Royal Flush. No, not the best poker hand you can get, but a new flow park for mountain biking in Bend! Yes, it will take a little effort to get there, but it can be combined into a really fun downhill route starting at Wanoga Sno-Park and ending at the little parking lot across from the Bend Visitor Center. If you follow this fun route, make sure to do a car drop as this is not a loop!
- Distance: 16-17 miles
- Time: 2 hr
- Elevation Gain: 830 ft
- Trailhead: Tiddlywinks Trailhead
- Route-Finding Skills: Moderate
- Physical Exertion Skills: Moderate
- Map
The berms started getting built back in the fall of 2021, and as of now, Royal Flush is alive and kickin’. This park is definitely catering to advanced riders, and there’s plenty of air to be had if you have the guts. The good news for less hard-core riders is that there are no gaps or drops, so you can definitely get through this park chasing your friends without getting air if you want to.
Getting there:
Head up Cascade Lakes highway towards Mt. Bachelor until you see Wanoga Sno-Park on your left. The trail will start here. Near the bathrooms you’ll see the Upper Tiddlywinks trail. Head down this trail and have a blast.
The Trail:
Ride Upper Tiddlywinks trail for 2.9 miles. You will cross over a few forest roads, but there are no other trails that intersect that would be confusing. This trail is mostly downhill, 450 feet give or take, but it does have a little climbing too, about 250 feet or so. There are a few rocky area’s that you might have to push your bike through if you are not an advanced rider, but overall this is an intermediate trail!
In 2.9 miles you will arrive at a 4-way intersection. If you go left you will be at the beginning of Lower Whoops trail, which is a blast, but for this route we will go straight! Head up Kiwa Butte Trail. This is a cruisy 1.4 mile trail with a little more descending than climbing. You will dead-end and be able to go right or left. Head left and ride Tyler’s Traverse. This trail has a bit of climbing, but is predominately downhill. Again there are some rocky sections that are best suited for high intermediate or advanced riders. A strong intermediate will be fine, they just might have to walk over some rocky sections. This trail also has some fun banked turns and little jumps to hit.
The Crux:
You’ll come to an intersection in around 3 more miles. If you continue straight you can ride down the lower portion of Tyler’s Traverse, but if you make a right and cross the dirt road, you can hit the trail called Duodenum. Follow this trail for about 1 mile and on your left will be the new and exciting Royal Flush! Cruise through Royal Flush for a little over a mile, getting tons of air if you want. After the mile flow-park, you’ll have to ride out the uphill route for a brief time. We did see some people trying to drive their truck up this road. It’s wide enough, and if you have a high clearance vehicle you very well may be able to drive to the top of Royal Flush from Conklin Road.
When you get down close to Conklin Road, you’ll take a left on the trail called Afternoon Delight. This trail really lives up to its name. It is quite a delight to ride! It is a cruisy 2 miles and there are a few small jumps on this trail too. You can opt to go around them as well if you want. Note that this is a 2-way trail, so don’t go too crazy without making sure nobody is coming up first!
After about 2 miles you will cross another dirt road and catch the very end of Tyler’s Traverse. Continue straight, riding past the parking lot that you’ll quickly see on your right.
From here you have 4.6 miles left on Catch and Release back to the parking lot. Congratulations, you just rode an epic ride! For the same start and stop locations check out another route here!
THE SPLIT DECISION:
Jay’s Take: “This was an epic day ride! So much fun. Lots of jumps to hit of all sizes. The flow park was a little more intense than I thought it would be! It was nice there were no gaps on the jumps but there were a few jumps that had pretty steep approaches and pretty steep descents. I wasn’t really expecting that when I went through the first time. I would defintely recommend if it is your first time on Royal Flush to do an easy ride through and get your barrings before hitting the flow park hard.”
Tyese’s Take: “I enjoyed this ride! I thought Afternoon Delight was especially fun with a cruisy downhill vibe with some little jumps you can hit if you want. The new flow-park was a little above my skill level, but it was fun to roll through. Goals right?!”
