Snowmobile groups got the OK to groom and ride McKenzie Pass Highway 242 this winter, and possibly into the future, but popular offseason cycling will remain closed on the iconic roadway between Sisters and McKenzie Bridge — a departure from what was once called an “Oregon tradition.”
In October, the Statesman Journal reported on an apparent shift that surprised many: Oregon officials were asking people to stay off the scenic highway, with views of lava fields and Cascade Range volcanoes, when its gates close for the winter season.
The Oregon Department of Transportation has long closed the alpine roadway to cars between late fall and June when the snow starts to pile up. At that point, it traditionally became a popular place to ski and snowmobile. Later, once the snow started to melt, it became popular for car-free cycling in the spring.
The Mckenzie Pass Scenic Bikeway, left, and members of the Mount Jefferson Snowmobile Club on McKenzie Pass. ODOT will allow snowmobile groups to groom and ride Highway 242 this winter but offseason cycling will remain closed between Sisters and McKenzie Bridge.
In recent years, however, ODOT quietly altered its policy and asserted in news releases that “when the highway is closed, it is closed to all users.”
The move stunned groups that had enjoyed snowy and car-free recreation on the highway for decades, and businesses that depend on it to fuel tourism. It also led to considerable confusion because ODOT said they wouldn’t enforce the closure and anyone that traveled past the gates did so “at their own risk.”
Earlier this month, following meetings with recreation groups and reviews of state law, ODOT, which manages the highway, and the U.S. Forest Service, which manages the land around it, clarified their positions on offseason recreation in light of the confusion. Those clarifications include:
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“Non-vehicle recreational users,” such as skiers, snowshoers and hikers, are allowed to go beyond the closed gates of Highway 242 for recreation at their own risk, in the same way they explore national forest land elsewhere.
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However, Highway 242 remains closed to bicycles when the highway gates are closed, the statement said. ODOT explained it like this: “The seasonal closure of McKenzie Pass is in place for all vehicle traffic, and under Oregon law, cyclists are considered vehicles … That means the road is also closed to them.” ODOT has said it won’t enforce the closure, but bike shop owners in Sisters said the policy would discourage people from visiting Central Oregon for car-free riding and harm tourism. They’ve vowed to fight the policy.
ODOT, Forest Service say policies haven’t changed but are updating how they talk about McKenzie Pass closure
In a statement, ODOT and the Forest Service said they hadn’t changed policies but had “updated how we talk about the closure” in light of confusion about offseason use of the highway.
They noted the challenges of having a federal and state agency, with different missions, managing the same area.
“Because of the different legal authorities each agency operates under (state versus federal law), the term ‘closed’ can mean different things to each agency,” the statement said. ODOT and the Forest Service “have different missions,” they added.
“While our communications are getting more specific, the management practices for the highway remain consistent,” the statement said.
A snow cat grooms up to McKenzie Pass on scenic Highway 242 during the winter.
Snowmobile groups mostly happy with McKenzie pass outcome
Oregon snowmobilers said they were happy with the agreement and optimistic about the future, especially after being stunned earlier this season at the prospect of not grooming or riding what’s traditionally been a popular route in winter. Under an agreement reached earlier this month, the Mount Jefferson Snowmobile Club will be allowed to groom the highway, making it easier to conduct winter recreation, on a shortened time frame this season. Technically, they’re grooming the highway in support of the John Craig Memorial Ski Race and Tour in March and must stop afterward.
The group said its been grooming the highway for 18 years but was told recently that would mostly end.
“The way forward is what excites me most,” said Christian Sammons, grooming chairman for MJSC. “This season’s grooming agreement, even if limited, sets a strong foundation for future collaboration.”
A meeting focused on “the long-term future of recreational grooming of Highway 242” will be held in June. “Our focus is on creating partnerships that benefit everyone — ensuring access for all recreation groups while respecting the safety and environmental considerations that are central to the Forest Service and ODOT’s missions,” Sammons said.
A snow cat grooms McKenzie Pass Highway 242 during the winter.
Skiers, snowshoers, hikers allowed on McKenzie Pass ‘at their own risk’
ODOT clarified the closure of Highway 242 was a “a highway closure, not a closure of recreational lands.”
As such, “non-vehicle recreational users, such as skiers, snowshoers and pedestrians, are going beyond the closed gates at their own risk and should follow guidelines provided by the U.S. Forest Service for recreation in a National Forest,” the statement said.
“ODOT has no plans to maintain McKenzie Pass as a travel route throughout the winter months. … Recreationalists should understand the potential hazards.”
Previously, ODOT said the highway was closed to everyone when its gates were closed.
Skiing and snowshoeing is popular on McKenzie Pass Highway 242 in the winter when it’s covered with snow. Anyone that travels out that way is doing so “at their own risk,” ODOT stressed.
