Rather than risk getting a ticket or stern talking to, I got the requisite photo of my bike with the Lowell Covered Bridge at a distance. This bridge has been off-limits to cars for a while. Now it serves as a covered bridge interpretive center.
Office Covered Bridge
The Office Covered Bridge in the hamlet of Westfir is the longest covered bridge in Oregon. It’s also the first one I’ve seen to date that has a pedestrian walkway attached to the side. The mill that this bridge used to serve is long gone. In its place is a nice park. Also of note is that I took NF-19 from Rainbow to Westfir without incident. There was some snow in the trees at the top of the pass but otherwise the road was in great shape. The 60 miles through the woods wasn’t bad at all.
Mill workers used to walk this way every day to and from work.
Retro lamps.
This bridge was built to take a lot of weight.
Belknap Covered Bridge
It took me a little time to find the Belknap Covered Bridge. I went too far up the Mc Kenzie River and ended up in Mc Kenzie Bridge. The actual bridge is in the community of Rainbow.
The inscription reads: “HISTORICAL DATA. The original Belknap Bridge was constructed in 1890 by Mr T. Thomspon. This bridge was replaced in 1911 by Lane County with another covered structure. The 3rd covered bridge was erected by Lane County in 1939. This bridge was destroyed by the Christmas flood of 1964. The present structure was opened for traffic on October 31, 1966. Restored 1992.”
