Named in honor of Virgina Meissner, a teacher and leader of outdoor recreational activities, the Meissner Sno-Park is located along Highway 46 on the way to the Mt. Bachelor Ski Area near Bend, Oregon. Groomed Nordic ski and marked snowshoe trails provide miles of non-motorized winter enjoyment.
Trails are well marked with blue diamonds for ski trails and blue diamonds with a golden snowshoer icon for the snowshoe trails. Many of the trail intersections also have signs indicating the trail name and distance.
Meissner Nordic Ski Trails
Over 18 miles of Nordic ski trails radiate out from the Meissner Sno-Park located in Oregon’s Deschutes National Forest. Located at 5,350 feet, this is the first of several sno-parks found along the highway to Mt. Bachelor.
Many of the trails are named after the area’s vegetation: Ponderosa, Penstemon, Lodgepole, Wild Strawberry, and Currant Way. The trails form a spiderlike web of easy to moderately difficult skiing loops. The area is used by a variety of cross-country skiers, from novices to high school teams to master-aged competitors to hopeful Olympic athletes.
The Tumalo Langlauf Club (TLC) grooms many of the trails for classic and skate skiers four times per week. The club also installed a new warming hut in November 2010, and offer skiing workshops and other programs. One of 12 chapters of the Oregon Nordic Club, TLC started in 1996.
Snowshoe Trails at Meissner Sno-Park
Two snowshoe trails form long or short loops from the sno-park. The longer loop, approximately 3.5 miles long, connects with the new Meissner shelter constructed in 2008. Both snowshoe loops traverse through lodgepole and ponderosa pine forests. Trails are marked with a blue diamond bearing a golden snowshoer icon.
Sno-Park Permits
Oregon sno-park permits are required to park at all winter sno-parks. Permits are available at most outdoor retail stores in the area, and are sold for a daily or seasonal basis. These permits offset the cost of plowing the parking areas for winter access.
Dog- and Motorized-Free Zone
The Meissner Sno-Park is a dog-free and non-motorized area. This minimizes conflicts between user groups. Additional sno-parks that allow dogs or snowmobiles are also found along the highway to Mt. Bachelor, thus providing recreational opportunities for everyone in this winter wonderland.
Damian Fagan - I am a freelance writer and photographer living in the Pacific Northwest, although I lived in Utah for over 20 years. I've written ...
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