I think the Ray Benson Sno-Park by HooDoo may be your best bet to ride on your way over the hill if you only want to drive two hours in the morning. Depending on the weather and road conditions, I would plan for another 1 1/2 to 2 hours by the time you drive through Sisters and Bend and get get up to either the Kapka or Dutchman Sno-Parks from the Santiam Summit by HooDoo.
We rode at Paulina on Saturday and found more people competing for parking when we arrived mid morning than I have ever seen... We ended up parking at the 6 mile lot, which was full and has NOT been plowed yet but it is starting to pack down pretty good. We rode the loop clockwise around Trail 80 to where it meets Trail 1 on the East side of the Monument. Trail 80 had been groomed from junction 325 to junction 326, but the remainder of the route was sled width single track. We did not venture East in Trail 1 down towards China Hat but it appeared as is someone else had. The riding was great out there but the snow pack is still pretty thin in some places without much of a solid base underneath. Look out for the stumps that are lurking just below the snow surface.
We discovered two knuckleheads in two full sized trucks have TRASHED the trail between junction 325 and 326 having come in from the West on FS Rd 9735. We found both of them STUCK adjacent to the lava beds about halfway between junctions 325 and 326. They appeared to have been there all night but were out and about looking as cheerful as one might expect after having spent some time digging... They were a LONG way from getting unstuck and I didn't suspect my Sno-Bunji would help much so I didn't even stop. Good luck, it should be fun getting those trucks out of there... And I hope they ticket you for driving in a National Monument area that is closed to wheeled vehicles for the season.
We rode at Paulina on Saturday and found more people competing for parking when we arrived mid morning than I have ever seen... We ended up parking at the 6 mile lot, which was full and has NOT been plowed yet but it is starting to pack down pretty good. We rode the loop clockwise around Trail 80 to where it meets Trail 1 on the East side of the Monument. Trail 80 had been groomed from junction 325 to junction 326, but the remainder of the route was sled width single track. We did not venture East in Trail 1 down towards China Hat but it appeared as is someone else had. The riding was great out there but the snow pack is still pretty thin in some places without much of a solid base underneath. Look out for the stumps that are lurking just below the snow surface.
We discovered two knuckleheads in two full sized trucks have TRASHED the trail between junction 325 and 326 having come in from the West on FS Rd 9735. We found both of them STUCK adjacent to the lava beds about halfway between junctions 325 and 326. They appeared to have been there all night but were out and about looking as cheerful as one might expect after having spent some time digging... They were a LONG way from getting unstuck and I didn't suspect my Sno-Bunji would help much so I didn't even stop. Good luck, it should be fun getting those trucks out of there... And I hope they ticket you for driving in a National Monument area that is closed to wheeled vehicles for the season.
