"john day fossil beds"

Pictured: Painted Hills & Clarno (Leaf) Fossils......100 more photos here.
I could not normally, in good conscience, recommend a hiking network that is scattered among hundreds of driving miles. John Day Fossil Beds National Monument has enough to offer and overcomes the inconvenience.
My advice, stay in Mitchell at the historic Oregon Hotel (rustic, with community shower and toilet). After early check-in go to the nearby Painted Hills. There are about 2 1/2 miles of trails and the hills are beautiful deposits, changing texture and color with the weather. Before leaving Mitchell in the morning, take another look at the hills from the overlook. (All 3 units of the park are free access.) Head for the Sheep Rock Unit (park headquarters) for a museum and maybe five miles of hiking. The Sheep Rock Unit is the "History Channel" section. Finally, drive almost 80 miles to the Clarno Unit near Fossil, Or. for two or three very short hikes. That is hard to justify, but the leaf fossils and natural arch were great.
The second day was a very long day, with 200 miles of driving plus about 6 miles of hiking, with a museum. That's why I recommend just a quick morning look at Painted Hills.
No trails in the Monument are difficult. Blue Basin Trail has a little grind involved.
This area of the Oregon desert is uncomfortable in summer and winter.
Access to Painted Hills is off of Rt. 26 west of Mitchell, Or. Sheep Rock Unit is 40 miles east on the same highway. Clarno Unit is accessed from Rt. 218, west of Fossil, Oregon.

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"smith rock"

Pictured: Smith Rock, Crooked RiverWhile Smith Rock is certainly an impressive monolith, with the climbing routes on "Monkey Face" being famous, the Crooked River surrounding Smith Rock really completes the scene.
The 4 mile loop (there is a more demanding 6.3 mile loop available) hike along the river and up over the top of Smith Rock is mostly a level hike. The half mile near the end of the trail up to Misery Ridge is very difficult. The ball bearing descent from the ridge is no picnic either. Your speed up and down "Misery" will be one mile-per-hour or less. Only two notes for direction are needed: After crossing the river bridge initially, go left for best views. At the 2 1/2 mile mark, one trail continues straight along the river. Your trail turns right here and switchbacks up Misery Ridge. You should at this point be on the back side of "Monkey Face". Watching the vertical climbers on the front of this favorite is a highlight.
Mid-summer is very hot here.
The access to Smith Rock State Park (fee area) is from Rt. 97 in Terrebonne, Or., which is north of Redmond.
William Sullivan (ISBN 0-9677830-1-1, Navillus Press) does a good job on hike description.

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"ape cave"

Pictured: Mt. St. Helens from Ape Cave upper exitI do have an appreciation for Pacific Northwest hiking.
Ape Cave, on the south side of Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument (fee area), is the longest known lava tube in North America.
Fred Barstad has a good description of the hike in his guide (ISBN 978-1560446965, Falcon Guide), however I disagree with his difficulty rating. The upper cave is quite doable for experienced hikers (with an adequate light source of course). I do not believe that a person has to be an expert caver. I certainly am not! There is no crawling involved, and it's not very strenuous, but moderate. The 8 foot lava falls is slightly challenging. While lava tubes are not colorful (all black and dark), they are a neat, exciting experience. You are probably getting wet if you misstep in the tube (just ankle high at most). It is of course always damp, like any deep cave.
The upper cave heads uphill for just over a mile, then upon exiting, a person can take a one mile exterior trail back to the trail head.
Vehicle access, when open, is via Woodland, Washington and Rt. 503.
The nearby Trail of Two Forests is short and worthwhile.

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Other rides

Pictured: Bald Eagle, Sunriver, Or.

These other bicycling trails in the Pacific Northwest have been recommended, but I have not had a chance to ride them yet:
Sauvie Island (road) is a 12 mile loop with side trips available, near Portland, Or.
Deschutes River Trail (mt.) from Bend, Or. to Sunriver, Or (10 1/2 mi.). Out-and-back trail.
McKenzie River Trail (mt.) east of Eugene, Or. South half easy, north half tough out-and-back trail. 26 1/2 total one way. South terminus is near McKenzie Bridge and north terminus is at Clear Lake in the Willamette Nat'l Forest.
Willamette Middle Fork Trail (mt.) south of Oakridge, Or. is an out-and-back (27 total mile one way) trail beginning at the south end of Hills Creek Reservoir (Sand Prairie Campground). Jurisdiction is Willamette N.F.

