Hi Folks.
I’ll be in Eugene, OR quite a bit this summer. Wondering if anyone has recommendations for pools and safe bike routes (bike paths and in city riding not preferred) and a track that is open to the public? I’m familiar with the trails, but not all the other stuff.
Thanks for your help!
Pools: Swimmers Guide is a great place to start.
It’s crowdsourced, so definitely follow the links to confirm hours, fees, etc.
Let us know where you end up!
I lived in Eugene for years up until ‘12 and there is fantastic training/riding all around. Though take it with a grain of salt that everything I say is a decade old.
For community pools there’s a 50yd outdoor in Eugene called Amazon, for indoor there’s Willamalane in Springfield, and most of the high schools have them as well (though there was always at least one closed for maintenance it seemed).
The riding is fantastic. Wolf Creek was a always a great ride, riding along the McKenzie River was always fun. If you want flats you can ride north toward Corvallis - just choose a road that runs parallel to I-5. I imagine Strava would have most of these. You could always swing by one of the bike shops and ask for good routes as well. Lifecycle was my favorite, but apparently they’ve gone away from road biking. Hutches/Collins and Paul’s would be a good start.
If I recall correctly this is about the time when they’d open Hwy 242 (the old scenic way to Bend) to just cyclists. If you’re into climbing it’s an amazing ride. Park at the ranger station on the west side of Cascades and ride up through what’s basically rain forest, up into the lava beds and snow, then down into Sisters, OR in high desert. Stop for lunch and head back.
For running… Everywhere. The bike paths along the rivers are great.
For OWS, Fern Ridge is closest, but gets gross when temps climb. Then you have Dorena Lake and Dexter, as well as Cottage Grove Lake.
Edit for tracks: I used to run at Sheldon HS and South Eugene HS, though I didn’t do it too often.
Enjoy your time there. I miss Eugene a ton. Unfortunately the bums took over the town when we left during the Occupy Movement.
This is spot on. I lived in Eugene for a few years but it was before I started triathlon. But I know Amazon is where you swim outdoors. I used to do some long runs on McKenzie view and always saw cyclists out there. Then you always saw tons of cyclists on the country roads southwest of Eugene (Crow area) where a lot of the wineries are.
As far as running goes, you have Pre, Amazon, Ridgeline, Pisgah, etc. SEHS track is always open.
Seems like a great place for training.
My wife and I currently live in Eugene and agree with almost everything here. Amazon Pool is a 50m outdoor pool with lap swims and masters starting at 5:30am and 6:00am. It’s usually pretty quiet at 5:30 and the only people who are there can share a lane pretty nicely. It gets more crowded at 6 when the masters groups come in. The coaches are very friendly and would happily let you join a workout. Echo Hollow is an outdoor 25m on the other side of town with similar hours to Amazon. This one is usually very quiet in the summer. Willamalane in Springfield has had a staffing shortage so it’s been open intermittently. Sheldon Pool is closed due to repairs. Fall Creek and Cottage Grove Reservoir are our preferred open water swimming locales. Go early in the morning because there is boat traffic later in the day.
Wolf Creek Road to Siuslaw Road are the “premier” rides around Eugene. Most people will park at Amazon Park and take Lorane Highway out of town. You could also go to Fox Hollow Road to McBeth and also end up at Spencer Creek, though this is a much bigger climb and descent. This turns into Spencer Creek Road which then banks right and dead ends at Crow Road. Take Crow Road to Territorial Highway and then turn on to Wolf Creek Road from Territorial. There are some decent sized climbs and speedy flats on Wolf Creek and the same on Siuslaw Road heading towards Cottage Grove. Turn around in Lorane or keep going to Cottage Grove and you’ll be in the neighborhood of 80-100 miles and there’s a gas station in Lorane you can refill your bottles if you do this as an out and back. Vaughn Road off Territorial Highway is a nice gently rolling scorcher that takes you to Noti and is great to hit the aerobars. You can turn north and cross Highway 126 and there are some very nice roads around Fern Ridge Reservoir. McKenzie Highway will be open only to cyclists for another week and this is an epic Oregon ride. If you like gravel, there are BLM roads everywhere and you can end up in the high Cascades with a few leg crushing 4000ft climbs.
The Ridgeline Trail is my favorite place to run. You can start at either end and forget you’re right next to town. The Eugene river trail system is nice, though there can be homeless camps and panhandlers. Thankfully, it’s well traveled enough that it’s safe and there are plenty of bathroom stops. Amazon Park to the Rexius Trail is a super popular trail system and you’ll often find pro runners warming up and cooling down. A hidden gem is the Clearwater Path and Millrace Path out of Dorris Ranch in Springfield. Hardly anyone goes over there and it’s a beautiful relatively flat system of trails along with Willamette River. Plenty of bathroom and water stops. The Row River Trail out of Cottage Grove is also a great place to do a long run but there aren’t water or bathroom stops so plan accordingly. South Eugene High School at Amazon Park has a nice track open to the public. Sheldon high also has a nice track. I used to run on the auxiliary track at Hayward Field but with Track and Field Worlds, it’s likely going to be unavailable.
For bike shops, Paul’s Bicycle Way of Life, Hutch’s, and Landspeed Fix are the most familiar with triathlon bikes. I agree that Lifecycle is mainly focused on mountain bikes and gravel anymore. Run Hub Northwest and the Eugene Running Company are both great shops and you’ll be able to top off your nutrition or check out some new shoes or gear.
Downtown Eugene has been undergoing some changes. The new 5th St Alley across from the 5th Street Public Market is a great place for food and drinks. This isn’t far from Hayward or the UO. Downtown Springfield is also close to UO and has fantastic options in Planktown, Tavern on Main, or the Abbey. Don’t forget to go out to the vineyards and do some wine tasting in between hammer sessions or cool off with a cold beer at Claim 52, Cold Fire, Ninkasi, Falling Sky, or Hop Valley to name a few. Welcome to Eugene and have a great time while you’re here!
I’m guessing by your user name that I might know you, and you and your wife are both MD’s?
There are actually two Geoff’s both in Eugene and both working in healthcare. I think you might be thinking of the ER doc and the OB versus the primary care offenders.
Ha - too funny. Yes, I am definitely thinking of the OB/ER combo. But he was into tri, is really into skiing, and a Geoff. A bunch of us did IMC together back in ‘11. My wife and I owned a little Computrainer studio in town for a couple years.
If you see him, tell him Brett from the MSA says hi.
Fantastic write up, my memory for road names is quite fuzzy after 10 years and living in 3 cities since then. It brought up a lot of fond memories.
Edit: not to hijack, but do you know of any training groups in town these days? My brother is just getting into tri. He bought all the gear a year ago but hasn’t used any yet (including a Canyon Speedmax CF SLX just because I did).
this is really helpful. thank you!
The riding out there is outrageously good but others have covered that well. Go south(Loraine, fox hollow, willamette) and you’ll find something worthwhile. I also used to ride to the end of Amazon trail(I think that’s right) and then head across 126 on green hill road but my memory is shaky from there. In general, people drive more considerately out there than most places so explore and enjoy.
I liked the track near Polk and West 24th. Almost never closed except during the school day and right after. But good surface and well maintained.
Enjoy Eugene, don’t forget to get funky every once in a while! I miss that place.
Thanks for the info. I will do my best to get funky at some point! 