McKenzie Pass was once promoted, popular for offseason bike riding
Oregon cyclists said they’ve been enjoying car-free riding on McKenzie Pass for nearly four decades. In the past, once spring arrived, ODOT would plow a lane on the highway to begin the process of melting the snow and reopening the highway. It would keep the pass closed to cars for a few weeks, which gave cyclists a window to ride on the state’s most scenic highway without cars.
Word spread, and by the 2000s and 2010s, it had become popular enough that bike shop owners in Sisters, ODOT and the state’s tourism bureaus worked together to establish a season for car-free riding so tourists could plan their vacation around it. ODOT agreed to keep the road closed to cars until the third Monday of June, and it became an economic boon in Central Oregon.
“Everybody worked really well together,” said Brad Boyd, the former mayor of Sisters and the owner of Eurosports bike shop.
The west side gate of McKenzie Pass showing the closure of McKenzie Pass Highway 242.
ODOT unclear when shift in offseason biking policy for McKenzie Pass changed
ODOT spokeswoman Kacey Davey said she wasn’t sure when or why ODOT altered its policy on offseason biking — everybody involved at the agency has retired, she said. But it appears to have happened in the late 2010s and early 2020s. The shift wasn’t widely known until the Statesman Journal reported it in October.
The policy today is: The highway is closed to bikes until the gates open to everybody. ODOT cited Oregon law in noting the road is closed to vehicles and because “cyclists are considered vehicles (ORS 801.590-ORS 801.360), that means the road is also closed to them.”
ODOT has said it won’t ask Oregon State Police to enforce the closure “at this time.” Davey said it was a matter of safety and previously referenced a number of near accidents between cyclists and road crews working to reopen the road.
“Highway closures such as this are to protect the traveling public,” Davey said. “We close the highway because we cannot maintain it safely for travel in the winter, and thus it should not be promoted for any mode of transportation.”
Natalie Inouye, Samara Phelps and Molly Blancett of Eugene on a ride during spring over Mckenzie Pass Highway 242.
Locals likely to continue biking on McKenzie Pass, but move could hurt tourism in Sisters
Boyd said the closure of car-free cycling on McKenzie Pass was unlikely to stop locals from doing it, but that it could have an impact on tourism in Sisters. “The majority of the locals in Sisters and Bend, they’re going to just ride it no matter what, especially since ODOT says they’re not going to enforce it,” he said. “However, if you’re planning to come here from Seattle, or Portland, or from out of state, and you see this policy that it’s closed, you’re probably going to think twice or pick somewhere else to go.
“And the problem is that it’s those out-of-the-area people that are the huge economic driver. People plan their vacation here (specifically for car-free riding). They rent bikes, stay at hotels, eat at restaurants and drink at breweries. And we get this boom at a really important time of year — the late spring when there isn’t much going on.
“It’s been a really big deal for 20 years. So for the city itself and the economic community, this will be huge.”
Travel Oregon tourism websites take down information promoting ‘car-free riding’
In the early 2010s, Travel Oregon promoted car-free riding on McKenzie Pass as a destination adventure in Central Oregon.
“For a few weeks each spring, McKenzie Pass is open only to cyclists,” says a voiceover from a video produced in 2012 from the state-run tourism bureau. “Enjoying the car-free and carefree climb is an Oregon cycling tradition.”
Beginning this fall, Travel Oregon changed the way it promoted the highway. Webpages that previously highlighted car-free riding now direct to a page that makes no mention of it. The same is true of other tourism bureaus, including Travel Lane County.
“After seeing some of ODOT’s messaging around the Highway 242 closure this fall, we made minor changes to our McKenzie Pass webpages, including directing visitors to ODOT’s closure page for more information,” said Allie Gardner, industry communications manager for Travel Oregon.
She said they’re working to see if they can change the video, viewed 26,000 times on YouTube, that still shows cyclists walking their bikes around the gate.
‘We’re definitely going to fight this’
Boyd said he plans to fight the decision. He said he’ll take a close look at the laws ODOT is using to justify the closure to bikes, and then take his case to the Oregon Legislature.
“We’ll make sure ODOT is interpreting them correctly, but the next step would be to reach out to state legislators and get this fixed,” he said.
Boyd said the entire situation struck him as odd. For years, he said, ODOT worked closely with bike shop owners and state tourism groups to promote car-free riding to as wide an audience as possible.
“For 35 years it was fine for anyone to be up there,” Boyd said. “Then they suddenly decided they didn’t want anybody up there. Now they’re OK with snowmobiles, but it’s closed to anyone on two wheels? It’s so incredibly arbitrary. We’re definitely going to fight this.”
Joint statement from ODOT and USFS by Zach Urness on Scribd
Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 18 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on X at @ZachsORoutdoors.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: McKenzie Pass Highway 242 snowmobiling OK’d; car-free biking closed