Stealing Quiet In the Pines
Explore the Ochocos from Bandit Springs Sno-Park
By Lace Thornberg, Communications Director
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A great choice for a quiet winter day with fresh snow, the trails at Bandit Springs Sno-park can also be enjoyed in different ways throughout the year.
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With trail ratings ranging from easy to most Difficult, skiers of any skill level will have options here.
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Or snowshoeing!
Stealing quiet in the pines on skis!
If you’re looking for a sno-park with easy access from decently maintained roads and more solitude than anything on the Cascades Lakes Highway, wait for some new snow to fall in the Ochocos and then make your way to Bandit Springs.
Located between Prineville and Mitchell, directly off of Highway 26, you don’t need a 4WD or high clearance vehicle to reach this sno-park parking lot which will fit just over a dozen cars.
Bandit Springs Sno-Park provides access to the most diverse network of cross-country ski and snowshoe trails on the Ochoco National Forest. With trail ratings ranging from easy to most Difficult, skiers of any skill level will have options here. The grade of the trails is never steep, making for straightforward and enjoyable cross country skiing or snowshoeing. You can combine the park’s various small loops to embark on any length of outing you might desire.
The Ponderosa Loop Trail delivers on the promise of its name, as it winds through a mature forest with beautiful ponderosa pines punctuating every twist and bend in the route.
Ponderosas are well-known for their resistance to low-intensity fires. These stately trees have served a variety of practical, medicinal, and ceremonial functions for Indigenous people, who consumed the seeds and sweet inner bark and boiled the needles into a solution to treat coughs and fevers, among other uses. The authors at the Institute for American Indian Studies specifically note that the Paiute used a poultice of dried chewed pitch to treat boils. People have also used Ponderosa needles and roots for baskets, cut the limbs and branches for firewood and building material, and carved the trunks into canoes.
Home to many wildlife species
Mill Creek Project Area
In its 850,000-plus acres, the Ochoco National Forest holds a diverse array of ecosystems, including sagebrush plateaus, groves of old-growth trees, and seasonal and perennial streams. As an environmental watchdog, a core tenet of Central Oregon LandWatch’s forest work is ensuring that the public lands in our region are managed with an eye to the future and a focus on conservation. LandWatch keeps a close eye on projects proposed in the Ochoco National Forest and we advocate for preserving our wild lands for their broad range of values.
The various rich ecosystems of the Ochocos — the westernmost part of the Blue Mountains — provide safe habitat for at least 375 different species of reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals. Elk and mule deer browse in its meadows, while mountain lions and black bears amble amidst the rocky ridgelines and redband trout swim in the forest’s freshwater creeks.
It’s imperative to observe the winter range closures that start on December 1 each year and prohibit motor vehicle use in various areas within the forest.
Elk and deer are now in their winter range — lower elevations with minimal snow cover where they can find vegetation for forage, hiding cover, and protection from the weather. You won’t encounter any black bears as they are hibernating, hidden deep in their dens. And, the mountain lions are far too secretive to be seen, although seemingly every other feature in this area is named for them: Cougar Creek, Cougar Rock, Cougar Butte, Wildcat Trail.
What you will encounter in the sno-park in winter are the signs of animals that are still moving through the area, with coyotes and rabbits leaving their scat on the trail and their tracks visible in freshly fallen snow. And, with luck and patience, you could see some of the many bird species that thrive in the Ochocos and are present year-round in this area, including nuthatches, chickadees, dark-eyed juncos, northern flickers, red-tailed hawks, pileated woodpeckers, and goshawks.
Good year-round
When venturing out in winter, it’s wisest to have a plan to be back to your vehicle well before the daylight begins to fade. That is easy to achieve on the short loops in this area; before long, you’ll be looping back to your starting point.
A great choice for a quiet winter day with fresh snow, the trails at Bandit Springs Sno-park can also be enjoyed in different ways throughout the year. In the spring, these short trails would offer a perfect leg stretch on the way to or from Sutton Mountain and the Painted Hills. In May or June, you could stop here to hunt for morel mushrooms. Later in the summer, you could get in a quick mountain bike ride en route to a campsite deeper into the Chocos.
Communications Director, Lace Thornberg, breaking trail.
LandWatch’s color-coordinated Development Director, Lorraine Murray.
Driving Directions:
From Prineville, Oregon, head east for approximately 27 miles on Highway 26.
This site is located on the left side of the road one mile west of the Ochoco Divide Summit, about half a mile north of Marks Creek Sled Hill and about 3/4 mile south of Ochoco Divide Sno-Park.
Permit Information:
All Sno-Parks on the Ochoco National Forest require a valid Oregon State Sno-Park Permit from November 15 through April 30.
Land Manager Contact Information:
Ochoco National Forest
3160 NE Third Street
Prineville, Oregon 97754
(541) 416-6500
