The new Central Library at Stevens Ranch will be opening in late spring of 2026. The Eastside Bend Library is already closed and the Bend Downtown Library will be closing for renovation this spring for over a year. This will make travel to the new Central Library at Stevens Ranch at the intersection of SE 27th St and Wilderness Way important for everyone in town. This has been a no-go zone for most people on bikes but with some recent construction on SE 27th and other projects that are underway, things are improving, just in time for the library’s opening!
This route is useful for anyone wanting to bike from the northeast to the southeast part of town and the library just adds to its value. This is a 6.5 mile route consisting of multi-use paths and off-street trails, on-street painted bike lanes, and sidewalks along very busy streets. It does cross some busy streets so proceed with care.
Pine Nursery Park to Pilot Butte State Park
- From the west side of Pine Nursery Park, ride south on the multi-use path along the east side of NE Purcell Blvd. Cross NE Empire Ave at the roundabout.
- Continue along Purcell Blvd and cross the canal. After crossing the canal, stay on the sidewalk and cross Butler Market Rd at the roundabout. There are also on-street buffered bike lanes on this section.
- Continue south on the bike lane along Purcell Blvd. Cross Wells Acres Rd at the 4-way stop and cross NE Neff Ave at the stop light. Continue south along Purcell Blvd to NE Savannah Dr.
- Turn right onto Savannah Dr and right again onto NE Linnea Dr. Continue to Pilot Butte State Park.
Pilot Butte State Park to Larkspur Community Center along the Larkspur Trail
- At the entrance to Pilot Butte State Park, turn left onto the Larkspur Trail. Continue through the underpass of US20 and continue on the trail which roughly parallels NE 15 St to NE Bear Cr Rd. This part of the trail is paved.
- Cross Bear Cr Rd and turn left (east) along the multi-use path for two blocks.
- Turn right onto the Larkspur Trail and follow the trail all the way to the Larkspur Community Center. This section of the trail is gravel but it is smooth and easy to ride on.
- At the entrance to the Larkspur Community Center, continue straight and then veer left (east) around the side of the community center. Enter the parking lot and follow the driveway to the intersection with SE Reed Market Rd.
Larkspur Community Center to the Central Library at Stevens Ranch
- Cross Reed Market Rd using the crosswalk just to the east of the driveway and turn left (east) on the sidewalk along Reed Market Rd.
- Ride on the sidewalk on the south side of Reed Market Rd. This is a high speed and busy street. It does have a bike lane but it is much more comfortable to ride on the sidewalk. Continue east along Reed Market Rd to SE 27th St.
- On the return trip, cross to the north side of Reed Market Rd with the stop light at Reed Market Rd & 27th St and ride west on the sidewalk along the north side of Reed Market Rd to the Larkspur Community Center.
- At 27th St, turn right (south) on the sidewalk on the west side of 27th St and ride down to the new library. Cross 27th St at the crosswalk at SE Pelee Dr or at the roundabout at SE WIlderness Way.
- Enjoy the library which will be opening in late spring of 2026! There is quite a bit of multi-use path construction along SE 27th St right now so keep your eye open for a new path along part of the east side of 27th St, maybe in time for the library’s opening.
We will be featuring other routes to the library from other parts of town. Several projects currently in construction will make it much easier to get to the library by bike in the next year or so.