No. 5 ranking in Outdoor magazine could bring in more tourists, outdoor recreators

By Emma Coke, Ashland.news

Ashland was recently ranked a top U.S. bike town by Outside, a major national outdoors magazine, based on high ratings from nonprofits that rate bike-friendliness of U.S. cities combined with the plethora of trails available to ride.  

With a People for Bikes rating of 70 out of 100, League of American Bicyclists gold status and 86 trails dedicated to bikes, Ashland was ranked no. 5 of the top 10 bike cities across the country. A ranking such as this has the potential to bring in more tourists. 

“We’ve got great accolades for our wine and our culinary (scene), so this just adds, and it actually gives credence, to the fact we do have a great a great cycling scene here, and a little something for everyone,” said Katharine Cato, director of Travel Ashland. 

Tourism in Ashland has begun to skew younger, drawing in the outdoors-y type. Nowadays, the things driving visits to Ashland are mountain biking, wineries, cycling and food, Cato said.

At Travel Ashland, Cato and her team have been working to bring in tourists interested in outdoor recreation. Biking especially is popular.

“Ashland has continued to diversify its visitor, and that outdoor traveler certainly is a very key part of that, and also attracting families and attracting those that have an active lifestyle,” Cato said.

In 2015, she was involved in the opening of the Cascade Siskiyou Scenic Bikeway, a 55-mile loop that starts and ends in Ashland. Oregon is the only state to have bikeways, the bike equivalent of a scenic byway, and Ashland’s was the first in Southern Oregon. 

“It really helps anchor Ashland as a base camp, a jumping off point (for biking),” Cato said. 

Part of the work of bringing in more bike-oriented tourists is showcasing the array of cycling options available. The bikeway, 100-mile trail system in the watershed and the 20-mile Bear Creek Greenway and the trails of Mount Ashland offer something for everyone, according to Cato.

“You’ve got gravel riding, mountain biking, road riding, you’ve got the adventure cyclist,” Cato said.

Cato also works to bring in tourists year-round. Rain or shine, biking is possible, in part because of the dirt, she tells tourists.

“We have great dirt,” Cato said. “Literally.”

The decomposed granite allows for year-round mountain biking. Instead of water pooling on top when it rains, which poses a safety hazard, the water drains through the dirt. When wet, it becomes slightly tacky. 

All of this work is because more visitors means more dollars for the city — “they bring money into town, they’re spending dollars. They’re visitors. There’s more of them coming,” Cato said.

These visitors also could become future residents, Cato said. 

Casey Botts, executive director of Ashland DEVO, a nonprofit offering mountain biking classes and programs to children, was one of those visitors who became a resident. 

Botts moved to Ashland in 2016 from the north Bay Area after taking a few trips to Ashland with his friends, citing the trails and the town’s culture as reasons.

“When you say, like, the trails are in your backyard, it really is my backyard,” Botts said. “Like, I spend, you know, five, six days a week in the watershed.”

According to Botts, biking is woven into the fabric of Ashland.

“There’s several bike shops in Ashland, and there’s only 20,000 people that live here,” Botts said. “So I think that’s a good indicator that biking means a lot to the community, as well as the restaurants that cater to mountain bikes and outdoors folks.”

Since moving to Ashland and starting Ashland DEVO in 2017, Botts says he’s seen an increase in interest in mountain biking expressed by students in the classes he teaches. 

“We’re seeing our programs sell out faster and faster every year, which I think shows that more families are getting involved in mountain biking and checking it out,” Botts said.

Around town as well, mountain biking has been taking hold. He said he frequently notices crowds at Skout, Ruby’s and Gil’s, all restaurants popular with bikers. 

“What I’m seeing is just a lot more people getting outdoors, kind of since COVID, but even out of COVID,” Botts said. “Now, I feel like it’s just kind of commonplace to see families riding in the watershed, where before it was kind of an anomaly.”

Ashland has been making moves to improve bike safety infrastructure. Last month, the city installed green bike boxes on Ashland Street, painted areas where bike riders can queue while waiting for the light to change. 

“We get stuff on the committee from people who don’t feel safe riding cars because they feel they’re going to hit bicycle riders and they’re going to hit, you know, pedestrians or something, because they’re not separated,” said Linda Adams, Transportation Advisory Committee chair.

The Ashland City Council recently approved calling for any roadway rehabilitation project to include protected bike lanes in its design, Adams said.

“People are really looking for ways to get their kids outside and doing something positive,” Botts said. “I feel like Ashland is a great place to provide that opportunity.”

Email Ashland.news reporter intern Emma Coke at [email protected].