Trail to link Sisters and Camp Sherman

It's a long way from realization, but the first steps are underway for a proposed paved multi-use path from Sisters to Camp Sherman.

The path would run across National Forest land, so the Sisters Trails Alliance (STA) commissioned an environmental analysis from the Forest Service on the project.

Chuck Humphries, president of STA, told The Nugget that the idea behind the paved trail is to provide an amenity that will benefit forest users and the Sisters community.

"There isn't anything like that in Central Oregon," he said. "There's no place for people who want a hard surface that don't want to be on roads. There's a whole demographic that's not being served."

Paved multi-use paths are attractive to families with young children and to older walkers who want to be out in the woods but feel safer on a stable surface, Humphries said.

The first phase of the path would run to the welcome center at Black Butte Ranch, and eventually it would be extended to Camp Sherman.

The idea has gotten mixed reviews.

Forest Service representatives met with residents of Tollgate last month, since the path skirts the edge of the subdivision west of Sisters. Some residents were enthusiastic about the proposed path; some liked the idea but don't want it near their homes. There were concerns about privacy and increases in noise and traffic in the woods. Others were opposed to the idea of any kind of paving in the forest.

Humphries noted that the closest the proposed route comes to Tollgate is 250 feet. He also notes that paved paths are not unprecedented in the forest.

"There's a paved trail down to the headwaters of the Metolius, for example," he said.

Humphries says that communities across the U.S. have established such trails and they are attractive amenities.

"Our vision is to make it a destination trail," he said. "This would be a recreational asset that people would come to Sisters to ride and walk."

The proposed trail came out of an extensive process of community outreach, including a 2010 survey, and culminating in the updated 2011 Sisters Trails Plan. Other projects include a path from Crossroads to Sisters High School and the paving of the Tollgate-SHS path.

Riders and walkers shouldn't expect to hit the Sisters-Camp Sherman trail any time soon. Actual construction is years away. STA funded the $25,000 cost of the environmental analysis out of donations and fundraising. Actually building the trail is estimated to cost $100,000 per mile.

"It's a million-dollar project," Humphries said.

There is no plan yet in place for funding the construction. Meanwhile, STA continues to lay the groundwork. The EA will be completed in the fall, and STA continues to work with the Forest Service to determine how best to connect the trail into the city of Sisters.

For more information about STA projects, visit www.sisterstrails.com.