It’s amazing how much snow there is at Skyliner Sno-park.

Heading west from Bend on Galveston Avenue, the ground is often bare. But the snow zone begins just a few miles outside of town and by the time you get to the parking lot on the left, there’s more than a foot covering the hillsides (at least there was the week before New Year’s).

It’s deceiving. It doesn’t feel like you’re gaining that much elevation, but the sno-park is about 1,000 feet higher than downtown Bend. That and the Cascades influence (as opposed to the drier effect of the High Desert) make Skyliner an ideal ”sneak off” destination when you only have a couple of hours to spend but you’ve just got to get out and recreate.

A major draw at Skyliner is the sledding hill that almost always has a contingent of thrill seekers on inner tubes, plastic discs and lots of other skiddy objects satisfying their need for speed.

But there’s a quieter side to Skyliner Sno-park. Using the parking lot and nearby sledding hill as a takeoff point, cross-country skiers and snowshoers can access a trail/road system that goes as far as Tumalo Falls. There’s also a nifty pair of loop trails that get you into the piney woods pronto.

Skyliner Trail No. 1 begins just southeast of the sledding hill and snakes over fairly flat terrain, looping back to the parking area.

It’s a mile from start to finish and just about perfect for a lunchtime snowshoe hike or late afternoon ski.

Skyliner Trail No. 2 takes off west from the parking lot, follows a road for a mile before traversing northeast along a ridge in the Bridge Creek burn area. Then it loops back to the old Skyliner Lodge, which is a hop, skip and a skate back to the trailhead. This section, which takes you through timber stands, as well as a more open section, is a healthy two miles.

Combine both of them and you’ve got yourself a respectably aerobic outing.

The Skyliner Lodge dates back to 1935, when members of the pioneer Skyliners ski club chose the spot on Tumalo Creek in a grove of spruce and pines for headquarters. The lodge was built by a 50-man crew from the Depression-spawned Works Progress Administration.

The building was conveniently located just 100 yards from the Bend city water main. Better yet, there were ideal spots for toboggan slopes and a jumping hill on Swede Ridge designed to replicate the famous one at Lake Placid.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps built the loop trails.

Skyliners Lodge and the slopes and trails there served the club’s needs through the 1940s and early 1950s, but the area was not quite high enough to please the hot dogs or provide a consistent snowpack. A fire at the ski area that destroyed the patrol hut, tool shed, warming hut and ski tow building iced the decision: skiers in Central Oregon needed a new place to play. And the rest is Mount Bachelor history.

Today, the historic lodge and its outbuildings house the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry’s Cascade Science School (a complete history of the Skyliners as well as the development of Mount Bachelor Ski Resort can be found in ”Mt. Bachelor, Bill Healy’s Dream” by Peggy Chessman Lucas).

A short jaunt from Bend, the country around Skyliner Sno-park is where Central Oregon skiing history was made. And it’s a wonderful place to unwind on skis and snowshoes. Or trash can lids even.

But please note: The sledding hill can be treacherous. Here’s to common sense.

IF YOU GO:

– GETTING THERE: From Bend, go west on Galveston Avenue, which turns into Skyliner Road. The parking area is about 10 miles out on the left.

– ROUND-TRIP DISTANCE: One mile, two miles or three miles – depending on the loop.

– DIFFICULTY: Easy to moderate.

– ACCESS: Cross-country skiers, snowshoers.

– PERMITS: No sno-park permit required at this parking lot.

Jim Witty can be reached at 541-617-7828 or jwitty@bendbulletin.com.