Oregon Mountain Bikers Rejoice: Mt Bachelor Opens Flagship Downhill Trail

Central Oregon downhill bikers rejoice; the best lift-accessed downhill trail in Bend opened for the season on July 23.

Mt Bachelor Bike Park will officially open Redline on Thursday at noon, after a rainstorm Wednesday night primed the dirt for opening day.

Compared to Bachelor’s other trails, Redline takes a little extra work to open for the season. Trail crew has been setting up irrigation, which has to be taken down and set up at the start and end of each summer, and fixing parts of the trail that tend to require more maintenance due to erosion and rockfall caused by it’s grade.

With beautifully built jumps, a handful of ‘choose your own adventure’ rock features, and a grade that makes keeping your speed easy, Redline is a favorite of many.

The trail was completed in 2019 by local trail building company, Dirt Mechanics, with help from professional trail builder, Kyle “KJ” Jameson of Black Sage Dirt Works. It is rated as an expert trail, but luckily, it’s also super progressive.

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Mt Bachelor is hosting several events, including a brand new one, on Redline later this summer. 

On August 13, Lady Laps will take over Redline for a women’s-only evening on the trail. All women-transgender, cisgender, non-binary, and femme-identifying folks are welcome. 

On August 22, Moon Booter Madness will take place on the hallmark jump at the bottom of Redline, and give riders the chance to showcase their skills in a jump jam. The top three riders in each category will earn their spot at Redline Rally, which takes place on August 29. Redline Rally is an invitational-only event that features the best local riders showcasing their best tricks.

For a town that has a significant amount of cross-country riding, Bend has a sneaky epic freeride scene. 

There are more than a few local pro-riders in Bend who usually make an appearance at Redline Rally, including skier Sage Cattabriga Alosa, who also absolutely shreds on a bike. While these events are a surefire time to see folks go big on Redline, if you ride the trail enough, odds are you’ll see someone backflip the Moon Booter on a casual lap every so often. 

Although these days, I spend a lot more time on a gravel bike than a mountain bike, Redline is the trail that gets me excited about riding the bike park again.

While I’m certainly not tricking (or clearing, let’s be honest) Moon Booter, working in the bike industry has introduced me to a few friends who do, and riding laps with them is always a good time. 

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