The 2025/2026 winter season was dismal along the West Coast. For many ski areas, the lack of snow meant no ski season at all.
This is exactly what happened at Warner Canyon in Lakeview, Oregon. The small, local ski hill has seen several winters without snow in the last decade, including this past season, which kept the ski operations closed. So, why not ride bikes instead?
Well, that is exactly what they are doing moving forward. Oh, and there is even potential for the chairlift to take bikes up year-round.
How two cycling advocates put Lakeview on the map
Lake County is massive. By land area, it is the third-largest county in Oregon, covering over 5 million acres, or nearly 8,400 square miles.
“It’s less than one person per square mile,” Shelley Batty told us. “There are miles and miles of old country roads with no traffic, thousands of miles of gravel riding, and some of the best singletrack that my husband has ever enjoyed.”
Batty and her husband, Thom, moved to Lakeview nearly a decade ago. The two ran Bike Concierge, a glamping-style bike-touring experience, and Tall Town Bike & Camp, Lakeview’s local bike shop.
From the beginning, the two dove into growing cycling, especially off-road, in the area. Thom was on the board for the Oregon Timber Trail, and Batty began working with the Lake County Chamber of Commerce, stepping into the director role. Both have since retired.
Advocating for trails was a pivotal part of their lives before retirement, and that hasn’t changed. Shortly after moving to Lakeview, they began working with Travel Oregon and various land managers to designate 2.5 million acres in Lake County as a dark sky sanctuary. Forming and building these relationships over the years would prove essential for proposing trails at Warner Canyon.
An 85-year-old ski hill pivots to mountain biking
The little ski hill dubbed “Warner Canyon” is one of Oregon’s oldest ski areas, opened in 1938. The hill is community-run and remains small, with a distinctly local vibe that is a refreshing change from large resorts.
While the only official recreation use has been winter sports, Warner Canyon actually has a history of hauling bikes up the lift.
“Prior to COVID, we did an event called Summer Fest, where one weekend during the summer we got the ski hill to run the lift,” Batty said. “We jerry-rigged carabiners and climbing ropes on the ski lift to get bikes up there.”
A rough layout of trails had previously been weed-whacked in, and the organizers had their fingers crossed for 40 or 50 participants. They ended up having a few hundred.
Summer Fest was repeated the following year, nearly doubling the number of riders who wanted to be towed to the top of the hill with their bikes via the chairlift. “So, we kind of had proof of concept,” Batty explained.
Then, in 2024, Lakeview and nearby Warner Canyon had a season with practically no snow. Batty’s husband, Thom, had a thought many of us have had during these low/no snow seasons: Why don’t they get some trails and open the ski hill up for mountain biking?
Because of the relationships the Battys had built over years of advocating for trails, Thom was able to reach out to contacts at Travel Oregon. He asked whether there were grants or opportunities to get trails at Warner Canyon. He received a call the following day about getting the process rolling because Travel Oregon and Travel Southern Oregon were teaming up on a grant.
So, within 24 hours, trails were officially happening at Warner Canyon. Trail construction wrapped up last year, and they are currently waiting for the ground to dry to open the first 3.5mi at Warner Canyon.
Three phases will bring 12 miles of trails to Warner Canyon
Three phases of trails are planned for Warner Canyon, with the first three miles (phase one) wrapping up in 2025. After the third phase is complete, Warner Canyon will be home to around 12mi of mountain biking trails, with the intent of keeping them open year-round whenever there isn’t snow on the ground.
Batty also said they’ve discussed another trail that would take riders from Warner Canyon to Lakeview. The distance between the two is roughly seven miles as the crow flies, but connecting singletrack would be longer. But that trail, if it happens, will have to wait until the original 12mi are complete.
Lake County also worked with The UNPavement for adaptive trail consulting. The entire 12mi at Warner Canyon will be adaptive-friendly by design from day one.
The first phase, built by C2 Recreation, totaled about 3.5mi across three trails and includes a short beginner loop and skills area. Batty said the phase one trails are beginner- and intermediate-friendly, and have around 500ft of elevation drop.
Phase two will go even higher up the hill, adding another 3mi of trails that drop around 800ft in elevation. These trails will be solidly intermediate, with the first introduction of an advanced trail. The third phase of trails will complete the remaining mileage, with trails starting where the chairlift lets off. These trails will drop over 1,000ft of elevation and be Warner Canyon’s black and double black diamond runs.
So, a chairlift then?
Well, fingers crossed. Batty said all phases need to be completed before they consider using the chairlift. There is only one chairlift at Warner Canyon, and it goes all the way to the top. Using it would require multiple trail connections.
They also need to make sure they have enough interest before investing in bike trays (they likely won’t use ropes and carabiners) and staff to operate the lifts. If there is enough interest and the plan is feasible, chairlifts can take riders and bikes to the top.
If there isn’t snow like the last few years, Warner Canyon is a small enough operation that they might keep the bike lift running through the winter. That would make them one of the only (if not the only?) year-round chairlift-served bike park on the West Coast.
“That’s our long-term goal, but we’re just getting started,” Batty said. “But there is an access road […] we can use for shuttle service if there’s interest, so that you can get shuttled to the top that way, or you can just ride that road.”
Either way, new trails at Warner Canyon, along with thousands of miles of singletrack and dirt roads, are turning Lakeview into another burgeoning mountain biking destination in Southern Oregon.
Know about a new trail project we should cover? Whether you’re breaking ground on the next must-ride destination or putting the finishing touches on a neighborhood flow trail, we want to hear about it. Drop us a line at [email protected] with high-quality photos of your build, plus details like trail mileage, location, difficulty, and what makes it special. We’re always on the hunt for the next great trail story, and there’s a good chance your project could be featured in an upcoming article.
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