Suttle Wizard

5 Star (Quick Build) Route / ~ Sisters, Oregon / Published: Jul 2026 / Directions

Save to Favorites

Leading out! / July 2026

The last bit of trail.

Route:

Loop | 27 mi

Gain:

1,600 ft

Surface:

25% gravel road, 20% trail, 55% paved

Technical Difficulty:

Easier

Navigation:

Straightforward

Locale:

Urban Backcountry

Tire Suggestion:

45 mm+

Options:

---

The Suttle Wizard route is a mellow gravel adventure packed with some of the best scenery in Central Oregon. Spin for miles alongside the crystal-clear Metolius River, pedal beneath towering ponderosa pines, and if you time it for late fall, ride through glowing golden larch trees. Then there are the famous red gravel roads—are they rust-colored or the shade of an old barn? You’ll have plenty of miles to settle the debate. And all the while, Mt. Jefferson fills the horizon with postcard-worthy views.

One of the ride’s highlights is crossing the bridge over the Metolius River, where the rushing water below glows an unforgettable blue-green. Just across the bridge is Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery, where you can wander among the spawning ponds and watch fish swimming below. Camp Sherman is also the perfect excuse for a mid-ride snack stop at the little general store (just check seasonal hours if you’re riding outside the summer season).

The ride begins and ends at beautiful Suttle Lake, making it easy to celebrate with lunch at the Suttle Lodge Boathouse while taking in the lake views. We also love the Lake Creek Trail, a singletrack trail that sneaks you under the highway and avoids a busy road crossing.

Map

Brown = gravel / dirt road

Blue = single track

Red = paved road

Purple = paved bike path

GPX Download

(Version 1.0)

Caution! We do not provide turn-by-turn directions in our GPX files. Those are auto-generated by your bike computer and are usually less than 70% accurate. Learn more.

For help loading a GPX file onto your bike computer, go here.

Download

Learn More

Ride Details

When We Like to Ride This

May to October

Terrain & Riding

This ride is defined by fragrant pine forests, pristine water, and the quiet beauty of Oregon’s east-side Cascades. It is entirely within the Metolius Basin, a landscape shaped by lava, glaciers, and one of the country’s largest spring-fed rivers. You’ll spend most of your ride beneath towering ponderosa pines, with gurgling creeks near by. For 7 miles, the route follows the crystal-clear Metolius River, where lush sword ferns carpet the forest floor beneath scattered Douglas-firs and western red cedars.

The Start

Suttle Lake Day Use area

Lat / Long: 44.427413, -121.729384

A small designated parking area on the east shore of Suttle Lake, just past Suttle Lodge. A great place to take a swim from the beach after your ride. Pit toilets.

Food & Water

~ mile X / Camp Sherman General store. Open Seasonally.

Notes & Options

Route Notes

We believe this route meets our All Access criteria and will likely tag it as an All Access route once the documentation is complete.
We tagged this route as Urban Backcountry for its level of remoteness. The Metolius Basin and Camp Sherman are popular destinations, especially during the summer, so you’ll rarely be far from campers, cabins, hikers, cyclists, and other visitors. While parts of the ride may feel remote, you’re never far from people.

Comments

Have you ridden this route? Got a question? Join the discussion!

This is a Quick Build Route Guide

A Quick Build route is a fully vetted Dirty Freehub route that meets the same high standards as our Premiere 5-Star routes. The difference isn’t the ride—it’s the route guide.

A Quick Build guide includes everything you need to confidently ride the route, but it doesn’t yet include all of the rich content found in a Premiere 5-Star guide, such as detailed ride stories, points of interest, local history, photography, community highlights, and expanded planning information.

Why do we publish Quick Build routes?

We’ve identified hundreds of exceptional 5-Star routes that deserve to be shared. Creating a full Premiere guide takes significant time and resources, and we don’t want great rides waiting behind a lengthy production process. By publishing Quick Build guides, we can make more outstanding routes available sooner while continuing to work toward their full Premiere editions.

Our goal is to upgrade every Quick Build guide into a Premiere 5-Star guide.

Why? Because a Premiere guide does more than help you navigate. It connects you to the places you ride—the landscapes, history, culture, businesses, and people that make each destination unique. Riders who engage with these stories are more likely to stay longer, explore more, and support local restaurants, lodging, bike shops, and other small businesses—creating a greater economic impact in rural communities.

Your donation makes that happen. Every contribution helps fund the writers, photographers, researchers, editors, and route specialists who transform Quick Build guides into immersive Premiere 5-Star guides.

If you believe in connecting people to great rides and strengthening rural communities, please donate today. Together, we can publish more world-class route guides and bring more exceptional gravel routes to riders everywhere.

Ridden and Reviewed by:

LindaE (aka Gravel Girl) / Team Dirty Freehub

She loves a good day of gravel, like most people like a good book. She’s always amused by the outdoors and the wild adventures. Gravel Girl is a Co-Founder of Dirty Freehub.