Browse The Trails
Trail Description
COTA Grooming and Trail Report
12/18/2024,
Ramp was put in place after plow removed it.
Loops were groomed and were setting up firm. Heavy wet snow the kind you have a snowball fight with and someone gets hurt. ;) Do keep in mind the center of the track is firm the edges are still soft with the soft being over 1 foot deep. You drift you go over the bars. :)
I sugest ride early or at night. Midday the next few days is too warm to ride.
Join the Central Oregon Fatbike Group on Facebook.
Winter conditions can change hourly... If you’ve ridden this route recently, you can add a report to the discussion area below — or use the status update pull down at the top of the page.
E-bikes NOT allowed on Wanoga: Outer Loop
Please Help Keep Trails Open to us by Respecting Trail Etiquette:
- We share the ski and snowshoe trailhead on the north side of parking lot.
- Take the snowshoe loop. PLEASE stay off the ski loops. Do not ride on or in the classic tracks.
- Wide tires 3.8″ or wider.
- Important: TIRE PRESSURE – based on current conditions use 4 PSI. Your sidewalls should wrinkle like a funny-car tire.
- If you’re leaving ruts its too soft to ride.
- Yield to all other users when riding.
- Meissner Nordic helped us get our trails please help ease trail conflicts and stay off the groomed Nordic trails.
Sno-Park Permits Are Required:
- A Sno-Park Permit is required when parking in any Oregon State Sno-Park between November 1 and April 30. Pick one up at Pine Mountain or Sunnyside.
Snowmobile Trails:
- Its is difficult for snowmobile riders to see you. You will hear them way before they see you pull over and let them pass.
- Stay to the far right of the trail and yield to snowmobiles.
Regarding dogs….
Off-leash dogs are allowed at this snow park. That’s great. I love dogs.
AND anywhere in Deschutes County you are required to have your dog under your direct control. It’s the county law. And it’s there for a reason. That means a dog that returns to you on command. If a dog will not return to you on command, it has no place off-leash on public land in DC.
Furthermore a dog that chases and barks at other users is an aggressive manner isn’t a good dog to have off leash. That is a dog not under the owner’s direct control.
So today a skier with headphones in, dog off-leash, chased, barked and nipped and bit my foot. I had heavy boots and gators on. But that’s a dog that has no business off-leash in public lands.
Only to be chased and barked at by another set of dogs (Jerry).
Again, your dog needs to be under your direct control anytime off-leash in publicly accessible lands in DC. That’s a dog that responds to your voice commands, and that you can recall at anytime.
Besides all that. It’s rude. We all have a right to peacefully enjoy our public lands without having dogs be a nuisance.
So, off-leash dogs are awesome. Owners don’t have the ability to control their dogs and choose to take them anyways are not. I can’t control mine. So I keep them at home.
Oh yeah. Thanks groomers. Outer is soft. Snow stayed dry. Loose up past the sno mo road and mostly down the backside (CCW)
Firm base of packed powder. Loose powder on top in the turns. Thanks groomers!!!!
Fantastic riding this morning. Fast and toothy. THANK YOU GROOM CREW!
Groomed Wednesday night. Riding fast. Same for 3psi.
Rode this morning at 10:30, trail is riding well some soft spots
Outer loop fast and firm. Thank you groom crew!!!
Sidebar: the number of dogs one should have off leash is equal to the number of dogs are under the complete control of their keepers, i.e. will consistently return on voice command. Additionally dogs that display an aggressive attitude, by barking, chasing and growling at other trail users should be left home. The drop from that form of aggression to injuring someone is precipitous.
Trail was hero snow today! Huge THANK YOU!!! to the groomers. 4 psi was like riding on a cloud.
Outer loop firm, fast with a loose dusting on top.
2-4 inches fresh air on top. Only real issue is wind blown drifts at end if CCW, or start if CW. Rideable but loose.
1 -3 inches last night, another 2-3 inches today… On top of already soft and rutted out trail. Please stay off until it gets a proper groom again.
Just a friendly reminder to be cautious of the conditions. The grooming crew puts in so much time and effort to groom these trails. I see a lot of rutting and wipe outs after a good grooming. The groomers then have to make another pass to fill in all the damage.
Please try not to ride on these groomed trails in the middle of the day if the temp is even close to above freezing. Soft top layer and ruts kill the trail very quickly. If the sun is out, I would stick to not riding above 25 degrees to be safe.
Use proper PSI. I ride sub 3 PSI pretty much exclusively. Higher PSI will cause you to slip and rut the trail.
Remember these trails are for everyone. So much time and money is put into making these trails accessible — they are also free. You damaging the trail just makes the next persons ride worse.
And if you are a bike shop, please convert all your rental fat bikes to tubeless and set the tire pressure to the area your customer will be riding in. Also, please educate them on the fat bike trail etiquette and how to take care of the groomed trails.
Outer Loop/Candy Cane Lane was riding happy today. Thank you Gary, Chris and Neil. Was a real treat.
Really very nice all things considered. The fresh snow on Monday and cold nights seem to have helped. It was nice and crunchy this morning (Feb 2) with only a few hidden postholes and one or two sketchy bits on the south side.
Rode Outer Loop Saturday morning 1/15. Nice and firm but not icey. Started to soften by noon. Go early.
Riding really well Sunday morning Jan 9! Maybe it could be faster but it can’t get much better. Great snow, just deep enough in places to make it interesting.
BRAVO GROOMING TEAM!
All told, the trail is holding up pretty good. Cloud cover and lower temps are helping some. Where the albedo is lowered from dirt, there’s some Slurpee® action. A few bare spots. But 99% is actually quite good. Get it before it’s gone.
