The McKenzie River Trail that follows the scenic whitewater river on the west side of Santiam Pass undulates gently through moss-covered, old-growth Douglas fir, waterfalls, wildflowers and lava flows. It’s a gorgeous destination for a hike, run or mountain bike ride almost year-round, but right now is especially perfect — it’s a snow-free forest in a temperate climate.

There are many ways to experience the trail in a single afternoon, including short ventures to various scenic highlights from the highway that parallels the trail, an out-and-back from one chosen spot, or the whole 26-mile trail one-way if you have a shuttle.

But I’d highly recommend an itinerary that I followed recently. It involved five women, two cars, four ocean rolls and soaking in Belknap Hot Springs.

Here’s how to replicate that trip: Coordinate five compatible running (or hiking) partners. Dedicate the day to someone who has a birthday to celebrate (or an engagement or promotion or whatever). Pack a swimsuit, towel, flip flops, shampoo, change of clothes and a cooler full of food and drinks. Head to the McKenzie River.

We left Bend around 7 a.m. on a Tuesday in two cars. The birthday girl got to dictate the distance of the run: 10 to 11 miles. On route to the hot springs, one car was dropped at the Trail Bridge Campground, which was the appropriate distance from Belknap Hot Springs — this is where the group parked and began a beautiful run upriver toward the shuttle car.

The singletrack trail in this verdant rain forest is soft under the feet, well maintained and well marked. It has a few small roots and rocks to keep an eye out for, and because the scenery is overwhelming,

I advise periodic stopping points to look around. Trilliums and calypso orchids decorate the trails — exotic treats for us desert dwellers.

The trail follows the whitewater river and crosses on quaint log bridges a handful of tributaries. Enormous old-growth trees shaded us from the sun and dwarfed us with their magnitude. Those in the group who had done this before repeated variations of this theme: “This is the best place to run. Ever.”

Although the elevation gain is moderate going this upstream, northerly direction, (mountain bikers tend to roll it downhill) the uphill aspect was almost imperceptible except for a few inclines toward the end of our run, undoubtedly emphasized by increasingly tired legs.

Once we reached Trail Bridge Campground, we piled into the shuttle car and drove back down to the hot springs. At the lodge, several picnic tables overlook the McKenzie River. We unloaded enough food from coolers to last a couple of days. Soon after we inhaled our sandwiches, someone broke out the fresh ocean rolls, those evil delectable flaky cardamom sweet buns from Sparrow Bakery that were a direct order from the birthday girl. Eating those and some homemade cookies erased any sense of superiority I may have warranted from running 11 miles.

A chill breeze off the river made a few of us shiver, so with full bellies and tired legs, we headed for the hot pool.

I know serious athletes would probably have opted for plunging tired legs into the icy river, and that would have been a better story to tell. But we were here for the pleasure of it, and there’s just nothing like a soak in a clean hot spring rimmed with daffodils overlooking a crystal clear river. Within an hour, we were all revitalized. We showered and hit the road at 1:30 p.m. so we could be back in Bend in time for a couple of us to pick up our kids from school.

The McKenzie River Trail and Belknap Hot Springs are close enough to do in one day, but far enough away to feel like a mini-vacation — a satisfying and inexpensive one, too.