A mountain bike loop ride departing from Aspen Day Use Area to Sunriver and back affords plenty of opportunity to catch views of the Deschutes River.

Usually, surf ’n’ turf describes a sumptuous meal, but the phrase kept coming to mind during a recent bike ride. The “surf” portion of this 18.5-mile ride includes forest roads and trails along the Deschutes River, while the “turf” portion includes paved paths and singletrack trails in Sunriver. Read on for all the delectable details.

The ride begins at the Aspen Day Use Area. From the parking area, ride a short distance back toward Forest Road 41 until you see a post on the left with a bike and a horse engraved on it. Take this trail, which quickly joins Forest Road 4100-700. Ride on this forest road a little more than 4 miles to Benham Falls, turning left whenever two roads meet, except where doing so would take you to the Slough Day Use Area parking.

This “surf” portion of the ride roughly parallels the Deschutes River — without all of the traffic of the Deschutes River Trail. You get multiple peek-a-boo views of the river, as well as opportunities to stop and enjoy the river at Slough and Benham Falls if you wish.

Continue past Benham Falls. After crossing the bridge to Sunriver, turn right on a short trail to a parking area. Find the large sign with a bike symbol on the left end of that parking area to continue. (The right end of the parking area features a hiker-only loop.) The “surf” portion of the ride continues along this less crowded portion of the Deschutes River Trail, which has great river views and some moderately technical riding over roots and rocks.

Eventually, the trail ends at a small parking area at Forest Road 600. This would be a good place to start the ride if you wished to begin in Sunriver. From here, you begin the “turf” portion of the ride, following paved multi-use paths through Sunriver to Circle 5. At Circle 5, follow signs to Cardinal Landing Bridge. After crossing the bridge, ride past the kiosk and turn right onto the Roundabout trail.

Like finding an extra shrimp hiding under the mashed potatoes when you think you’ve already eaten all the “surf” portion of your meal, the Roundabout trail follows the river a short way, offering a final taste of “surf,” before turning away from the river and entering the “turf” portion of the ride. A side trip to Elko Point, a lovely viewpoint, is signed along the way. Eventually you will take a right on Afternoon Delight and follow it for several miles until it meets Catch and Release.

From this intersection (the bottom of Tyler’s Traverse) you can ride Forest Road 41 if you want to be sure not to miss the turn off to the ride’s end at Aspen Day Use Area.

Or, if you have a map or mapping application on your phone to guide you, you can continue on the Catch and Release trail and then use one of the many forest roads to rejoin Forest Road 41 nearer to the Aspen Day Use Area turn-off.

Although the ride’s forest roads and paved paths allow e-bikes, the U.S. Forest Service has designated the singletrack trails in this ride for nonmotorized use only; therefore, e-bikes are not appropriate for the full route.

The ride took me 2 hours with minimal stopping but would be best enjoyed in 3 or 4 hours to allow time to chat with friends and fully enjoy the views. If you have even more time, you could take a side trip while in Sunriver for a snack. I know I worked up an appetite for— you guessed it — surf ’n’ turf.