Dusting of fresh snow on firm and smooth groomed snow. Conditions were pretty perfect 9 am Saturday.
Outer look was super firm and fast this morning! Tending to slush in the sun when I left tho (around noon) tomorrow morning should be grand!
From 1-4pm Outer Loop ridable, but getting 2-5 inches of fresh snow. Drifts on exposed sections were 1-2 feet . It was snowing hard when I left.
Get it Thursday AM while you can. Thanks groomers!
Rode the outer loop this afternoon. It was ‘challenging’ to say the least. Lots of drifted snow, very tight trail, and several stretches of impassable ( on a bike) trail. The guys were out there grooming as I was leaving so hopefully its better !
Rode both loops around 1pm today. Drifts in open areas were deep, but otherwise all the rest was rideable. 95%. some skiers had packed the first 2km of the outside loop which made that easier. Certainly not fast riding! But a fun day in the gusty winds and snow showers. Still snowing pretty good when I left, around 3:30pm
Rode Outer Loop after the groomers spent hours grooming (thanks so much). Snow wasn’t fast, but was able to enjoyably rideable. We took a snomo trail for a bit then came back to the second half of Outer – followed a 2″ deep rut entire time. The ruts owner was obviously struggling since they were sliding out every 20-30ft causing sideways ruts. Lets just say that Wanoga is becoming less fun due to ill-equipped riders. Good thing Spring is around the corner!
Arrived at 7:45 AM with zero cars in the lot (a first for me). Both loops were in great shape and a blast to ride. Firm, but not crazy fast and certainly not icy.
Some fresh on firm. Riding well this morning.
The outer loop was pretty rutted out this morning after being groomed yesterday, so I though I’d post a friendly reminder that if you’re leaving ruts, losing traction, and likely not having the amount of fat bike fun you expected, air down. Once you’ve reduce your tire pressure to a level you think is acceptable, let even more air out. :) If that doesn’t change much, it’s best to turn around or take one of the snowmobile roads back to Wanoga and go down to lower elevation to ride at Phil’s, Tumalo Falls or one of the snowshoe packed trails (Swampy or Edison).
I know we all want to ride the amazing trails Gary and crew maintain for us at Wanoga, but when it’s clear you’re doing more harm on the trails than good, please come back another time. Even when renting a bike or visiting, you can still get out at 7:30am the next morning before you need to return it, and by then, others will have probably packed the trail for you and it will be firmer/colder (plus you’ll get an awesome sunrise).
I know it’s never intentional to leave ruts and we all want to have fun, just please be extra mindful if you’re new to fat biking or haven’t ridden Wanoga before. There will always be another day :)
I agree with all you points, but I didn’t see any of the damage you mentioned on the trail today. Soft new snow and some drifting over last night’s groom, but with low pressure I had a pleasant couple laps out there. Definitely not my fastest times, but good fun and no trenching. I started a little before noon and when I left around 2pm temps were still around 30 degrees.
Really great conditions especially on the SE section under the trees. Trail nice and cushy from the extra snow snow definitely air down your tires. Also gaiters are nice since you could go in up to your knee when you move off the trail to let others pass.
Perfect. Thanks groomers!
Great job trail crew! Outer Loop in good condition this morning/midday! No ruts or bootholes!
Great conditions this morning—crisp and firm and only a little slick in places under the trees. A+ groomers!
The current COTA Snow Groomer’s Report is now automatically posted at the top of the Outer Loop and 3PSI trail pages. If you see the groomers working out there, give them a high-five.
Rode a couple laps on the outer loop this am and it was excellent!!! Start early if you want to ride-we left parking at Wanoga at 9:30 and it was perfect. Second lap was a bit softer, but no ruts.
Very well packed. No ice.
Thanks groom crew!
Riding well this past weekend
Deep drifting snow in the open areas made the Outer Loop unridable in sections. 3PSI had the same issue.
Groomed Saturday afternoon. Set well and was riding well. Some drifting snow.
Groomed today. LOW tire pressure for the next few days.
Quite a bit of drifting through the open areas.
Will be groomed again tomorrow Saturday afternoon.
Winter Storm!
White out conditions at Wanoga.
3-PSI is gone until this storm passes.
Expect VERY soft conditions and deep drifts on Outer Loop
Riding great on Friday afternoon. Firm and fast. Great base for this weekend’s freshies.
1/21/19
Steve groomed both loops.
I’ll hit it again tomorrow.
It was nice to meet you, Gary. Big thanks to you and Steve for grooming!
Inner loop was riding great. Out loop was a little soft in the middle, but Gary was about to groom it again.
Major suck fest about half way around the Outer Loop. Had to bail to the road to get back.
Deep snow drifts in most clearings throughout the loop. Still fun!
Pedaled this morning. Firmly packed snow with a dusting of about 1/2″ on top. Riding very well. Didn’t see any icy spots to speak of.
Groomed and riding well
Outer loop is riding well today. A few rough spots but overall great.
Outer loop is now groomed and open for business.
12/2/2018
We have ONLY roughed in the Outer loop.
There are areas with dirt showing so we can not groom it.
3/14/2018
We are done grooming for the season.
3/9/2018
Freshly groomed.
May be the last time we groom unless we get more snow.
Trails were great in the morning!
Trails are soft
Still too thin
Jan 30th 2018
Still not enough snow :(
Short answer when we say its soft yes it’s too soft to ride.
Always check the weather. The last few days we have been in an inversion, Bend is cold the mountain is warm. Wanoga has been in the mid 30s durring the day and barely reaching freezing at night.
So I can’t ride a 27.5 plus bike on Wanoga trails? For some reason I thought the minimum requirements before were 3″ tires.
3.8″ minimum
Fat Bikes, LOL