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"(mott section) umpqua river"/ "riverside"

Pictured: N. Umpqua River (Mott Segment).......100 more photos here.The Mott segment of the North Umpqua (River) Trail, east of Glide, Oregon, can be used in conjunction with the Riverview Trail for a 12 mile mountain bike loop. Note that to complete the loop about a 1/2 mile ride west on Rt. 138 is necessary to pickup the Riverview Trail westbound. Also about a mile westbound (at the end of the ride) on paved Rt. 138 from the Bogus Creek Campground back to your vehicle, which should be parked at the Wright Creek Bridge.
Don't miss the Bogus Creek Camp turn-off on Riverside Trail!
Due to heavy vegetation, I would wear long pants and shirt for this loop. The Mott section is narrow and rough and damp.
If this loop is not enough, the Panther segment of the North Umpqua Trail meets the Mott, traveling eastbound. Other good options for lengthening the ride would be a ride on paved Forest Rd. #38 to see Little Falls and Steamboat Falls.
For the 12 mile loop we parked at Wright Creek trail head, went east on "Mott" and west on Riverview.
Pick up good informational brochures "North Umpqua Trail" and "Thundering Waters" at the North Umpqua Ranger Station Colliding Rivers Information Center, just east of Glide. Sections or all of this trail system may be closed much of the year, (due to weather, rock slides, fire, etc.) so check with the Info. Center before riding (or hiking).

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"siltcoos lake", "eel lake"

Siltcoos Lake loop trail (fee area), south of Florence, Oregon is neat but short (4.3 mi./ mt. bike) trail. There are a lot of wild mushrooms to see in the fall on the trail. DON'T DRINK THE WATER IN SILTCOOS LAKE! Wm. Sullivan's book (mentioned in "Blacklock Point") has a good description. It's a hiking book but the bicycle ride is the same.
Ditto the neat and short for Eel Lake (6 mi/ out-and-back), also technically a hiking trail. Just yield to hikers. The hopeful plan is for the trail to eventually circle the entire lake, situated in Tugman State Park, near Reedsport.
I recommend both of these for 1 day, with a 25 mile drive on scenic Rt. 101 between.

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"row river"

The Row River Trail (road bike) near Cottage Grove, Or. is suggested as a mountain bike route. Wrong, it's paved! It's a nice, easy 25 mile out-and-back. Or it can be a loop (my preference) of about the same distance. The trail begins in Cottage Grove and traverses nice country to Dorena. We began at the Mosby Bridge Trailhead. Access is via Row River Rd. in Cottage Grove. The loop option entails turning south at Dorena to Shoreview Drive westbound. Turn left at Garoutte Rd. and right at Mosby Creek Rd. back to your vehicle. There are historic covered bridges to see on the route, if you like that. Not much climbing, good touring. A good resource is American Trails. They do list it as a road ride at least.

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intro w/ "blacklock point"

Well, I used to live near Moab, Ut. and in Fruita, Co. Any fat tire peeps who know those areas can understand that I am disappointed in Oregon bicycling trails. It's all green! Oh well, I'm a desert rat. Still, we found a few tracks to enjoy.

Blacklock Point Trail (9 mi. loop/ mt. bike) near Port Orford, Or. can be ridden during dry seasons. It starts in woodlands near a rural airport, continues to scenic bluffs above the Pacific Ocean, and then drops to ocean beach level dunes, where there may be windsurfers on Floras Lake. Mr. Sullivan has a good route description in his hiking guide (ISBN 978-09677830-2X, Navillus Press). There is also a waterfall, he says. I haven't found it yet. Good luck! O.K., so go around again.

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Leif Erickson Trail (22 mi. out-and-back/ mt. bike) is discussed on my bicycling website. It works for hiking, running too.