THE BULLETIN • FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2021 B9
SNOWMOBILING IN CENTRAL OREGON
‘Go places that
you wouldn’t go
in your lifetime’
Tree Creek are in the Sisters-Metolius
area. The Newberry National Volcanic
or a quarter of a century Jim Val-
Monument has 10 Mile and 6 Mile sno-
entine, the president of Ochoco
parks.
Snow Sports, a Prineville snow-
There are two sno-parks in the
mobile club, has been enjoying snow-
Ochoco National Forest, Ochoco Divide
mobiling trails all around Oregon.
Sno-park and Walton Lake Sno-Park.
North, south, east and west
At Walton Lake Sno-park, lo-
of Bend there are areas to rev
cated off Forest Road 22 east
up the engines of snowmobiles
of Prineville, the 10 different
and cruise through the snowy
trails make it the greatest con-
forests.
centration of snowmobile trails
“The thing about Central Or-
in the Ochoco National Forest,
egon is there are a lot of good
according to the U.S. Forest
TRAILS
riding areas between Mount
Service.
Bachelor, Paulina Lake, Sisters, out in
The two snowmobile trails link up to-
Prineville,” Valentine said. “You have a
gether, which can be beneficial because
large area to choose from out of Central getting to Walton Lake can be a difficult
Oregon.”
feat in wintry conditions.
Part of the duties of Ochoco Snow
“It can be a little challenge at times
Sports is to groom the 79 miles of snow- to access because of its location off the
mobile trails in the Ochoco National
main highway,” Valentine said. “Some-
Forest. Moon Country Snowbusters is
times the conditions are a little harder to
a similar club responsible for groom-
get to. People should be prepared with
ing the trails of the Deschutes National
tire chains just in case they have to use
Forest.
them. It is not like driving to Mount
Valentine encourages each owner of
Bachelor.”
a snowmobile to become a member of
There are several local businesses
the Oregon State Snowmobile Associa-
such as Central Oregon Rentals that rent
tion, which helps support the grooming snowmobiles, and there are places such
programs that allow snowmobiling trails as Central Oregon Adventures that offer
to be a prominent winter activity in the
two-hour tours starting at Wanoga Sno-
area.
park. Wherever the destination, snow-
In the Deschutes National Forest,
mobiling is a fun yet challenging way to
there are 10 different sno-parks and two explore the area during the winter.
in Ochoco National Forest. Snow passes
“The fun part is the scenery and ex-
are required.
periencing the outdoors, and you get to
There are four sno-parks in the Bend/ challenge yourself and go places that you
Sunriver/La Pine area of the Deschutes
wouldn’t go in your lifetime,” Valentine
National Forest: Dutchman, Edison
said. “You access places that you would
Butte, Wanoga and Kapka. Crescent
never see.”
Lake and Junction sno-parks are in the
e e Reporter: 541-383-0307,
brathbone@bendbulletin.com
Crescent area. Lower Tree and Upper
A snowmo-
biler rides
around a
clearing at
Wanoga
Sno-park on
Saturday.
Ryan Brennecke/
The Bulletin
BY BRIAN RATHBONE
The Bulletin
F
Buttes
Continued from B1
The trail transitioned
downhill as a I headed to the
west side of the buttes, where
a cluster of enormous homes
have been constructed on
the hillside to provide a stag-
gering view of snow-covered
mountain peaks.
Much of the Cascade
Range of Oregon was visible
on the clear day with mini-
mal clouds, all the way from
Mount Hood to the Three
Sisters.
The singletrack on the west
side of Cline Buttes is special,
not only because of the view
of the Cascades towering over
an endless expanse of juniper
trees, but also because of the
rolling, side-hill character of
the trail.
The trail continued around
and eventually connected to
a gravel road that leads to the
summit. I pedaled hard up
the steep road, determined to
reach the top.
Surrounding the summit
of the butte, at 4,067 feet, is a
barbed-wire fence that pro-
tects a radio facility, and three
extremely technical downhill
trails can be found after rid-
ing for a bit to the right of the
fence.
The downhill trails are for
advanced riders only, and rid-
ing the original singletrack as
an out-and-back route is an
option for those who want to
avoid the challenging down-
hill.
I headed back down the
THERE’S NOTHING
STRONGER
THAN THE HEART OF A
RED CROSS VOLUNTEER
DR568-21 RED CROSS RESPONDERS:
When the phone rang you answered the call.
You gave of yourself expecting nothing in return.
It wasn’t always easy. COVID made it less so.
Yet you never strayed from the mission.
You’ve affected the lives and earned the gratitude
of thousands of Oregonians.
Your selflessness and tireless efforts
have been awe inspiring.
You are all my heroes.
Michael Pritchard
THANK YOU!
Mark Morical/Bulletin file photo
A mountain biker rides along
singletrack on Cline Buttes.
way I had come along the
gravel road and then onto the
pristine singletrack.
The ride back was fast and
tricky, as I had to negotiate
the narrow singletrack and
the steep drop-off to my left. I
made it back to my car about
two hours and 11 miles af-
ter starting, fairly tired but
wanting to add more miles.
So I crossed the highway and
headed to the Maston area —
a mostly flat network of sin-
gletrack — for another three
miles of riding to make for a
14-mile outing.
All in all, the ride required
2 hours, 15 minutes and in-
cluded nearly 1,500 feet of el-
evation gain — and some of
the most dramatic views and
dynamic terrain on the High
Desert of Central Oregon.
e e
Reporter: 541-383-0318,
mmorical@bendbulletin.com
Cline Buttes trails
Directions: From Tumalo,
drive north on Cline Falls
Highway. The trailhead is
located on the left about 2
miles after the Maston Trail-
head sign (about 30 minutes
from Bend). The trailhead
includes a small parking area
and a green gate, as well as
a Cline Buttes Recreation
Area sign.
Distance: 8-mile loop, or 10-
mile out-and-back
Features: Rolling, narrow
singletrack around the
buttes and a challenging
road climb to the top of the
highest butte; three down-
hill trails that are steep and
technical, for advanced riders
only; loop includes 1,250 feet
of climbing and the same
amount of descent.
Rating: Aerobically interme-
diate to advanced; techni-
cally advanced.
LES NEWMAN’S
QUALITY OUTDOOR WEAR
On NE Franklin Avenue across from Les Schwab
541-318-4868