Pedal Bike Tours Lava Tour (Daily)

This tour starts along the Willamette River. From here we’ll cross over the Hawthorne Bridge and into Southeast Portland. We’ll continue into the wonderful neighborhood of Ladd’s Addition with its rose garden traffic circles, up a gentle incline through the Hawthorne neighborhood on a Portland bicycle boulevard, and on to the base of Mt. Tabor with a peak at 630 feet.

Mt. Tabor makes Portland one of only two cities in the continental U.S. to have extinct volcanoes within its boundaries. The volcanic features of Mt. Tabor became known in 1912, years after it became a public park. The volcanic cinders discovered in the park were later utilized in surfacing the park’s roads.

For one of the best views of downtown Portland to the west and Mt. Hood to the east, we will climb the 400+ feet to the top of Mt. Tabor — or, if we want to save our energy for the next peak, we can ride around the base. Once down the north side of Mt. Tabor we will head further north to the Rocky Butte Park, another extinct volcano cinder cone that rises to 612 feet and looks over much of North Portland, the Columbia Gorge, Cascade Mountains and the airport.

We’ll make a fast descent from the top of Rocky Butte and wind our way back to our shop through the charming and historic Northeast neighborhoods along Tillamook Street. There are several good spots in these neighborhoods to stop for coffee and pastries. With the two 400-foot climbs and 20-mile route, this tour is best suited for those who enjoy a good workout on the bicycle, and more riding than sightseeing, but it can also be customized for any difficulty level.