Shevlin Park an option for early season hike

The lingering heavy snowpack in the high country has set me to looking about for early season hiking alternatives. One such hike recently came to my attention; and, although I am tempted to classify it as an urban hike, it still offers a welcome alternative to a steady diet of hiking in the desert country.

At the western edge of Bend, Shevlin Park sports a completely snow-free venue for hiking, along with a beautiful stream and towering conifer trees. Guide books list the loop trail as being 4.7 miles; but, if you add on all of an interpretative nature trail loop, you might be able to rack up the six miles advertised on the park's trail maps. The basic loop - even at a slow pace, with a bit of wandering, and a lunch break- only takes about two hours.

You might ask why you'd want to drive to Bend just for an easy hike suitable for city-slickers. There's no need to make a special trip. We all go into Bend once in a while, so it's easy to combine this with routine errands. That's what we did. With a few stops on the way into town, a hike in the middle, then a few more errands, it all made for a rather nice outing. Spending part of the day on a hike made the task-filled journey into the "big city" seem a lot less hectic.

We parked in the parking lot on the left side of Shevlin Park Road, just after crossing Tumalo Creek. The trail takes off from a map kiosk toward the upstream end of the lot and immediately dives into a grove of aspens. It soon emerges into a grassy area that, on the occasion of our visit, was teeming with hordes of school-age children, apparently on some sort of outing. Next we had to leave the path for a squadron of bicyclists, and we began to wonder if this area might prove to be even more urban than we thought.

That turned out to be the worst of it, however, and we only saw a few more hikers or runners for the duration of the walk. After the bicyclists swarmed by, we crossed Tumalo Creek on a fine bridge and worked our way up to the edge of the canyon.

Here the trail skirts the edge of the 1990 Awbrey Hall Fire. Ignited by a serial arsonist, the fire burned a seven-mile swath that consumed 3,300 acres and 22 homes. A few of the large ponderosa pines here survived where the fire intensity was low enough that the fire burned below the forest canopy. More than 20 years later, however, the forest is still many more years away from being restored; and the area provides a clear picture of the slow pace of forest regeneration in the high desert.

Before the trail hits the one-mile mark, it joins a dirt service road. After about a quarter of a mile, watch for the trail to peel away to the right and away from the burned area. If you mistakenly stay on the service road, you will parallel the intended trail only a few yards away, and you may see other hikers off to your right.

At about 1.8 miles, the trail forks to the right and descends into a large, forested, and very scenic opening at creek level; the trail fork to the left will land you back on the service road. After traversing this beautiful forest glen, the trail crosses a log bridge over a smaller creek as it ascends again. This stretch of the trail makes it easy to forget the "urban" nature of this hike.

This portion of the canyon has a surprising array of evergreen trees. In addition to the expected ponderosa pines, Douglas fir, true firs, tamarack and even Englemann spruce have pioneered here due to the cool and moist conditions found in the canyon.

At the halfway point of the hike, the trail crosses Tumalo Creek again on another nice bridge. There is also a comfortable bench here for a little contemplative time. This is where the loop trail links up with the interpretative nature trail, and numerical sign posts begin to appear.

Here, the main trail ascends to the higher ground and becomes more urban again as it parallels the paved road that ends at Fremont Meadow. Alternatively, the hiker can stay closer to the creek and peruse the interpretative sites. Maps with numbered site information are available at a sign post a short distance downstream at the edge of Fremont Meadow.

The meadow, with picnic tables and its adjacent nature trail, is accessible by the paved road. It is an appropriate driving destination for an even-less-strenuous walk in the woods for small children or people unable to walk longer distances.

Fremont Meadow is the reputed site of an encampment by an exploration party led by Lt. John C. Fremont in 1843. Fremont subsequently served as military governor in California and Arizona and, in 1856, was the Republican Party's first nominee for President. The soldier, explorer, and politician rose to the rank of major general during the Civil War before incurring President Lincoln's disfavor.

Trails lead downstream on both sides of the paved road. The alternative route along the creek and through the meadow leads to a covered bridge at Hixon Crossing. The stream-side trail ends there, but the loop trail may be rejoined across the road and uphill along the edge of the canyon rim.

From there, the trail briefly joins a service road before veering left and returning to the main parking lot. To enjoy this snow-free, but semi-urban, hike, simply follow Shevlin Park Road from the Mt. Washington Drive roundabout to the Tumalo Creek road crossing.