I drive Reed Market Road every day and have long been curious about the gravel path that runs alongside it.

It was only last week that I discovered it was the Central Oregon Historic Canal Trail.

The 4-mile Canal Trail connects west and east Bend, from the Deschutes River Trailhead at Brianne Place to Reed Market Road and eventually Ferguson Road.

If you were to start on the west side, the trail ducks under Brookswood Boulevard and Bend Parkway, and allows trail users to safely navigate fast-moving vehicles on Third Street with a designated crosswalk and flashing beacons by Fred Meyer.

After putting the puzzle pieces together, I realized this was the same trail that crosses 15th Street just north of the recently opened Alpenglow Community Park.

On a recent jog, I ran from my house along Murphy Road and past Alpenglow. I continued north across the picturesque bridge near 15th Street and Chloe Lane, which feeds into what I now know to be the Canal Trail. A short distance from the bridge, the Canal Trail ended where the Nottingham Square neighborhood began.

It turns out that there is no public access through the Nottingham neighborhood. This parcel of land is privately owned by the Nottingham Homeowners Association, according to Bend Parks & Recreation District.

On one of the first 90-degree days of the year, I returned to the trail with my 5-month-old puppy, Juno, my fiancé and my parents during their visit from Colorado, this time with the intention to explore the Canal Trail east 15th Street. The southeastern section of the trail is 0.6 miles long and continues until it meets Ferguson Road.

We waited until the evening to go on our walk when the blazing summer sun was low on the horizon. When we started our walk close to 8 p.m., the setting sun cast a warm yellow over the moving water.

The trail was well-suited for dog walking, although Juno was more taken with the Canadian goose poop than I would have liked. Many of the properties we passed along the Canal Trail had dogs, at whom Juno would stop and stare, causing them to bark. It required a little goading and encouragement for her to move along.

The wide path made it easy to pass others walking their dogs on the trail and Juno enjoyed the opportunity to sniff the abundance of smells.

Despite the short distance, we turned around just short of coming into contact with a wedge of Canadian geese.

To learn more about the Central Oregon Historic Canal Trail, visit bendparksandrec.org.

Watch our reel on The Bulletin’s Instagram (@bendbulletin) posted last Wednesday.