Outdoor Adventures In Bend, Oregon

Everyday seems to be a new opportunity for a new outdoor adventure in Bend

, OR. Traveling to Sunriver from the West side of Bend, OR by car with three of my friends on a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon was a great idea for mountain biking. Loading our bikes on our racks and rambling down Highway 97, we went to seek out our adventure for the day. The air was crisp and cool, the blue skies varied with sunshine, high clouds and a light breeze. The temperature was perfect, which seemed to provide what I like to call "automatic air conditioning".

All of us seem to be in the range from beginner to intermediate mountain bike riding, so the trail we picked suited all of us for the beginning season. The trails were perfect, the dirt was packed and had no dust at all, we rode for about three hours. The trail we chose for the day took us along the river trail on the Deschutes River in the pristine Deschutes National Forest. This beautiful, scenic trail took us past lava beds, Benham Falls, fly fishing areas , and rushing rapids.

From one moment to the next, we were taken in by the sights of the river, the Ponderosa Pines and sounds of the breeze flowing through the trees or the water rushing through the rumbling River. It was fascinating to see at the different areas along the Deschutes River change its calm temperament with excellent conditions for fly fishing. With a few pumps of the peddles, the scene would quickly change to hearing and seeing tumultuous water rushing over the rocks and around the eddies presenting a perfect setting for white water kayaking in the great Deschutes River.

We decided to ride to Dillon Falls and back to the car at Circle 7 in Sunriver, Oregon. We came across a few hikers, riders, runners and families walking with their kids and dogs pausing at the scenic points all along the well-groomed trail. At Benham Falls there is railed trail for easy walking to the vista point for great photo opportunities. At the top of this area, there is a clean restroom facility. Go a few miles farther and just before where we turned around at Dillon Falls, we stopped at a few picnic tables arranged along the River and enjoyed the light lunch we brought while laughing and talking with one another and trading our different versions of "did you see that?!"

We rode back to the car instead of directly into town. From Circle 7 in Sunriver to Dillon Falls, it is approximately a 15 mile easy ride with easy ascents and "whoops" jumps along the trail. If you choose to ride all the way into Bend, OR, you will have the opportunity to keep going for several more miles where the trail presents a more technical ride with rocks and boulders with single-track opportunities. Another choice would be to take Road 41 that leads out to Century Drive and leads all the way back into the West side of Bend, OR. What a great life we live in Bend, OR.

by: Terry Mickelson

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