Shevlin Park directly west of Bend is a young scientists delight this time of year. And it is not a bad place for the scientist’s parent as well.
The park is only 4.4 miles directly west of Bend and offers a plethora of walking, biking, and wading opportunities.
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With our goal of two solid hours of exercise a day, Shevlin seemed like a logical place on this rainy, cloudy Saturday. It was close to town, it would be a quick trip home if we got soaked to the undies. (There is nothing worse than an hour car trip home with two cold, soaked kids.)
We biked the road in. It is about two miles, fairly flat. It is an easy ride that even the youngest kids could accomplish. No traffic even though the gate was opened! It is suitable for most kids, even kids with training wheels if they are willing to pedal hard.
We stopped at the top end to boulder.
There are rocks and boulders all along the road that are fun for clambering. Don’t let the kids loose unless you have time to wait. The boulders are tall, but not THAT tall.
From the far end of the park, we took the trail that heads directly south. It is an easy, flat trail that is ridable by almost anyone on two wheels. At the first junction, we headed North back to the car. This is an easy ride, with small ups and downs that is about two miles long. It is fast (more down that up) and winds itself along the ride back to the car.
(There is a map of the Shevlin Park Trails available here: http://www.bendparksandrec.org/Park_List_Hidden/Shevlin_Park/shevlin.html )
The biking portion took only about an hour so we decided to walk along the east rim. We found wild strawberries, and caterpillars. Hence, my going to tent caterpillar hell.
Nestled among the bitter brush are thousands of tent caterpillars. We have an aquarium just waiting for bugs at home…so we selected a few (okay ten or twenty tents) and kyped them. Yes, we plucked them off the bushes, and took them home. We’ll let you know if they turn into anything interesting. I am betting some sort of hideous moth….
The trail to the east was just a little over a mile, with some steep switchbacks at the beginning. Suitable for walking at almost any age, it takes a pretty fair set of legs to be able to ride up the switchbacks.
If your time is short, or if you have younger youth that need an excellent adventure, Shevlin Park is a remarkable park with lots of diversity. For older youth, bouldering and biking in Shevlin provide a close outdoor experience.
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