Riding the Radlands

Published 11:00 am Tuesday, October 27, 2020

Minutes from downtown, but seemingly in the middle of the desert, the Redmond Radlands offer mountain bikers easy access to some intriguing and challenging trails. The trail network is known for its rocky and technically difficult terrain. The system is close to home for mountain bikers who live in Redmond, and it is well worth the trip a few times each fall for those who live in Bend or elsewhere in Central Oregon. Made of about 12 to 15 miles of looped singletrack trails in northeast Redmond, the Radlands provide a sort of urban mountain biking, but the trails never really lose their wildness. Lava rock is incorporated creatively into much of the singletrack, designed by volunteers with the Central Oregon Trail Alliance.

Directions: From Bend, take U.S. Highway 97 north to Redmond. Turn right on state Highway 126/Evergreen Avenue. Turn left on Ninth Street. Turn right on Negus Way. Stay straight to go onto Maple Avenue. The High Desert Sports Complex and the Radlands trailhead are on the left.

Rating: Technically intermediate to advanced; aerobically easy to intermediate.