The Outback Journal

Where Your Ride Goes: Supporting Lake County Search & Rescue

Every June, a couple hundred cyclists roll out of the Lake County Fairgrounds in Lakeview and spend the day chasing big sky across the Oregon outback. Most of them are thinking about the next climb, the next aid station, or the cold drink waiting back at the fairgrounds. Fair enough. That's the fun part. But there's a piece of Tour de Outback that never shows up on a route map, and it's the whole reason the event exists.

Proceeds from Tour de Outback benefit Lake County Search and Rescue. When you register, you're not just signing up for a day on some of the emptiest, most beautiful roads in the state. You're helping fund the team that looks out for this corner of Oregon, on ride day and every other day of the year. So this month, instead of another route guide or another hot spring, we want to tell you a little more about where your ride actually goes.

Meet the Crew

Lake County Search and Rescue is an all-volunteer team. These are the dedicated volunteers who keep backcountry riders and outdoor adventurers safe year-round, right here in the county they call home. The team has 21 volunteers, and every one of them has to be certified by the Oregon State Sheriff's Association (OSSA) by testing out in a set of competencies. Ten of the 21 are still working toward that certification.

The calls change with the time of year. In the fall, it's lost hunters. In the winter, it's snow rescues for stranded motorists who try to travel unmaintained back roads, and lost cross-country skiers. Rope rescues for vehicles that have gone over the side can come any time of year. The Oregon Timber Trail runs through the county too, and the team has gone out for bikers and hikers who ran out of water. They've also responded to downed aircraft, for rescue and recovery.

Locally, the team answers around 10 calls a year. Lake County Search and Rescue also belongs to CORSAR (California Oregon Search and Rescue), a group of 10 smaller counties in Oregon and Northern California that pool their resources to help each other with multi-day searches and technical rescues. The team gets roughly 25 CORSAR call-outs a year.

They don't do it for recognition, and most riders never see the part of the job that happens long after the event tent comes down. That's exactly why we wanted to give them the spotlight for once.

A Big County With a Lot of Empty Space

If you've ridden Tour de Outback, you already know the feeling. Thirty miles into sagebrush country, the nearest town is an hour behind you, and the only sound is wind and the crunch of your own tires. Lake County is roughly the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined. Up at Hart Mountain, there's no cell service at all. And the county is home to the largest certified Dark Sky Sanctuary in the world, which tells you just how few lights are out there at night.

That emptiness is the best thing about riding here. It's also the reason a strong, local Search and Rescue team matters so much. Out here, help can't just pull up around the corner, and when someone needs it, the people who answer are local volunteers.

On Ride Day, They're Out There With You

Here's the part a lot of riders don't realize until they're already on course. During the 2026 ride, Lake County Search and Rescue volunteers were stationed along every route, running water stops and safety checks the whole day. When you pulled into an aid station halfway through a long gravel day and somebody handed you a cold bottle and asked how you were feeling, there's a good chance that was a Search and Rescue volunteer.

Your entry fee helps power the all-volunteer Search and Rescue team keeping riders safe during the event, and the same dedicated crew responding to emergencies across Lake County all year round. In 2026, no accidents were reported, just a handful of mechanical issues that SAG drivers helped sort out on the road. That's the kind of quiet day everyone hopes for, and it doesn't happen by accident.

Where Your Registration Goes

Every registration, every mile, and every pedal stroke goes toward funding the equipment, training, and resources that Lake County Search and Rescue depends on. Since 2024, Tour de Outback donations have helped the team buy new gear, including three new two-seat Can-Am side-by-sides, all new emergency first aid medical kits, and all new life blanket warming kits. The donations also support the team's communications. In parts of the county with no cell service, the team uses Starlink to stay in touch.

And the giving doesn't stop at Search and Rescue. Any extra food from the event is donated to the Lakeview Seniors Center, so every dollar and every meal goes back to the community. Tour de Outback is presented by the Lake County Chamber of Commerce, and a committee of volunteers works year-round to make it happen. Put all of that together and the math is pretty simple: you come out for a great ride, and Lake County keeps every bit of the good that comes from it.

By the numbers. Since 2024, Tour de Outback has given $9,000 to Lake County Search and Rescue: $3,000 in 2024, $3,000 in 2025, and $3,000 in 2026. Every one of those dollars started with riders who decided to spend a Saturday in June out here with us.

In Their Words

"This is our biggest fundraiser of the year and the one we enjoy the most. It is people recreating out in the open country… in country that we know and love. It is fun to see people enjoy the beauty that we get to enjoy everyday."

Alan Munhall, Vice Commander, Lake County Search and Rescue

How You Can Help

You don't have to wait until June to be part of this. A few easy ways to pitch in:

• Ride with us. The single biggest thing you can do is show up. Registration for June 26, 2027 opens January 1, 2027 at 6:00 AM PST, and every registration supports Search and Rescue.
• Give directly. You can mail a check to Lake County Search and Rescue, 513 Center St, Lakeview, OR 97630, or give through our donate page.
• Volunteer on ride day. It takes a lot of hands to pull off a weekend like this. If you'd rather work an aid station than ride past one, our volunteer page is the place to start.
• Say thanks. Next time a Search and Rescue volunteer hands you a water bottle at mile thirty, tell them you appreciate it. It goes a long way.

Why It Matters

The Oregon outback you see from the saddle, the working ranches, the quiet byways, the small towns that treat a bike ride like a homecoming, doesn't run itself. It's the result of people who show up year after year to make it that way, and Lake County Search and Rescue is about as clear an example of that as you'll find. They're out there for riders on one Saturday in June, and they're out there for everybody else the other 364 days.

So when you sign up next year, know that your ride doesn't end at the finish line. It keeps going, all year long, right here in Lake County.