Hocking and Wayne area - current pavement conditions question

[Mary#17]

Hello all,

I'm planning a trip down to this area soon and wanted to get some feedback on roads I'm looking at. Any feedback on road quality or constructions zones would be appreciated. Also if I've missed any great roads, please let me know. Thank you!!

Road in consideration:

1. 374 - i know they paved some of this last year
   
2. Chapel Ridge Road
   
3. 664
   
4. 180
   
5. 678
   
6. Kreasbaum Road
   
7. Big Pine Road
   
8. 691- Paves I believe
   
9. 685 - I think I saw this was in process
   
10. 550 near Athens - I know they had started paving some of this last year.
    
11. 690
    
12. 669
    
13. 78 from McConnellsville west.
    

Thanks for any input!

Mary

[max power]

374 is in good shape. watch for fine gravel in some turns.

664 is OK if you like riding in tourist traffic. Dont hit it on a nice weekend.

180, 678, 550 and 78 are all good. Dont know/remember what condition the other roads are in.

[Mary#17]

Great! Thanks for the update. I'm pretty sure I just have 664 as a connector so we can do the 374 loop a couple times. I remember the traffic you are talking about from last year. Thanks again.

Mary

[joshfz.2008]

664 right by oldmans cave has 2 sections of one lane controled by traffic signals (as of yesterday). 691 from Nelsonville to 56 has been repaved, and they put that gravel on the sides of the road and was covering the road in a few places (as of 2 weeks ago)

[C-bus]

I put in a 6 hour ride through there yesterday. Very little traffic and the roads were in great shape. Very little gravel as well. There are a few one lane construction areas, so heed the signs because they come up on you fast. I was on 374, 664, 56, and some others (I wasn't leading, so I really didn't give a shit what road I was on). Essentially, we rode around Ash Cave, Lake Hope, Athens for lunch, and then back up to the welcome center with all kinds of places in between. FYI... there must be some kind of helmet law down there because I only saw five other riders with helmets. Of course, 2 of them were 2-up in their shorts (sweet zrx1200).

Back to the OP.... the roads were surprisingly good yesterday.

[John]

664 from bremen to logan has some suspect patching done on it. its not horrible, but there are some shaky transitions.

big pine was fine when i was down there maybe a week ago. that road is less traveled so watch out for snakes sunning themselves on the street. i saw a HUGE black rat snake just chilling in the middle of the road soaking up some rays. i stopped like 2 feet from him and he didnt really seem very spooky at all. just looked at me like wtf are you in my sun for?

[Mary#17]

664 from bremen to logan has some suspect patching done on it. its not horrible, but there are some shaky transitions.

big pine was fine when i was down there maybe a week ago. that road is less traveled so watch out for snakes sunning themselves on the street. i saw a HUGE black rat snake just chilling in the middle of the road soaking up some rays. i stopped like 2 feet from him and he didnt really seem very spooky at all. just looked at me like wtf are you in my sun for?

Really? That's different. I was expecting deer not snakes. That would be a sight!

Mary

[drc32-0]

685 is closed about a mile and a half from SR13 from June 11 for 21 days.You can still ride it from SR 78 at Buchtel to the closed bridge...all the good stuff is before the bridge closure anyway.

669 has brand new pavement,but can be dirty in spots due to farmers entering/exiting fields.669 from Eaglesport to Crooksville is a VERY good ride.

180 and 678 are in very good condition as is Big Pine from 664 to 374.I haven't been on Kreashbaum this year.

691 paving is complete now...the edge gravel has been sealed down so the gravel situation is much better.

690 and 78 between Glouster and McConnelsville are in pretty good condition but their pavement is getting a little old so there may be a rough spot here and there.

As for other good roads in the areas you have listed...in the Hocking Hills,Thompson Ridge Rd from 374 to Luarlville(sic?) has some fun sweepers.

356 is just a mile away from the bottom of 691 and continues the twisty ride down to 50.

If you take 78 or 669 to McConnellsville go across the river and pick up 376 and take it up to Gaysport.

[jporter12]

I put in a 6 hour ride through there yesterday. Very little traffic and the roads were in great shape. Very little gravel as well. There are a few one lane construction areas, so heed the signs because they come up on you fast. I was on 374, 664, 56, and some others (I wasn't leading, so I really didn't give a shit what road I was on). Essentially, we rode around Ash Cave, Lake Hope, Athens for lunch, and then back up to the welcome center with all kinds of places in between. FYI... there must be some kind of helmet law down there because I only saw five other riders with helmets. Of course, 2 of them were 2-up in their shorts (sweet zrx1200).

Back to the OP.... the roads were surprisingly good yesterday.

Your ride reports don't count anymore.

