The Central Oregon Canal Trail is a great start, but it needs some work. I am new to the area and was excited to get out and explore the local trails. As I was biking along, I came to sections of trails with big signs saying "No Trespassing." A canal trail continues farther but the signs say that you can be fined or put in jail because Nottingham Square owns that section of trail. Nottingham Square seems pretentious, and I hope that Bend Parks and Rec can work this out to make a contiguous trail for people.

I rode this trail north from Pioneer Park - just past the park, after you cross the river, it is gravel, as noted before - coarse dark gravel that I think is brought in, as it is deeper to the edges. Anyway - I have a hybrid bike, so my tires are barely 1.5 inches or so as noted in the other review. Most of the trail was fine, but with my tires and gearing, there were hills I elected to walk up - and one that I chose to ride up, my back tire spun a lot in the sand/gravel. That said, I loved the trail and would do it again in a minute. Great views and well marked. I saw very few other cyclists or hikers on the trail.

On the next day, I was going to do the south end. We went to Farewell Bend park and could not find parking so parked in a side street. My husband brought up the parks and rec map of the trail, and it had several places on the west side of the river marked as no biking. The legend on the map just said unpaved, so it was confusing to say the least. Based on this and various other factors, I elected not to ride the south end, so I really don't know what the no biking areas are.

I entered the trail by turning onto 1st NW from Portland Ave NW. There is limited parking but easy access. We traveled North from this point. The surface is almost all fine gravel or sand, 1.5 inch tires or wider preferred. Several steep but short climbs over the next few miles made more difficult by the loose surface. However, the scenic views are worth the trouble. We are glad that we took the time to seek out this trail.

We entered on the trail at south most end. Eight miles round trip, fairly flat. Nice way to see a geologic feature. Easy street crossings, all cars stopped even though we had the stop signs. We are beginner types and really enjoyed it.

Only a small section of this trail is nice.

The Dry Canyon is Redmond's premier outdoor recreational feature. Reclaiming a jumble of agricultural enterprises (including potato fields, hence the "Spud Bowl" moniker of the soccer field that you'll pass by) and a rehabilitated old city dump (where Redmond residents once tossed their garbage and old cars over the eastern canyon wall), Redmond has greated a wonderful resource for those that want a quiet, pollution free stroll/hike/bike for its citizens. The smooth, curving paved bike path is paralleled by some added features. A good part of the paved pathway has, contiguous to it, a graveled 2 foot wide path for those that prefer to run on dirt. While the paved part of the path general sticks to the center of the canyon, along the canyon rims is a separate developed dirt path for mountain biking and even horse back riding.

The terrain is what the locals refer to as "high desert": juniper, sage, grasses. The wild life, while not abundant, is there for the observant: yellow bellied marmots (aka "rock chucks"), magpies, scrub jays, a variety of hawks, mourning doves, stellar jays, mountain blue birds (rare), rare coyotes, deer, rabbits, mountain chickadees, juncoes, can all be spotted by the observant.

This is a safe path, I've been using it since it was a simple dirt trail fifteen years ago, and have never felt threatened in any way. Looking for a bit of refreshment? Exit the path just south of the Highland Underpass, head north a quarter of a block: Cibelli's Pizza, McDonalds, Starbucks, a frozen yogurt place, and a Ray's Grocery Store are all readily available.

Very nice beginner/children/senior trail loop. Paved and mostly gentle grades, very accessible. Lots of parking in a new community park setting. Very popular for leashed dog walking, with off-leash area adjacent. Excellent sample of high desert landscape with pine/juniper forest for shade. Big turf areas also available for sports and picnicking.