In Plain View
Highlights & Remarkable Spots
Brooks-Scanlon Logging Road / ~ Miles 2 to 13
The Brooks-Scanlon Lumber Company and Shevlin-Hixon Lumber Company were the two largest lumber mills operating in Bend in 1916. A network of railroads (and then later in the 20th century, gravel roads) grew outwards from Bend to access forests for logging and to distribute finished product. The Brooks-Scanlon Logging Road, now also known as Forest Road 4606, was part of this network. Historical details on the construction and usage of this road are unfortunately murky but we do know it boasts one of the coolest head-on views of North Sister you’ll find anywhere in Central Oregon!
Skyline Forest / ~ Miles 2 to 13
Although your tires are rolling on public land in these miles, just to your west along this stretch is the Skyline Forest – a swath of privately owned land with high recreation and conservation value surrounded by public lands. To learn more about the efforts to protect Skyline Forest, listen to the podcast in the sidebar or check out this webinar with Brad Chalfant.
Three Sisters Mountains / ~ Mile 15
South Sister, Middle Sister, and North Sister are three geologically young volcanoes that make up the backbone of the central Oregon mountain skyline. Ever notice how the Cascade volcanoes from Mount Baker in Washington all the way down to Mount Lassen in California generally fall in a straight line? Oceanic crust on the Juan de Fuca plate is being subducted under the North American plate, slowly sinking toward hotter temperatures where trapped water heats up and rises, melting rock along the way, eventually bursting through the crust to form a volcano. Connecting the dots of these volcanoes essentially outlines the edge of that sinking plate!
Tumalo Canal Project / ~ Mile 20.5
Some call it a “Dam Fiasco.” In the early 1900s, a conman developer from Portland sold arid land to hundreds of settlers with a promise that it would be farmable and irrigated. Then he fled the area. The State of Oregon stepped in to assist, developing the irrigation district by constructing canals and two dams – the Bull Creek dam and the Tumalo Dam, which is the dam right here at mile 20.5 of this route. Unfortunately, an unskilled engineer failed to discover prior to construction that the reservoir floor was highly porous – a fact that became evident when whirlpools formed once the reservoir filled. Concrete gate houses for water flow regulation are still visible here today.
Bull Flat & Peck’s Milkvetch / ~ Mile 22.3
About 10 square miles around Tumalo are home to one-third of the world’s dwindling population of a rare and threatened plant: Peck’s milkvetch (Astragalus peckii). Named for famous Oregon botanist Morton Peck, Peck’s milkvetch is a nitrogen fixer – a plant that can convert nitrogen in the air to usable nitrogen in the soil, which helps feed other plants. The population of Peck’s milkvetch found in Bull Flat here at mile 22.3 has been extensively studied and is most endangered by offroad motorized vehicle use. [Central Oregon Landwatch]
When We Like to Ride This
Fall and spring. And when we are limited on time and need a quick go-to ride. This route will hold snow in the winter, and we discourage use during this time due to the area being a critical mule deer winter habitat. The area is closed from December 1 to March 15 to motor vehicles and may be closed during the summer months due to wildfire risk.
Terrain & Riding
With under 23 miles and less than 900 feet of elevation gain, this Bend Short is a great after-work ride. To create the loop, the Sisemore Road and the old Brooks-Scanlon Logging Road (Forest Road 4606) are linked via unimproved 1.7 and 3 mile connector roads. Ridden clockwise, the gentle grade of the Brooks-Scanlon road provides a solid warmup and saves the smooth gravel surface of Sisemore for the second half. However this direction leaves a challenging one-mile, 6% average grade climb closer to the end (mile 18).
Brooks-Scanlon has attractive low grades but we recommend 45mm tires, as it has some rough sections and there is potential for late-season sand. Sisemore Road, a long-time favorite among cyclists, is a high quality gravel road between Bend and Sisters. The connectors both have unimproved sections and see sandy parts late in the season (although the sand on these sections is the kind that sees improved rideability with from recent rainfall).
This route is not affected by the gate closures near the Verhyden property, though the closures have vastly reduced vehicular traffic on the Brooks-Scanlon Logging Road. As such, the quality of this gravel route appears to be improving year after year.
Food & Water
- None
Route Options
Shorter option: Snow Creek Shortcut (9.5 miles, 350 feet of gain)
At mile 5.2 turn right onto Snow Creek Road. At mile 7.1 intersect the original route. GPX file download.
Love Where You Ride! Learn More
Unbeknown to most of us, the lands just to the west of this route throughout the unprotected Skyline Forest are critical for winter mule deer habitat and Bull Flat hosts a rare plant species called Peck’s milkvetch
. Thus, we encourage you to tread lightly, don’t stray off-road, and take a moment to learn a bit more about each through the links above.
Videos
The Ride! In Plain View
A quick 2-minute video of what to expect on your ride!
The Infamous Tumalo Reservoir!
Learn how a broken promise by a developer in the early 1900s led the state to build a reservoir that couldn’t hold water.
Podcasts
Skyline Forest (It’s not public land?)
What! It is not public land? Ben Gordon, Executive Director of Central Oregon Land Watch, joins us to discuss a large area of private land called Skyline Forest and what the future entails for this 33,000 [...]
Be Informed!
Keep it Local! Learn More
Have you ridden this route? Got a question? Join the discussion!