An old friend (probably quoting a still older friend) once told me about fat-tire adventures, “if you’re not hiking, you’re not mountain biking.”

By that definition, as my riding partner and I mashed our pedals up 1,800 vertical feet over a few miles on a blustery, cold Sunday afternoon, we were mountain biking.

About 45 minutes from Bend, and in the shadow of Black Butte, the Green Ridge Trail is a legendary local stomping ground for hikers, bikers and horseback riders.

A river runs below it

At 9 miles one way, the mixture of single- and double-track navigates ponderosa and juniper-laden territory almost a vertical ½-mile above the fly-fishing mecca that is the Metolius River.

The river, in fact, might owe its existence to the Green Ridge. At 3 million years of age (give or take a million) Green Ridge is the wizened sage that witnessed the birth of the Cascade Mountains about 1.5 million years later. When the Metolius was birthed underneath Black Butte — itself only about a half-million years old — it was the Green Ridge that firmly held it in place in the Metolius River Valley.

Running south-to-north, parallel to the river, the Green Ridge Trail begins just north of Black Butte. From the outset, this trail asserts its dominance over your cardiovascular ambitions. Something akin to a series of switchbacks travel north-northeast from the trail head, carrying you to the top, as slowly or as quickly as your quads and aorta can handle. The switchbacks notwithstanding, this weekend warrior often felt he was going straight up the ridge, battling rocks, roots and my own desire to stop and gasp.

Eventually, the trail “flattens” out, laying bare tremendous views of the Cascade Foothills, and, on a clearer day, Mount Jefferson, Mount Washington, Three Fingered Jack and other Cascade peaks. If I had any breath left, it would have been taken away.

Cooler temps prevail

On a cold November day, you risk being covered in weather. Still, the swirling clouds socking in white peaks above the foothills are stunning enough to any nature geek, even if overhead trees swaying from the force of 30-plus mph gusts rattle the nerves.

I could have complained about the 43-degree temps, but something tells me that the 7 or so miles we put in would have been far less pleasant on a 90-degree day in August. Moreover, the trail has a habit of being far too sandy for good fat-tire purchase during peak summer months. That is why we attempted the ride after some precipitation and cool weather turned the forest floor into a damp-but-not-muddy substance that could best be described as tacky.

Much of the forest along the trail has been hit by several wildfires over the past 20 years. In fact, the Green Ridge Lookout, built in the 1960s, is still in use, and occasionally rented to guests during the non-fire and non-winter months.

The potential for an 18-mile ride, while enticing, became something of a pipe dream as our hill climb eventually turned into a battle with blowdowns. It seemed that whenever I got some momentum on the trail, it was time to lift my Trek over my shoulders and surmount more dead trees and branches. The Sisters Trail Alliance, which manages the trail, reportedly cleared most of the blowdowns for the 2024 season, and I have no doubt that’s true. But as of Nov. 3, the wind had done its thing, and much of the portion of the trail we rode was impassable without dismounting.

The only other human activity we saw during our ride was a jogger and his energetic pup. Trekking the entire Green Ridge Trail on foot is a bit of a slog (most estimates on review sites claim seven hours of walking), but the wet and windy season is on the verge of making a bike trip somewhere between difficult and irresponsible.

Moreover, once trails become too wet, you risk damaging them permanently when you pummel them with wave after wave of 29ers. In early November, we didn’t encounter any mud. By the time you read this, that may not be the case. As such, my recommendation is to take your hiking boots or your saddle for this one.

Getting there: The Green Ridge Trail can be reached from Bend by driving U.S. Highway 20 north of Sisters. After five miles, turn right onto Forest Service Road 11/Indian Ford Road. Four miles later, you will veer a slight left onto SW Allingham Cutoff/Forest Service Road 11. The trailhead is about a mile on your right, with parking on your left.

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