ORBDR Route Updates
Updated May 21, 2026
Join our Facebook Group for more route updates.
Visit the official ORBDR Facebook Group page for ride reports, photos, and discussions with other riders in your area HERE
Before You Ride: Important Reminders
Throughout the riding season, changing conditions are part of every BDR adventure.
Plan ahead, ride respectfully, and follow the BDR Tenets of Responsible Travel to help ensure a safe trip while respecting local communities and protecting access for everyone.
- Download the latest GPS tracks before your trip. Printed maps and older tracks may not reflect recent route changes. The current GPS tracks are always considered the latest version of the route.
- Check Route Updates for seasonal closures and beware of fast-changing road conditions before you go. There may be lingering snow and impassible conditions in the early season and deep sand in the summer.
- Please respect all gates and closures. Never ride around them.
- Expect downed trees early in the season. Carry a folding saw if you have one, know the official bypasses, and be prepared to turn around and create your own bypass if conditions are unsafe.
- Monitor wildfire conditions. Use the BDR Interactive Map HERE to check the wildfire activity layer and tools like the onX Offroad wildfire and smoke layers to monitor changing conditions.
- Join your route’s official BDR Facebook group for current rider reports and local updates.
- Ride Right, Ride Respectfully, Yield to Animals and Know Your Limits
We often receive reports of riders speeding, not riding right, and blocking roadways in residential areas.
Please be courteous, respect local communities, and remember that adventuring in the backcountry is a privilege, not a right. Be an ambassador for our sport and help preserve access for future riders.
Doing a little homework before you leave and making good decisions on the trail helps ensure a safe trip while protecting the future of the BDRs for everyone.
May 21, 2026
New Tracks Available for Download
A new version of the ORBDR tracks is available labeled ORBDR-May2026
In addition to the significant revisions changes listed in the previous post, this update includes a slight change to Section 2:
- A previous portion of the route has been revised east of Thompson Reservoir to bypass a section of highly degraded terrain.
See attached screenshots for reference.
Purchase the updated official map for the ORBDR HERE
Always download the latest version of the GPS tracks just before you go HERE
November 11, 2025
New Tracks Available for Download – Major Updates!
A new version of the ORBDR tracks is available labeled ORBDR-Nov2025
This update marks a significant and exciting change to the Oregon BDR.
- Sections 1-3 have now been completely redesigned and are brand new! More on that below.
- Plus, a new addition to Section 7 to include a great portion of Barlow Wagon Road.
Why the Change?
As an organization, we strive to deliver the best riding opportunities for our community, and the all-new revisions to the first three sections of the ORBDR are certainly no exception.
After releasing the ORBDR, riders faced logistical challenges with the original Sections 1-3 often being closed due to wildfire travel restrictions on BLM land and the Hart Mtn Wildlife Refuge. This, and the higher temperatures in the southern Oregon desert meant a very short window to safely ride the entire route from start to finish.
The newly revised Sections 1-3 start and remain in higher elevation National Forests to match a similar climate to the northern sections. This will ensure a more predictable and consistent riding season to run the entire route, whereas in the past by the time the northern sections opened in the Cascades after snowmelt, the southern three sections were too hot with temperatures over 100F and often closed for the remainder of the season, and deep sand was possible creating more difficult riding conditions. Given that the new sections start at a higher elevation, riders can expect to ride the entire updated route between mid-June and mid-October, depending on snowfall.
We as an organization love the original three sections, and our community can rest assured they will not go to waste. We are actively working on a brand new BDR-X in southeastern Oregon that will use the best parts of the original three sections combined with the best parts of the current Steens/Alvord BDR-X to create a brand-new longer and more comprehensive loop-style route in this region.
While we will no longer be advising on route conditions or publishing the original three sections as part of the ORBDR track file downloads, those roads and areas remain public and available to ride, and if you choose to venture into this area be mindful of the extreme summer heat and potential closures.
Creating the best routes for our community to ride while enabling a strong economic impact to small communities is our number one goal, and we’re delighted to release this significant change in an effort to do just that.
- See attached screenshots for reference.
- Visit the main ORBDR page HERE to read about each new section. More information, photos, and video coming soon…
- Purchase the official ORBDR map which now includes the addendum map for the new sections 1-3 HERE
- Always download the latest version of the GPS tracks just before you go HERE
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