Upgrades, changes coming to Central Oregon trails

The Deschutes National Forest is working on improving the trail system in the Sunriver area, and also on improving cross-country skiing opportunities near Mt. Bachelor. The Bend Park and Rec District also has big plans for more trails in coming years.

The Forest Service has a project in place to remove 6.6 miles of trail from an area west of Sunriver and replace it with 10.9 new miles of trail.

The trail shift is all to protect elk habitat, as well as to keep recreational options open for people, according to Christina Peterson with the Deschutes National Forest.

“The Forest Service made an effort to plan the trails, in locations that would increase that core elk habitat, but while also providing the recreation opportunities that people seem to be looking for,” Peterson said Thursday.

Scott Gray, who owns Village Bike and Ski in Sunriver, said he’s excited for the opportunity these new trails can provide.

“It’s going to help us a lot, because we’ll have trails for people to ride outside of Sunriver,” Gray said. “And they won’t have to get in their car and drive to catch and release, they’ll be able to link up via bike.”

This new trail system would connect the Sunriver area to the Benham Falls area by bike, which Gray said will be very beneficial.

The Forest Service is working on this project along with the Central Oregon Trail Alliance and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The idea is to minimize the disturbance of recreational activities to the elk habitat.

The Forest Service hopes to begin work on the project in late fall or early next spring.

The agency is also making changes to Nordic ski trails to connect the Virginia Meissner and Swampy Lakes sno-parks.

The Forest Service says the idea is to create some loops for cross-country skiers to use, rather then just doing out-and back trips.

That’s something that Susan Conner, the owner of Sunnyside Sports, said she is excited about, and she believes the changes could help to solve other issues at sno-parks.

“Parking on the other hand, and the vehicles can be a real problem,” Conner said. “So the more you can disperse parking over a broad area and get people out on trails skiing, it’s just a better experience for everyone.”

Conner added it could be good for business as well, if more people are able to get out on the trails and take advantage of the new areas.

These trails would be only for use in the winter, according to the Forest Service.

And they are hoping to get input from the public in regards to the new trail system.

Meanwhile, the Bend Parks and Recreation District is also working to improve their trails.

The district received input from more than 3,000 people, and it also has to consider the population growth.

By the year 2028, they anticipate that 23 percent of the people living in Bend will be under age 18.

In addition, the number of adults over 65 years old will nearly double.

The park district says there’s a desire for more natural area parks and they determined they will need about 8 acres for every 1,000 residents.

People are also requesting more off-leash dog trails, especially with water access.

And there is a lot of interest in a Westside recreation center, which would cost between $20 million and $40 million to build.

“The plan does take into effect what we believe the population will be in 10 years, in order to make sure that we are meeting that need, so that by the year 2028 we are meeting that populations growth,” park planner Quinn Keever said Thursday.

The Bend Parks and Recreation District has 63 miles of new trails planned in the coming years.

The park board will vote on the master plan this summer.

For more information on the master plan click here.