Free snowshoe tours are being offered by nonprofit Discover Your Forest.

With this winter’s first strong snowstorms hitting Central Oregon this week, Bend area residents are eager to get out into the powder-filled forests and explore. One way to do this is with free snowshoe tours offered by the Bend-based nonprofit Discover Your Forest.

The winter interpretive programs in the Deschutes National Forest and Mt. Bachelor ski area will start this week. The tours focus on the ecology, geology, and wildlife of the Cascades.

Starting Saturday, snowshoe tours will be offered on weekends until March 27. The 90-minute tours begin at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

No prior experience is needed, but participants must be 8 or older and should dress appropriately for cold weather. Tours are not available on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, which both fall on a Saturday this year.

Participants can meet at the U.S. Forest Service snowshoe hut located in the parking lot of Mt. Bachelor’s West Village. Snowshoes are provided free of charge.

Discover Your Forest also offers interpretive ski and snowboard tours on the slopes of Mt. Bachelor. The tours take place on weekends from Jan. 2 through March 27. The tours begin at noon and last one hour. While the ski tour is free, participants must purchase a Mt. Bachelor lift ticket. Participants must be at least 18 years old and have competence on groomed, intermediate runs.

Reservations for the tours are not required, but tour size is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis. Pets are not allowed. Questions can be directed to Karen Gentry at 541- 383-4771 or karen.gentry@discovernw.org. Upcoming Discover Your Forest programs can be viewed at discoveryourforest.org/all-programs.