What are you waiting for? Grab your bike and hit the road. There is beautiful and rugged landscape to explore. <i>File photo</i>

With its miles of open road and forested trails, Grant County is becoming a popular destination for both road and mountain bike riding.

The beautiful and rugged landscape encourages a wide variety of short and longer trips of varying difficulties.

The numerous motorcycle trips described in this issue of Explore double up as excellent road biking routes. These trips combine the county’s world-class scenery with a well maintained county road system. With only 7,000 people sharing the fifth largest county in the state, there’s plenty of road space available for memorable cycling.

Mountain bikers will find that the county’s history of logging on public lands has left an extensive network of forest roads and trails that make a haven for their sport. The local Strawberry Mountain Oudoor Club is assisting the Forest Service in cataloging the “best” trails in Grant County for mountain biking.

Check with the Grant Count Chamber of Commerce and local Forest Service offices for copies of “Mountain Biking In Grant County,” which is due for publication in summer 2008.

For more information on biking routes,contact the Chamber, 541-575-0547, or Mike Cosgrove, 541-575-0318.