Board approves traffic-control plan for 'King of the Castle' fall race

The Crook County Board of Commissioners approved a traffic-control plan for the King of the Castle fall race on Sept. 17, 2025, following a brief presentation by event organizer Joe Merrill.

Merrill, identifying himself as representing King of the Castle, described a 45-mile loop with four road crossings — two on George Milligan Road and two on Reservoir Road — staging on his Deschutes County property and a new live-tracking/virtual-checkpoint trial for the event. He said the race will pass near local solar farms and that organizers are testing new live-tracking technology.

A motion to approve the traffic control plan and the use of existing road crossings for King of the Castle was made and seconded during the meeting; commissioners identified Commissioner Permerich and Commissioner Barney as voting “aye” during the roll call. The board’s approval allows the event to proceed with the presented traffic-control approach.

Merrill said organizers hope to expand and possibly relocate future starts to the fairgrounds and expressed interest in routing up Stevenson Canyon if right-of-way and easements can be arranged. The board did not place additional conditions on the approval during the motion’s discussion.

No permits beyond county traffic-control approval were discussed during the presentation; event organizers and county staff will proceed under the county’s standard event-permitting and traffic‑control processes.