Trail Location
The community trails are located at Virginia Meissner Sno-Park, 14 miles west of Bend on the way to Mt. Bachelor along the Cascade Lakes Highway. The area features 47 km of exceptional track and a variety of terrain, groomed for both skating and classic technique. There are trails for all levels, from beginners to experienced skiers. The trail system is located on U.S. Forest Service land and it’s managed through a cooperative partnership between the Forest Service and Meissner Nordic. There’s a donation box next to the parking lot to support grooming operations, so please help keep us groomed.
Parking
Remember to bring your Sno-Park Permit, available at several retailers in Bend (Sunnyside Sports, Gear Fix, Mountain Supply, WebSkis). Please park head-in and straight into the snowbank (no angle parking or parallel parking). 180 vehicles can fit into the Meissner lot if we all park perpendicular to the snowbank, but fewer if there’s angle or parallel parking. The Meissner parking lot has been expanded twice — from 60 to 120 to 180 vehicle capacity — and there are no more expansions planned for the foreseeable future.
Ski Trail Map
Want a map you can print and bring along with you on the Meissner trails? Ellen Wayte created this simplified ski trail map available showing the Easiest, More Difficult, and Most Difficult trails. It also includes elevations at selected locations so you can see the high and low points in the trail system. Just click on the Meissner Ski Trails image to download the map in PDF format.
GPS Map of Ski and Snowshoe Trails
Want a map you can use on your GPS-enabled smartphone while you ski, even when you don’t have cell service or an Internet connection? Look no further, because the Forest Service has created a georeferenced PDF map for the Meissner Sno-Park trails. Click on this image to download the map. After you download the map you’ll need to load it into Avenza Maps on your smartphone in order to use it. Avenza Maps is a free smartphone app that works with georeferenced PDF maps and displays your location on the map using GPS positioning. Click here to learn how to download the app.
Interactive Trail Map
Want a map you can use on your computer to learn about the Meissner trail system before you come up to ski? This new interactive trail map is based on OpenSnowMap, a community-created and maintained ski map of the world. You can zoom in and out with the mouse, or with the controls in the upper left corner. Click on a trail to see a description, or on a trail name in the list on the right to highlight the trail on the map. You can also change the background map using the dropdown control in the upper right corner (try OpenTopoMap). Torsten Heycke created this map for Meissner skiers, and it includes a few hidden Easter Eggs. Note: This map works best on a desktop or laptop computer, not on a mobile device.
Snowshoe Trail Map
Want a map of the Meissner Snowshoe Trail system? There are two snowshoe trails starting from Meissner Sno-Park, one behind the Meissner lodge and the other at the west end of the parking lot. The first one goes to the Meissner shelter and the second one to the Nordeen shelter. Just click on this image to download the Snowshoe map in PDF format.
More Information
Trail Descriptions: https://meissnernordic.org/trail-descriptions/
Trail Etiquette: https://meissnernordic.org/trail-etiquette/