Maryhill Loops Road

Maryhill Loops Road stands as one of the most legendary and historically significant motorsports venues in North America, combining over a century of road-building innovation with diverse racing disciplines from vintage automobile hillclimbs to modern gravity sports. Built in 1911 by visionary businessman and "Good Roads" promoter Samuel Hill with assistance from engineer Samuel C. Lancaster, this 2-mile serpentine course became Washington State's first asphalt-paved road and the first macadam asphalt road in the entire Pacific Northwest. Located in the Columbia River Gorge near Goldendale, Washington, the road was originally constructed as an experimental prototype to demonstrate advanced road-building techniques and materials, with Hill personally financing the construction of 10 miles of demonstration roads at various thicknesses to test asphalt durability and performance under Pacific Northwest conditions.

The engineering specifications of Maryhill Loops Road reflect early 20th-century ambitions to conquer challenging terrain through elegant design. The course rises 850 feet (259 meters) over its 3.2-kilometer length through a series of 25 curves, including eight dramatic hairpin turns, all engineered at a remarkably consistent 5% grade. This moderate gradient was revolutionary for its era, demonstrating that switchback designs could overcome steep elevation changes without requiring punishing slopes that would challenge early automobiles and horse-drawn wagons. The perfectly banked turns, designed to accommodate the limited suspension and braking capabilities of 1910s vehicles, have proven ideal for multiple forms of motorsport across different eras. The road served as the design prototype for the famous Figure-Eight Loops on Oregon's Historic Columbia River Highway, influencing road engineering throughout the region. After World War II, the straighter and more modern U.S. Route 97 bypassed the original loops, leaving the historic road preserved in time.

Maryhill's motorsports heritage began with automobile hillclimb racing from 1955 to 1963, when the original vintage hillclimb attracted top international drivers piloting diverse machinery from Ferraris and vintage Bentleys to Model-T racers and Formula B cars in timed climbs up the historic serpentine road. The event was interrupted when severe winter storms washed away portions of the road, but after a complete restoration designated as a National Historic Site in 1998, Robert Bush—a former Goldendale resident and hillclimb enthusiast—convinced the Society of Vintage Racing Enthusiasts (SOVREN) to sanction the Hillclimb Revival in fall 1999. SOVREN continued sanctioning the event until 2014, when management transferred to the Maryhill Loops Vintage Hillclimb Association (MLVHA). Today's annual "Car is King Weekend" features the Maryhill Loops Vintage Hillclimb and Concours de Maryhill, attracting vintage sports cars from the 1930s through 1960s along with motorcycles and karts for three-mile timed climbs up one of the world's most spectacular hillclimb venues. The Willamette Motor Club also organizes annual hillclimb events, maintaining Maryhill's status as one of the few genuine automobile hillclimb venues still operating anywhere in the world.

In parallel with its vintage automobile heritage, Maryhill Loops Road has achieved legendary status in downhill longboarding and street luge communities as one of the premier gravity sports venues worldwide. The annual Maryhill Festival of Speed, founded by John Ozman and now part of the International Downhill Federation World Cup Series, attracts approximately 230 of the world's best downhill skateboarders and street lugers, with over 3,000 spectators lining the course over five days of competition. The Maryhill Museum of Art, which owns and maintains the road, leases 2.2 miles and 22 perfectly banked turns for organized events throughout the season, where gravity sport riders reach speeds approaching 60 mph (96 km/h) through corners designed over 110 years ago—the same corners that challenge vintage sports cars during hillclimb weekends. The 1998 refurbishment earned the Outstanding Project of Historical Significance Award from the American Public Works Association's Washington State Chapter, recognizing both its engineering heritage and continued relevance across multiple motorsports disciplines. The Maryhill Ratz local riding crew maintains the longboarding culture and organizes regular events including the Spring Free-4-All and Tour de Maryhill. The course is famously described as "the easiest hill to ride, but the hardest to win," reflecting how its smooth, flowing character welcomes participants across all disciplines and skill levels while subtle technical demands separate champions from competitors. When not rented for organized events, the road remains open to pedestrians and bicycles but closed to motor vehicles, preserving both its historic character and its role as a pilgrimage site for motorsports and gravity sports enthusiasts worldwide.