PRINEVILLE, OR -- Prineville’s Barnes Butte Recreation Area is getting a 5K paved trail. Public Works Director Casey Kaiser tells KBND News, "This will basically provide a loop trail around the low gently rolling terrain area of the Butte, so I would say an area approximately 250 acres or so. It goes along a wetland, and across some juniper uplands and some sagebrush steppe. So, it’s a nice trail, as far as providing access to a lot of the unique kind of scenery there in the area."
He acknowledges the community wants the area to remain as natural as possible, "The idea of the paved loop trail is really to intrude as little as possible into that natural feel of the Barnes Butte Recreation Area out there, while still kind of providing that accessibility. And it makes it easier for people of varying skill levels and abilities to be able to traverse a large part of that area and get to enjoy it too."
Some work was done on the trail last year, but Kaiser says it’ll wrap up in the next few months, "This week, all of the base rock and all of the rough grading for the trail will be done. And then, we’ll basically be waiting for the paving plants to open up so we can pave it in the early spring."
The $280,000 project is partly funded by a Recreational Trails Program grant from Oregon State Parks.