vineyards and historic communities. “Cycle Oregon is built on the idea that the best way to experience our state’s diverse landscapes is from the seat of a bicycle,” said Chris DiStefano, Marketing & Communications for Cycle Oregon. “Southern Oregon is a dream destination for bicycling, and starting Rally 2026 in Grants Pass puts us right in the heart of its most iconic backroads and river corridors.”
The first wheels hit the routes Saturday, Aug. 29, when cyclists head out from Grants Pass on main, long and gravel loops before returning to town. They will do it again Sunday, giving riders another full day to explore the countryside surrounding the Rogue Valley. Monday brings a change of scenery and a change of camp as the Rally leaves Grants Pass and heads toward Jacksonville, followed Tuesday by routes through Jacksonville and Ashland. On Wednesday, riders will point their handlebars north again for the final journey back to Grants Pass.
When the helmets come off each evening, Rally camp will shift from a day of pedaling to a community gathering. Riders will reconvene around the Main Stage for live music, local wine and beer, and time to relax after covering dozens of miles. The nightly activities are designed to make the Rally more than a sequence of bicycle routes, giving visiting participants an opportunity to spend time in the communities and region they have traveled through during the day.
The Rally also arrives during a busy period for the growing cycling scene in Grants Pass. The community celebrated the opening of the Dollar Mountain Trail system in November 2025, adding more than 15 miles of mountain biking trails with additional trails planned. Just weeks after Cycle Oregon leaves town, Grants Pass will welcome another major cycling event when the USA BMX Gold Cup Finals Northwest 2026 arrives in September.
Together, those events are bringing several styles of cycling to the community in a relatively short period. Mountain bikers can head for the trails at Dollar Mountain, BMX competitors will have their turn in September, and Rally participants will spend five days experiencing Southern Oregon from its paved and gravel back roads. “There’s so much exciting momentum for cycling here, and we’re honored to be a part of it,” DiStefano said.
Cycle Oregon is a nonprofit organization that uses its riding events to support a broader mission throughout the state. In addition to organizing Rally, Gravel and Joyride events, the organization provides community grants, supports youth education programs and advocates for cycling in Oregon. DiStefano said those efforts are intended to complement the riding itself by supporting communities and programs connected to bicycling throughout the state.
Residents do not need a bicycle, a helmet or the legs for a 77-mile ride to take part in the atmosphere. People and businesses along the routes are encouraged to come outside and cheer as cyclists pass through their communities during the week, offering Southern Oregon another opportunity to welcome visitors while sharing some hometown encouragement along the way.
Registration for Rally 2026 remains open through Monday, Aug. 17, ahead of the Aug. 28 arrival in Grants Pass. By late August, Riverside Park will trade some of its familiar summertime scenery for bicycles, riders and a temporary cycling community preparing to explore the region. Five riding days and potentially 300 miles later, those cyclists will return to Grants Pass after seeing Southern Oregon at bicycle speed, with the Rogue River, vineyards, forests, historic communities and miles of back roads providing the scenery along the way.