Bend: Trail Town USA
Photos and Story by Yitka Winn
For every athlete in every discipline, there is a Mecca. Ski bums gravitate to Jackson Hole, mountain bikers go to Moab, and surfers flock to Oahu. For trail running enthusiasts, the mother lode lies in Bend.
Situated in the heart of central Oregon at the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, Bend is wrapped in Ponderosa pine forest and an alleged 300 days a year of sunshine.
The trail running menu is plentiful year-round and there’s many to choose from within the city limits and nearby single track like the Deschutes River Trail. Step outside the town and you’ll find hundreds more scenic trails nestled in the surrounding mountains, made accessible as the winter snow melts off each year.
“I can run from my front door and be on single track in five different directions within 10 minutes tops,” says Scott Wolfe, Patagonia Ultrarunning Team athlete and manager at Fleet Feet Bend.
The mountains outside of Bend await.
Bend is home to a number of big names in the trail running world, including Max King, 2009 XTERRA Trail Run Champion, North Face runner and world ultra champion Kami Semick, and Wolfe’s Patagonia Ultrarunning teammates Jeff Browning and Rod Bien.
In 2006, Outside magazine called Bend “America’s Best Trail Running Town.” From 2008-2010, Bend was chosen to host the XTERRA Trail Running National Championship, which invited world-class trail runners to come prove themselves on the town’s trails.
As host to a dozen other annual trail races, including classics like the Footzone Dirty Half, Haulin’ Aspen, and the Flagline 50K, it’s not hard to see how Bend earned its reputation as a trail runner’s paradise.
“Plus,” Wolfe adds, “the coffee and beer is good here. I find that with most trail runners, this goes hand in hand.”
Getting Your Trail Legs in Bend
Ready to make your pilgrimage? Whether visiting or making a more permanent move, here are several tips to get your trail legs going in Bend.
- Sign up for Fleet Feet Bend’s Trail Running 101 Program – eight weeks, eight trailheads, with coaches, skills clinics, and guided runs every summer;
- Footzone Bend leads 7- to 9-mile runs at noon every Wednesday; après-run burritos from Taco Stand optional but highly recommended;
- Visit www.centraloregonrunningklub.org for a calendar of local group runs;
- Get the Treadmaps Bend & Sunriver waterproof trail map for portable navigation of local trails (available at both Footzone and Fleet Feet).
Yitka Winn is the Assistant Editor at Outdoors NW.
