The pedestrian bridge connecting the Indian Ford Campground to the Sisters Tie Trail is a relatively recent, welcome addition to the Lower Black Butte Loop complex. Gravel bikes and mountain can easily conquer the entire trail.

October in Central Oregon used to mean sprinkler blowouts, a strong risk of snow, and a farewell to a good chunk of outdoor summer sports.

This October is stubbornly clinging to summer, however, and I’m hardly complaining. Winter is long, and warm fall weekends are fleeting in Central Oregon, so I lassoed my kids into a rare two-wheel adventure on a local trail, fall sports/homework schedules demanded something quick, easy and close.

Most of all, I didn’t want to involve a vehicle.

Such criteria (close to town, convenient, not crowded) put the Sisters Tie Trail (STT) at the top of my weekend shortlist. Less than a mile from our front door, this flat track through the forest is a family-friendly, 12-mile out-and-back that starts on the cusp of the Sisters City Limits.

Managed by the Sisters Trail Alliance, the STT is the initial 6 miles (one way) of the 19.7-mile Lower Black Butte Loop. The longer trail also includes 780 feet of elevation gain. That’s a bit much for a weekend warrior and his 12- and 14-year-old mutinous sons, so we opted for the short version.

A smooth, flat mixture of Central Electric Co-Op access roads and dirt single track, the STT takes on more character the farther from town you go. Much of the early portion of the trail meanders underneath power lines. Large swaths of this portion lack tall trees (the Co-Op had been forced to clear much of the area for utility access and power poles). Roughly 3 miles in, the trail veers on a westerly, more scenic, track.

This is the portion you came for.

Solitude amid shivering aspens

On an 80-degree Sunday afternoon in October, we encountered maybe 10 fellow trail users over the course of the 12 miles. For much of the ride, all we heard was the zip of our tires hugging the dirt, rock and pine needles.

As Indian Ford Campground nears around miles 5 and 6, the bitterbrush and juniper bush grow wild, and second-growth Ponderosa Pines give way to more mature trees, towering over the trail and offering more shade, which was welcome on an unseasonably hot fall afternoon.

Mountain biking is an ideal way to see all of Smith Rock State Park

Skirting Indian Ford Creek, with its accompaniment of shivering aspen trees, you will wish you could re-ride the final 2 miles just south of the campground over and over. The aspens still had a full complement of green leaves when we rolled through, but chances are they are more colorful as you read this. A few gray squirrels and chipmunks bravely crossed our paths at breakneck speed. Simply put, the trail grows wilder as you travel north, and is better for it.

At around the 6.5-mile mark, you arrive at Indian Ford Campground. You can continue to ride Sisters Tie Trail to Indian Ford Road, and a huge network of trails, including the aforementioned Lower Black Butte Loop.

At the campground, the peace of the forest gives way to some unwelcome traffic noise from U.S. Highway 20 (hey, you can’t have it all). The creek itself is crystal clear and lined with greenery of the very un-high-desert-like sort, and is spanned by a sturdy, relatively new pedestrian bridge. After splashing our faces with some cold Cascade foothills runoff, we were ready for — or at least obligated to — the 7-mile return trip home.

The trail is well-marked with Sisters Trail Alliance badges attached to trees and posts, but occasionally you may employ detective skills to determine which way to go. Don’t worry, it was nothing my sixth grader couldn’t handle.

Hiking and more

The trail works for everyone from toddlers on striders, to hardcore veteran riders, to seniors on gravel bikes. It also plays hosts to a wide variety of users, from hikers stretching their legs (and those of their four-legged friends), to equestrians and the brown mounds of evidence they leave behind.

A tamer, less-rocky option for those who may get worn out by the more challenging (yet rewarding!) Peterson Ridge Trail, Sister Tie Trail’s smooth, roller-coaster turns can evoke smiles on some of the surliest of teens.

From Bend, you can reach the trailhead by traveling into Sisters on Highway 20, and turning north onto Pine Street at Sno Cap Drive-In. After you cross Barclay, the trailhead should be around a quarter mile north. The “parking” is a dirt turnoff on the left-hand side. E-bikes are not permitted on the trail and be ready to yield to hikers and equines.