Mountain bikers enjoy a flat stretch along the Storm King Trail.

Phil’s Trail is open seven days a week again and the weekday closures that Central Oregon mountain bikers were facing this spring and summer have been reduced to just a few miles of trail.

The only singletrack trails that remain closed Monday through Friday west of Bend are the Grand Slam Trail and most of the C.O.D. Trail during the U.S. Forest Service’s west Bend forest restoration project. (All trails in the area are open Saturdays and Sundays.)

Some local mountain bikers have expressed shock and concern at how dramatically different portions of the Deschutes National Forest appear after the removal of so many trees. In some areas, what was once tight singletrack between trees now runs through wide-open areas.

After receiving so many posts from angry mountain bikers on their Bendtrails.org website, Robert Rekward and Joe Myers asked a local expert to weigh in. Bend’s Nicole Strong, an assistant professor at Oregon State University’s Forestry and Natural Resources Extension, is also an avid mountain biker. She notes that the tree removal and thinning project will actually accelerate a more sustainable forest by growing healthy old trees, improving wildlife habitat and reducing the risk of high-severity wildfire.

The logging and replanting of trees west of Bend in the 1910s and 1920s, Strong notes, created “dense, even-aged forests that are unhealthy and vulnerable to the extreme wildfires that were historically so uncommon.”

“And this is not the old-school logging that got us into the predicament in the first place,” Strong writes of the current project. “This is science-based forest restoration focused on removing the small- and medium-sized trees to leave the biggest and healthiest to become the forest of the future. I like to think that this is a short-term inconvenience that is going to create amazing long-term benefits. I’ll take one season of weekdays away from a few of our trails in exchange for increased community safety, and healthy, resilient and more diverse forests for decades to come.”

And now there is really not much inconvenience for mountain bikers, save for a few miles of singletrack that are still closed on weekdays.

The weekday closures motivated me to ride a long loop around the closed area last week. I caught glimpses of newly thinned sections of forest, and I discovered an approximately 24-mile loop ride that I might not have considered were it not for the closed trails.

I started the ride at Phil’s Trailhead, which was recently expanded to create ample parking and add a Forest Service restroom. The gradual climb up Kent’s Trail was a familiar one, and I turned on upper Phil’s Trail to approach the area called Helicopter Pad.

The climb there is a ferocious one, and I have managed to avoid it for several years, opting instead to climb a less steep forest road to the top of the Whoops Trail. I quickly remembered why I had avoided the climb for so long, pedaling up the steep, rocky terrain until I was forced to quit and walk my bike.

From the top of the climb, I took in eastward views of Bend and the surrounding forests. After linking up to the Storm King Trail, I cruised downhill through thick ponderosa pine forest, skirting the edge of the Forest Service project.

Shortly after I crossed Century Drive on the Storm King Trail, the tree removal and thinning work became noticeable, rendering that area of forest almost unrecognizable.

“Riding through there looks freaking crazy,” says Lev Stryker, a longtime Central Oregon mountain biker and avid volunteer with the Central Oregon Trail Alliance. “You’re like, ‘Oh my God, a freaking bomb went off!’ But I think three or five years down the line it will look beautiful and we’re all going to forget about it.

“Most people are definitely conscious of the fact that overall it’s a good thing, for sure. I think people who haven’t been paying attention, they go out there and look at it, and go, ‘Holy crap, what’s going on here?’ But there’s been years of studies to do this right.”

I continued the fast descent down Storm King, catching some air over a series of jumps as the trail approached Conklin Road. From there, I turned onto a gravel road toward the Big Eddy Trailhead and the Deschutes River Trail.

Mixing a section of the river trail into a long loop is always a good idea. Riding through a seemingly endless forest of pine trees can sometimes become monotonous, so riding along the surging river and through the greenery along its edge can add some flavor to a loop ride west of Bend.

After resting at a shady spot along the Big Eddy rapids and eating a sandwich I had brought along, I got back in the saddle and continued along the Deschutes River Trail. The trail is best avoided on summer weekends, as too many hikers frequent the trail to make for an enjoyable ride. As always, bikers should yield to all hikers and runners.

From the river trail, I crossed Century Drive to get back into the Phil’s system and ride Marvin’s Gardens back to Phil’s Trailhead. Marvin’s Gardens is a treat of a short trail, featuring several small jumps and swoopy sections through a lush, green forest.

Back at the trailhead, I was beat after 24 miles and nearly 4½ hours on the bike. But a big loop west of Bend is always a thrill — and will continue to be so through our ever-changing forest.

— Reporter: 541-383-0318,

mmorical@bendbulletin.com

Editor’s note: Mountain Bike Trail Guide, by Bulletin sports and outdoors writer Mark Morical, features various trails in Central Oregon and beyond. The trail guide appears in Outdoors on alternating Wednesdays through the riding season.