Time to hit the road

Rowena Loops in the Columbia Gorge • Photo by Corey Cavalier

Highway 20 might have a cool new sign in Newport showing how far you are from Boston, but Highway 30 has points of interest on its side, including that if you drove all the way east on it, you would cross through Amish country and land in Atlantic City.

Much of it includes the historic Lincoln Highway, the first road across the United States and sections of it are still known by that name.

The original plan was for the western side to end in Utah, but thanks to a few fits pitched, the route was extended through Idaho, crossed the Oregon border in Ontario and finally landed in Astoria.

Now you can explore the 477 miles of the Oregon portion of this historic route with another virtual mileage challenge brought to you by the Newport Recreation Center.

“Wagons and Waves” follows much of the route of the Oregon Trail, crosses several mountain ranges and passes through the beautiful Columbia Gorge.

You have until Aug. 31 to finish your miles, but medals will be mailed out roughly two months after registration. Locals can pick up their medals at the Newport Recreation Center.

The center will be posting information about points of interest along the route on their Facebook page as the challenge goes on.

“People had so much fun with this last year, we wanted to do it again,” said Recreation Program Specialist Jenni Remillard about the Newport to Nyssa challenge, which had participants from eight states. “These challenges are designed for anyone. You can use any activity you like to get miles: swimming, biking, running, walking — whatever works for you.”

The route is long at 477 miles, but people can team up if they want. 

“Mileage is on the honor system,” Remillard said. “We love for people to post their progress on social media to keep themselves motivated, but we don’t check in on people. For some the journey might take most of the year, but if that’s what gets you in the habit of moving, that’s all that counts!” 

Remillard should know — she recently completed a personal goal of virtually walking, swimming and biking more than 3,000 miles of Highway 20 from Newport to Boston. 

“It’s what finally motivated me to exercise and keep doing it and I wanted to share that with others,” she said. 

Participation is $15 and includes a medal and a color-in mile tracking sheet. For more information, go to newportoregon.gov or call 541-265-4859.