This area is winter migration habitat (December 1 to March 31) for mule deer and elk. Please limit your group size to 4 or less.
Ride with GPS Strava GPX file Cue Sheet
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 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. You can learn more about winter range closures here (by Deschutes Land Trust) and here (by National Forest Service).
Shevlin Park. Toilets.
Lat / Long: 44.0830870, -121.377065
This is one of our “go to” rides in the fall and spring (video). It is close to town, has no big climbs to overheat on and no big descents to get cold on …. and it has some fantastic views! The Sisters. Mt Washington. Mt Jefferson. Black Butte. We also use this for large group rides that become more of a gabfest than a ride because the roads are super wide.
As you turn onto Bull Springs road at mile 0.5, there is a sign that states, “no bicycles Monday through Friday”. We have checked with Deschutes County, and the road is a public use road, and bicycle access is not limited. Unfortunately, this sign is on private property, and the county does not have jurisdiction to remove it. However, we strongly suggest that you ride single file on Bull Springs road due to the truck traffic.
A red blinky light is nice to have for the last paved sector, from mile 29 to 33.
For a shorter ride, start at Tumalo reservoir. The route is then 23 miles and 850 feet of gain. (Map, GPX file, TCX file).
The start lat / long: 44.138191, -121.414744
Have you ridden this route? Got a question? Join the discussion!