Our experience was great. Beautiful and safe and in Ashland we had lunch in a nice outdoor cafe before we returned to Central Point.

I needed to grab a 12 mile run on my vacation and was looking for a relatively flat route. This was it! I picked up the path at S. Stage Rd and ran to the end in Ashland. The path is well-maintained with any cracks or bumps marked with bright spray paint. The path passes several parks and parking areas with restrooms and water fountains. I think I passed a total of three point to point. The trail was well marked except for the final turn into the neighborhood in Ashland where it picks up a different trail to conclude.

Picked up the trail at the end in Klamath Falls in July. I rode a suspended mountain bike and my friend rode an off-rode trike. The paved section had many, many deep cracks about 25 feet apart. They were filled in with tar but the cracks were still noticeable. I mention this because if you have a bad back, you will feel this the next day. There were many residents using the trail and that was great to see.

When I read the guidebooks I was aware that the paved section stops at Oline. However, I had the impression that the trail width would remain unchanged. When we got to Olene the wide paved trail went to a narrow, single-track trail that was unpassable for a trike. We were disappointed that our venture was stopped so soon.

I just rode the paved part, but it was okay. For me, camping at KOA Journey campground in Klamath Falls, was the “A Canal Trail” right next to the campground that connected with the OC&E Trail.

We started the bike ride at MP27 in Central Point at the newly-built Southern Oregon RV Park at the fairgrounds. We turned around at MP16.

Except for a couple of areas with root heaves which were marked with paint, the asphalt trail was in very good condition. The trail is relatively flat and runs along Bear Creek. This section of the trail is not particularly scenic and parts of the trail parallel I-5. At some points, the trail even runs underneath freeway overpasses. There are a couple of nice parks along the way – Hawthorne Park, Bear Creek Park and the very large US Cellular Sports Park. Most of the parks mentioned have water and restrooms.

The sad part of this section of the trail is the number of homeless and transient encampments on the trail. People are living under the underpasses and along the river. No one bothered us and I heard that the cities along the trail sweep through the area on a regular basis and cleanup all the garbage left behind and try to break up the encampments.

Overall, I would recommend this ride if you are in the area.

We scouted this trail on a trip through the west when we had already gone a few days without getting on the bikes, and had a few more non-riding days ahead. The Pine Grove trailhead was convenient and had full facilities. Riding east from there to the end of the pavement showed us that we would not be going further; the gravel is too rough for my road bike with the widest tires that will fit, or my wife's hybrid with slick tires on it.

The 7.5 mile paved trail was in excellent condition, wide and flat. There was a nice mix of pedestrians and bicycles out on a weekday afternoon. The number of street crossings increases as you go deeper into Klamath Falls, but this being Oregon drivers are very accommodating. We passed Wiard Park which would also be a good place to start a ride, and the official trailhead in the city, which is actually a bit west of Crosby Av- the directions I found indicated it was adjacent. There was also another trail which crossed ours; I now know that it follows the bank of an irrigation channel for 4 miles, making possible a 23 mile round-trip on the two paved trails.

The paved section ends suddenly in the middle of a railyard. Too bad, as it would have been nice to ride further alongside the rails and end at a more dramatic spot, or at least a more logical one.

We admired an abandoned shoe next to the trail (who loses just one shoe?), watched a man picking up cans and bottles (single shoes not having much cash value, he left that behind) and rode back to the trailhead. Not an epic trek, but still a nice ride on a nice day in an area without any rural paved or packed stone trails to choose from.

Very windy ride coming back. Beautiful farm country. Not too crowded.

Walked all but .5 miles of this trail yesterday, starting at the Rogue River Rest Stop (where you can park for four hours for free). The beginning of the trail (starting at the rest stop) is shaded and the paved trail runs alongside the camp grounds. There is a secondary gravel trail that runs right along the bank of the river for about 2 miles. It is not accessible for bikes but is easy to walk and has a lot of access to the river. At just about the 2 mile mark (again starting from the rest stop) the shade ends! We did not encounter any shaded areas for the last half of the trail which is why we turned back before finishing. It got way to hot with the sun directly on us and heat radiating up from the asphalt. It was still a great walk, lots of cyclists were out and it was beautiful. Would do it again, only this time I will be prepared for shade only on the first half.

Klamath Falls is consistently overshadowed by our neighbor to the north (Bend), and for good reason. Bend is the gem of central Oregon. For some reason our city planners, and citizens don't want prosperity. We discourage growth, investment, and quality of life. For a guy such as myself however the living is easy. No traffic, low property crime and easy access to wilderness.

All that being said I am impressed with our trail system. In the last 11 years I have been learning just how great my city is for the ease of biking, hiking and X-C skiing.

I regularly use the A Canal trail to get to the south east part of the metro area. This trail takes you from Esplanade street clear down past the fairgrounds and the ballpark and then continues south along the canal system into Glenwood. You will intersect OC&E Woods Line Trail (Oregon's longest linear park) in this section

A spur path at a street called Patterson will keep you off the road beyond the Steens Sports Park, an incredible facility that houses a full size indoor soccer field, multiple outdoor soccer fields, baseball fields, an indoor batting practice facility, and what was ranked the third best skateboard park in the United States by Transworld Skateboard Magazine.

This spur also safely and easily allows riders and hikers to access the splendor of Hogback Mountain, a butte with vistas of the Klamath basin, Swan Lake basin and the Cascades from Shasta to the Crater Lake Complex.

North of Esplanade, there is a short section without bike priority along a parkway (hwy 39), but one can avoid peril by crossing the parkway at Esplanade and simply moving one street east then turning north for a few blocks. Soon you will find another path that cuts through Kit Carson Park. This will take you one mile north to Campus Drive. From here there are well marked bike lanes in the road. If you go east you will end up at OIT Campus, if you go west you will Cross the 39 again and travel on Biehn Street to Oregon Avenue and down to where Upper Klamath Lake becomes the Link River.

One can descend the Link River Trail back to Downtown Klamath Falls at this point and hook up with the Klamath Basin Birding Trail.

Another option is to follow the bike path on what is now Lakeshore drive (don't ask me why or how it changes name, I think it is a city to county thing), to Moore Park. Possibly the finest and most underutilized city park in America. Within the park are many, many miles of smooth singletrack and incredible solitude. The Klamath Ridgeview Trail cuts across the park on a gentle contour and makes a steep descent to Lakeshore Drive just a few miles from a paved path that takes you to the network of paths and roads that is the Running Y Ranch. At Running Y there is the Bill Collier Ice Skating facility that is open to the public from mid November to mid April.

I recognize that I live in paradise, and because I live mere minutes by bicycle to Moore Park am a child of privilege. Still I yearn for the shelved Pelican Butte Ski area, and the completion of the extension of the Klamath Ridgeview trail all the way to Crater Lake. Those two things would change the game in our area. There is simply almost too much potential.

Klamath doesn't want any of it in spite of the fact that Mt. Bachelor generates 350 million dollars for Bend every year and it shows in the quality of the infrastructure and improvements.

It is puzzling...but at least I can ride my bicycle without fighting traffic to enjoy a baseball game.

I encourage folks to stop by this hamlet I call home and ride, hike, ( or X-C ski when the drought ends...we are in year 4). Klamath falls has a lot to offer. From Weed, California where US97 diverts from I-5 it is exactly the same distance to Portland, and when it is snowing it is an easier drive. Just ask a trucker.