The BulleTin • Friday, June 18, 2021 B9
The Fall River meanders along a trail in La Pine State Park.
Mark Morical/The Bulletin
La Pine State Park
La Pine
Continued from B1
Sections of the Upper De-
schutes and the Fall River
wind serenely through the
giant ponderosa pines of La
Pine State Park, situated in
the heart of the Deschutes Na-
tional Forest.
This past Saturday, I drove
with my 13-year-old son, Ma-
son, 30 minutes south from
Bend to La Pine State Park for
a half-day father-son ride.
We started on the 3.25-mile
Cougar Woods loop trail near
the main picnic area and soon
linked up to the Big Pine loop.
While the trails in the park
are often sandy and dusty in
the summer, on this day they
were in perfect shape after sig-
nificant rainfall the day before.
The Big Pine Loop, less
than a mile, led us to what is
recognized as one of Oregon’s
largest ponderosa pines, sim-
ply named “Big Pine” on maps
and signs in the park.
The tree is 162 feet tall and
27 feet in circumference and is
thought to be more than 500
years old, according to www.
oregonstateparks.org. While
it is not the tallest ponderosa
in Oregon, it is considered the
biggest in circumference.
Just a few feet from the
massive tree is the shimmer-
ing Upper Deschutes, which
calmly twists its way through
the park. The stretch of river
through the park is popular
among kayakers, who can en-
joy the slow-moving current.
We crossed a vehicle bridge
over the Upper Deschutes and
found the Fall River loop trail.
The singletrack led us north
to the Fall River, which flows
into the Deschutes just a cou-
ple of miles to the east.
At about 5 miles in length,
the Fall River loop trail is the
longest in La Pine State Park.
It takes hikers and bikers into
the more remote areas of the
park right along the crys-
tal-clear Fall River. I consider
it the best trail for mountain
biking in the park because
of its scenery and solitude.
Along the trail, the meander-
ing stream twists and trickles
through green marshy areas
and yellow and purple wild-
flowers.
At the far northwest end of
the trail network, we arrived
at Fall River Falls, a small wa-
terfall that shined a bright
white in the afternoon sun.
Just upstream, several fly an-
glers casted for rainbow or
brown trout. This section of
the river called the “tubes,” is
popular among Fall River fly
anglers who can access fish-
able water both above and be-
low the falls.
After taking a break at the
falls, we turned south back to-
ward the Deschutes River area
of the park. The Deschutes
loop follows the meandering
river and runs past some of
the park’s 137 campsites. That
part of the park is more popu-
lated with campers and hikers
than the north end along the
Fall River.
Aside from the biking, La
Pine State Park is an ideal lo-
cation for camping, hiking
and fishing through the sum-
mer and into fall.
We eventually worked our
way back to the car, having
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Sharon Preston
covered most of the park’s
trails in about 2 hours, 35
minutes. We rode more
than 15 miles but totaled
only about 400 feet of ele-
vation gain — a laid-back
ride in a gorgeous location.
e
Reporter: 541-383-0318,
mmorical@bendbulletin.com
Directions: From Bend, take U.S. Highway 97 south. A few miles before
reaching the town of La Pine, turn right onto State Recreation Road. Fol-
low the road for about 3 miles to the park (about a half-hour from Bend).
Distance: The park includes about 14 miles of singletrack. Loops range
from 1 to 5 miles but can be linked for longer rides.
Rating: Aerobically easy and technically easy.
Trail features: Rolling singletrack through a scenic section of the
Deschutes National Forest along the Upper Deschutes and Fall River.