BEND, Ore. — When I moved to Bend 20 years ago, there was basically one trailhead for mountain biking: Phil’s, of course.
As mountain biking-focused singletrack has expanded over the last two decades through the immense efforts of the Central Oregon Trail Alliance and the U.S. Forest Service, more trailheads have been built in and around Bend.
The U.S. Forest Service’s Cascade Lakes Welcome Station just west of Bend has become a bustling trailhead over the last few years, and with good reason. The location gives riders direct access to some of the area’s best mountain biking trails.
Completed in 2018, Ticket to Ride is a relatively new trail in the vast network west of Bend. The 6-mile loop is ideal for mountain bikers looking for a quick, easy ride.
The loop starts and ends at the welcome station, which also provides access to the COD and Catch and Release trails.
Ticket to Ride serves as a suitable loop for beginners or families and as a way for mountain bikers to connect to other trails such as Grand Slam, ELV and Voodoo Child, another newer trail.
The welcome station, completed in 2015, was originally proposed in late 2008, but the project faced an appeal by Central Oregon tourism interests in 2010, according to Bulletin archives. The appeal questioned whether the building would include trail access or simply be a spot to stop for information.
Responding to the appeal, the Forest Service added plans for a trailhead and, eventually, more trails, built by the hard-working volunteers at COTA.
I drove to the welcome station on a cool Tuesday morning, planning to ride the Ticket to Ride loop in both directions for a total of about 12 miles.
Each way is equally fun. Riding the loop counterclockwise, though, allows mountain bikers to descend a swooping section through a small rock canyon.
While the trail is rated as green (easy), a fair amount of climbing — about 500 feet of elevation gain — awaits in either direction.
After riding the east end of the loop in a counterclockwise direction, I arrived at a sign that led me to the junction with ELV and to the north section of Ticket to Ride. This included a steady climb all the way to the intersection with Voodoo Child. There, riders can take Voodoo Child to connect to the more technically challenging Grand Slam or Voodoo trails. Or they can stay on Ticket to Ride and complete the loop, which I did.
From the northwest corner of the Ticket to Ride loop, the climbing ended and the descending began. Eventually I came to the small canyon, cruising along the swooping turns that cut through the terrain. A few rocks were exposed, but for the most part, it was a smooth and fast ride.
