More parking, trails and toilets
Bend Snow Park To See Changes
By Joseph Friedrichs, 4-14-08
A popular location for outdoor-recreation activities in Central Oregon will undergo a series of changes in the next couple of years, including several that will require alterations to the landscape.
The Virginia Meissner Sno Park, located about 20 miles from Bend, has been a subject of controversy for several years. Each winter the park receives more traffic from snowshoers and cross-country skiers than the year before, with vehicles often filling the lot on weekends and holidays. As a result, forest officials from the Bend Fort-Rock District announced that the sno park will triple its parking spaces from 60 to 180, construct nearly 8 miles of new trails, erect a warming shelter, clear trees for better staging and warm-up areas, build new toilet facilities and provide an information kiosk. The initial estimated cost for the project is $140,000.
Not everyone is excited about the upcoming changes. Some local residents have spoken against additional construction in the park at public meetings. Vandals have painted harsh comments in nearby wilderness areas and sent anonymous letters to local papers against proponents of developing the park. Bob Woodward, a local outdoor writer, former Bend mayor and supporter of the park’s redesign, has been told to “stay home” and that he “sucks.”
Others disagree, claming the park can handle increased traffic in the wilderness, and that a new parking lot will only make visiting the area easier. Proponents of the plan also say Meissner “provides groomed cross country ski trails for skiers of all abilities and ages,” making it a prime location to get outdoors.
The problem with taking a stand against expanding the Virginia Meissner Sno Park is that it’s flat-out selfish. Too often the parking lot at Meissner overflows onto Century Drive (Cascade Highway) and drives away others who would also like to enjoy the beautiful area. The population in Central Oregon has been, and will continue to increase. Many of those who are flocking to the area do so to enjoy the abundance of outdoor recreation it has to offer. By tripling the parking spaces available at the park, and adding 7.8 miles of new trail, both newcomers and longtime locals have a chance to share Meissner together.
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