[hue jass]

Great! Thanks for the update. I'm pretty sure I just have 664 as a connector so we can do the 374 loop a couple times. I remember the traffic you are talking about from last year. Thanks again.

Mary

...or, skip 664 and hit 374 at the Valero station. I hates me tar snakes.

[Mary#17]

Thank you. That is some great info!!!!

Mary

[r1crusher]

http://www.buckeyetraffic.org/

Select the area you'll be riding through, check the appropriate options boxes on left and click update just below those. It should give you a current view of any road work.

[Beegreenstrings]

Just came back from old mans cave and right at the entrance they are doing some construction. But the rest of the road looked fine

[drc32-0]

664 from bremen to logan has some suspect patching done on it. its not horrible, but there are some shaky transitions.

big pine was fine when i was down there maybe a week ago. that road is less traveled so watch out for snakes sunning themselves on the street. i saw a HUGE black rat snake just chilling in the middle of the road soaking up some rays. i stopped like 2 feet from him and he didnt really seem very spooky at all. just looked at me like wtf are you in my sun for?

I think I saw that same snake down on 356 a couple weekends ago...about 6 feet long with a nice thick body.He was in a lazy coil right on the center line.When I went by him he just raised his head a little bit...he didn't seem to concerned.

[Mary#17]

Friday and Saturday were awesome. I'm very jealous of all of you have easy access to these roads - makes coming back to the cornfield difficult!

Anyway, here are some quick reports.

Road in consideration:

1. 374 - Pavement right in between 56 and 664 was paved last year and is in great shape. At some point, I actually slowed down to look around and it is beautiful in some areas.
   
2. Chapel Ridge Road - Interesting road. Good shape. Passed by it a few times without ever knowing it was there. There is a part that goes downhill for a bit that is really interesting.
   
3. 664 - They seem to be building a new road or parking lot or something. Strange stuff. Went through a couple times and the single traffic signal is fairly quick even on Saturday.
   
4. 180 - Didn't ride as much of this as I had planned but it was in good shape.
   
5. Kreasbaum Road - freshly paved. Some gravel but just enough to keep you honest.
   
6. Big Pine Road - No snake. I really wanted to see it.
   
7. 691- This was freshly paved but a lot of the construction detours up north made it tough to get to. We only did about half of the road. Tried again to get to it from Nelsonville and got stuck in a wicked traffic jam on 33 from Athens and turned around and gave up.
   
8. 685 - This was closed at 78/13 area and it was really a mess and I didn't want to spend too much time trying to figure out how to get around all the closed roads.
   

We did 278 between 56 and 50 and that was a nice road. Clean, some nice turns and some scenic areas as well.

50 was a bit bumpy. It was just a connector for us but figured I'd mention it.

Took 356 from 50 to 56. Freshly paved down south. Nice road again.

56 between 664 and 374 is just fun. I love the long sweepers that keep going and there a few nice ones there.

Construction near 78/13/691 was a bit a pain so I modified some of my plans to steer clear. Don't know my way around well enough and there were other roads I wanted to get on.

33 south had some construction areas but moved fine for the most part. As I mentioned 33 north from Athens was a nightmare in construction and traffic. Don't know if it was just a fluke or what but it was bad.

Stayed at the OU Inn. Nice hotel. Very nice restaurant downstairs. Very good steaks. $120/night so not that bad. Safe area.

Met one of the street sweepers but we were in the middle of a road so I didn't catch his name but thank you!

Anyway, that's all. Thank you all for the feedback and suggestions.

Mary

[joshfz.2008]

Glad you enjoyed your trip. If I had realized you was doing and overnight, there are some great roads farther south through Meigs, Galia, and southern Jackson county you may try to consider next time around.

[Mary#17]

Glad you enjoyed your trip. If I had realized you was doing and overnight, there are some great roads farther south through Meigs, Galia, and southern Jackson county you may try to consider next time around.

I've actually considered those areas before. I'll be in touch with you for the next trip hopefully in July. Thanks!

Mary

[max power]

Next time try the area around 77 and 78. There are some great roads east and west of the freeway.

[drc32-0]

Glad to hear you had a good time in the Hocking Hills area.Sorry you didn't get to ride 685 and some of 691...they're both fun rides.

Thanks for the info on Kreashaum Rd,I'll have to hit it the next time I'm down there,which will probably be this weekend.

[drc32-0]

1. Kreasbaum Road - freshly paved. Some gravel but just enough to keep you honest.
   

We included Kreashbaum in our ride this weekend...thanks for the heads-up on the new pavement.It was very clean,no gravel,just beautiful new pavement.I can't recall Kreashbaum ever being this good...if you like TIGHT,twisty roads be sure to give this road a try on your next trip to the Hocking Hills.Kreashbaum runs from 678 to Big Pine,so there is great riding on either end.