During the heart of winter in Central Oregon, mountain bikers basically have two main choices to find trails that are snow- and ice-free — east of Bend or north of Bend.

East of Bend includes Horse Ridge and Horse Butte, both great options. North of Bend includes singletrack areas west of Redmond: Maston, Cline Buttes and Cascade View.

Conditions can be variable during the winter, and it seems that the trails in the Redmond area maintain more consistently decent conditions and are less likely to be muddy, icy or snowy than those east of Bend.

While some mountain bikers complain that the Maston area is too flat, and Cline Buttes is too steep of a climb and descent, Cascade View seems to strike a balance between the two.

The Cascade View Trailhead, just west of Eagle Crest Resort, provides access to about 15 miles of relatively new singletrack just west of Eagle Crest Resort

The right mix

Redmond has previously been an underserved area for premium singletrack, but that is changing, and the expansion of Cascade View by the Central Oregon Trail Alliance (COTA) is proof. The newest trail in the system, Rattler, is 2.3 miles of flowy turns and moderately challenging, technical climbs.

The entire trail system is an intricate COTA design of various loops that mixes flowing singletrack with sections of lava rock, and just the right amount of climbing. Add in the sprawling views of snow-covered Cascade peaks on clear days, and these trails are worth the 30-minute drive from Bend.

The Cascade View trailhead is located off Eagle Crest Boulevard, which is accessed from Highway 126.

The trail system is open to non-motorized users and includes about 7 miles of trails open to horseback riders, hikers and runners in addition to the bike trails. The pedestrian and equestrian trails are separate from the mountain biking trails to reduce conflicts.

The trails are well-signed so bikers can know where they are. A map of the area is available at bendtrails.org.

I made the half-hour drive from Bend to Cascade View earlier this month, and started out on the Rattler trail. From the trailhead, it was a fairly challenging climb along a small ridge. At the south end of the trail, it runs back north toward the trailhead. I rode back along ridable sections of rock, then connected to the Blue-Belly Stem trail, a green (easy) trail featuring smooth, rolling singletrack through the hilly, juniper-laden area.

After about half a mile, I passed through a gate used by local ranchers who graze cattle in the area. Gates must be closed securely after passing through.

After the Blue-Belly Stem trail, the network continues south with basically three loop options: Blue-Belly Loop, Stinger West-East, and Jack Rabbit Connector.

At the first junction, I turned onto Stinger West, a blue (intermediate) trail and immediately encountered a rocky, technical section. I was able to roll over it with relative ease on my full-suspension bike. The area includes many such sections, most of which are fairly easy to ride through. But I did walk my bike through some more-challenging rocky areas.

I continued on to Stinger East and began making a climb along switchbacks on the west side of Cline Buttes.

Views and small crowds

The ascent was challenging, but not overly difficult, and the view of the Cascades to the west was stunning. They dominated the horizon, including Tam McArthur Rim, the Three Sisters, Mount Washington, Three-Fingered Jack and Mount Jefferson.

Eventually the trail looped to the north back toward the trailhead. I rode the east side of the network back, enjoying the descent along both technical and flowy sections.

I encountered about five other mountain bikers during the 14-mile ride, which included about 880 feet of climbing and took about 2 hours.

The Cascade View trailhead has taken some of the demand away from the nearby Maston Area off Cline Falls Highway, which has become an extremely popular and busy winter mountain biking spot.

Trails in the area should remain in decent condition in the coming days with the recent stretch of dry weather.