New OHV trail system opens near Hoodoo

Off-highway vehicle riders will have a new trail system to explore just over the mountains this summer, as the Willamette National Forest has opened the new Santiam Pass Summer Motorized Recreation Area, featuring almost 50 miles of roads and trails.

“We’re kind of a unique area here, and we’re kind of nestled between the dunes on the coast and the Bend-Fort Rock, China Hat area where there’s lots and lots of trails,” said Steve Otoupalik, trails manager with the McKenzie Bridge Ranger District. “We don’t have a lot of the mileage other places do, but we’re trying to provide a family-oriented OHV area.”

The site, between the Hoodoo ski area and the Highway 22 and Highway 20 split, has easy and moderate trails and loops, he said. U.S. Forest Service crews are setting up a loop specifically for young learners.

The Santiam recreation area is several years in the making, said Judith McHugh, spokeswoman for the Willamette National Forest, and was started because of damage in the area and conflicts between people using the site.

“As motorized use in the area has increased, which it has, we were not providing enough clarity to users about the appropriate places to ride, and the appropriate way to ride,” said McHugh.

The area also features protections for the Santiam Wagon Road, she said. Motorized vehicles are prohibited south of the historic road, and a 15 miles per hour speed limit is in place in sections where vehicles are allowed on the road.

Riders also are not allowed to drive cross-country in the area and must stick to the designated trails and roads.

The Forest Service is also considering ways to link the trails in the Willamette National Forest with trails on the other side of the Cascade crest, in the Deschutes National Forest, Otoupalik said — but the Deschutes trails are still in the planning phase.

“We have a couple routes we’ve looked at,” he said.