Work is underway for a new mountain biking playground. Wanoga Downhill trails are being crafted by the Central Oregon Trail Alliance with input from some elite athletes including Carson Storch, a world-class freeride and slopestyle mountain biker as well as Dusty Wygle, a high-flying freeride mountain biker known for daring tricks.
The trails are near the sledding hill at Wanoga Snow Play Area Sno-Park. “Nothing’s happening to the part of the butte where people sled. That will be untouched,” Emmy Andrews, executive director for COTA told the Source.
Five connecting bike trails are being created so riders can do a variety of loops for a series of downhill thrills. “You have all these different options of fun,” Andrews explains. “Little downhills going from sort of an intermediate to kind of heavy, advanced, almost expert riding.” It’ll be a sessionable experience, where riders can do laps, building up their skills.
The plan adds 5.3 miles of trail at Wanoga. Most of the trails will be intermediate or advanced with jumps, drops and bermed turns and an elevation gain of 350 to 400 feet. See above graphic for trail map.
The project broke ground in mid-June. COTA hired Sensus R.A.D Trails as the contractor. That company is owned by Cam Zink, a freeride and slopestyle mountain bike legend who set a Guinness World Record in 2014 for landing a 100-foot 3-inch dirt-to-dirt backflip. With so many outstanding riders involved in the process, the new trails are sure to impress.
“You have all these different options of fun,” Andrews explains. “Little downhills going from sort of an intermediate to kind of heavy, advanced, almost expert riding.” —Emmy Andrews
“We’re talking to them about how we want something spicy,” Andrews says. “We want something that is appropriate for more skilled riders who are just becoming a bigger and bigger slice of the riding population every day as kids who have grown up on bikes mountain biking have these really impressive skills. We’re really hoping that they (the designers) will bring a cool vision to it… We’re kind of giving them creative license.” Andrews also notes a large team has been involved in the planning process including many volunteers. The project lead is Tom Lomas, the former operations director for Mt. Bachelor, whom Andrews describes as an “uber-volunteer” for COTA.
The project was inspired by feedback from the public. The downhill trails are expected to be ready by next spring, assuming work continues as scheduled.
“A lot of things can play into that… One thing is, when fire danger gets high, we can’t use motorized equipment anymore, so we have to hand build everything, which just slows things down. So we’re kind of working against the clock. And, of course, if it’s very smoky or if there’s a nearby fire, they use Wanoga for fire staging and other people are not allowed there, so we may have some weather and access issues slowing us down,” Andrews explains. “Hopefully it’ll be done before winter sets in.
Andrews says planning for the project began in the 1990s. It’s part of a larger plan called the West Bend Trails Project which had to be approved by the Deschutes National Forest. Seven new mountain bike trails are included in the plan including a Voodoo to Phil’s Trail connector; Phil’s to Shevlin connector; a .65 mile C.O.D. easy option; an Uphill Whoops trail which would turn the existing Whoops into a downhill only; a Ridge Loop connector in the Swampy area and a Swampy to Wanoga connector.
“COTA doesn’t just get to go out and build whatever trail they want,” Andrews says. “There’s a very long process with the land managers, especially the federal land managers, who have a very robust process that is prescribed by law to evaluate whether the project is a good fit for other things that are going on, like wildlife protection and to make sure resources are balanced.”
Andrews says the work is being funded by a grant from the Bend Sustainability Fund. She says while the public is asking for more downhill trails, they may not realize how much maintenance is involved.
“Last year volunteers spent over 1,000 hours on Lower Whoops [and] over 1,000 hours on Tiddlywinks.” Andrews explains. She says the features that make trails unique need constant attention and repairs.
COTA is a nonprofit dedicated to developing, protecting and enhancing Central Oregon mountain bike trails. Funding is from grants, corporate sponsors, membership dues and private donors. Much of the work is done by volunteers.
“If you love it. If you’re riding it, give back. That is definitely a message that we try to send.”
This article appears in Source Weekly July 3, 2025.
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