LOCATION: 14 mile post on Century Drive, Bend, Oregon.
Virginia Meissner, an Oregon native, taught cross country skiing for many years. Many of the trails are named after local native plants, one of Virginia's interests. Wednesdays Trail was named after a mid-week touring group that Virginia led for many years. She is well remembered for her written contributions on the hiking and cross country skiing in the area. She was instrumental in getting state and federal agencies to designate the area as a Sno-Park and served as president of the Central Oregon Nordic Club for many years. Today, Meissner Sno-Park provides groomed cross country ski trails for skiers of all abilities and ages.
Click for a more complete biography on Virginia Meissner.
MEISSNER GROOMING › Brought to you by Sunnyside Sports
TLC grooms more than 30 kilometers for both skate and classic technique. Trails are groomed three days per week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from December 1 - March 31.
*Check the latest grooming report:
New Meissner Grooming Report By Phone: (541) 585-2289.
Note: We are especially grateful for the generous gift of $10,000 from Sunnyside Sports and its owners supporting Meissner opertaions.
TRAIL
HOSTING
The
Tumalo Langlauf Club provides trail hosts who generally staff the
trailhead on weekends and holidays between the hours of 9:00 AM and
1:00 PM.
TRAIL
DESCRIPTIONS - Click for a Detailed Trail Map
of Meisnner
Tangent Loop - Distance 9.6 kms (Beginner to Intermediate)
Tangent
provides access and loops to both the Swampy and Meissner areas and
serves as a "north-south corridor" for most of the Meissner area.
From Tangent, a skier can access a variety of trails that can be used
to form loops of various lengths.
Tip:
Control your speed if you are heading east back to the Meissner parking
lot. This is a two-way trail.
Snowbush
- Distance 2.6 kms (Intermediate)
Snowbush
is an enjoyable short trail that connects to the Tangent loop via
the Pinedrops trail about 2.5 kms from the Meissner trailhead.
Tip:
Snowbush is groomed only between the Pinedrops and Wednesdays trails.
Wednesdays
Trail
- Distance 6.8 kms (Intermediate)
This is
a great trail especially on a windy day where the tree protection
provides a welcome break from the wind. Wednesdays will be groomed
from the parking lot to Snowbush junction.
Tip: Wednesdays combined with Tangent Loop makes a 10 km circuit.
Pinedrops
- Distance
4 kms (Intermediate)
Pinedrops begins about 300 meters west of the pole barn on Tangent and heads north through rolling terrain and crosses Tangent at the bottom of "Crybaby Hill." From there the trails descends through open pine forest and intersects with Snowbush. The trail continues downhill (be prepared to control your speed) with a thrilling ride down to Wednesdays trail intersection.
Manzanita
- Distance
1.5 kms (Beginner to Intermediate)
… provides access to the Meissner Shelter. Mostly open, it makes for a pleasant ski on a sunny day or a good full moon. Groomed from the Tangent junction out to the warming shelter and downhill to Snowbush.
Penstemon
- Distance
.8 kms (Beginner)
Penstemon
forms an easy beginners loop with Wednesdays Trail and can be used
to reach the Shooting Star shelter.
Paintbrush
- Distance
2.5 kms (Beginner to Intermediate)
This trail provides spectacular views from Shooting Star shelter, which was constructed by the Oregon National Guard Youth Challenge Program in 1996. The trail is groomed to the shelter and is typically stocked with wood during the winter. To reach the Shooting Star trail you have to take the Tangent Loop trail to where it intersects with Wednesdays. Continue another 1.0 km to the first Paintbrush trail or 1.5 kms to the second Paintbrush trail.
Lupine
- Distance
1.5 kms (Beginner to Intermediate)
Lupine
will be groomed from the parking lot to the junction of Pinedrops.
It provides alternate access to and from the Meissner Shelter.
Tip:
Overnight camping at the shelter is prohibited
