Places to stay while enjoying Bend, OR!

WELCOME TO BEND

A passion for recreation is what brings many people to Bend, Oregon. Located in the high desert of central Oregon, Bend is famous for its many forms of outdoor recreation. Kayakers and rafters shoot through the exciting triple waterfalls of the Deschutes River. The Deschutes, Metolius and Crooked Rivers also offer fantastic fly fishing, with more than 500 miles of streams and rivers stocked with trout and steelhead. Golfers have over 20 top-rated courses nearby, offering every kind of golf challenge. Mountain bike cyclists can choose off road riding in uncrowded lush forests, high mountain peaks, lava fields or desert.

Mt. Bachelor’s ten alpine lifts, six of them high speed, give skiers 3,683 skiable acres of slopes, with 1,600 acres groomed daily. Parks and pipes for snowboarders are a priority, making Mt. Bachelor one of Oregon’s premier snowboarding areas. Cross country skiing on the 56 kilometers of trails on Mt. Bachelor is a popular winter sport. Snowmobilers have 560 miles of groomed trails to choose from in the Deschutes National Forest, with 175 miles of that in the Bend District. Snowtubing, snowshoeing and sled dog rides are also exciting and memorable activities for your family.

World class rock climbing and miles of hiking trails at Smith Rock State Park makes it a popular retreat for climbers and hikers. Backcountry hikers and campers head into the solitude of the Three Sisters Wilderness, while others take a hike in the more than 2.5 million acres of national forests in the Bend area. Parks and picnicking abound in and around Bend. Almost all of the parks, lakes and rivers in the area have picnic areas. Bend has recreation fun for everyone!

Walking, shopping or dining in historic downtown Bend enhances your recreational experience. Drake Park’s Mirror Pond, the jewel of downtown Bend, is a small lake with ducks, Canadian geese, and a pair of swans from Queen Elizabeth’s royal swannery in England. The wide stretches of green grass provide a restful counterpoint to the old brick and masonry buildings that compose Bend’s business area. Galleries, restaurants, outdoor eateries, boutiques and specialty shops are all within easy walking distance. Farther from the downtown area, the Old Mill District, located on a site previously used for lumber mills, features upscale shopping, trendy restaurants and an outdoor amphitheater which is used for summer concerts. A selection of shopping malls and factory outlet shopping is available in the areas outlying Bend.

For a panoramic view of Bend and the volcanic peaks around it, take a walk or a drive to the top of Pilot Butte. From this 511 feet high volcanic cindercone, you can see a vista of the high desert region, including nine snowcapped Cascade peaks. A few of the peaks you’ll see are the Three Sisters, Broken Top Mountain and Mt. Jefferson. An even finer view can be found at the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. This monument stretches from Paulina Peak to the Deschutes River and includes hiking trails, lava formations, obsidian fields, and waterfalls, as well as incredible scenery. Also in the Newberry Monument area is the 18 square mile Newberry Crater, which includes Paulina and East lakes, two of Oregon’s best mountain fishing lakes.

Spelunking, also called caving, in the lava tubes at Skeleton Cave, Arnold Ice Caves or Lava River Caves will show you how the underground half lives. Lava River Cave, Oregon’s longest continuous lava tube, is a good beginner cave for families to explore. Geocachers can look for the Earthcache located at this site. All cavers should bring their own light, and wear warm clothing and boots - the cave temperature is approximately 40 F.

No one can accomplish all there is to do in Bend in one visit. Choose a few of the many opportunities waiting for you, and then, plan what you will do on your next trip to this recreation mecca.

This page is part of the greater “WWWelcome to Oregon™” guide to information

Tags: No Comments.

2009 National Cyclocross Championships in Bend Oregon, December 10-13th

Yep, you heard right…Bend is the official host city of the 2009 and 2010 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships!  Whether this will be your first visit to Bend or you’re an old friend, our entire community is looking forward to showing you an incredible time in Bike Town USA.

Bend’s world class recreation, award-winning craft breweries, rockin’ nightlife, incredible shops, delicious restaurants, and genuinely-friendly locals will make you fall in love with our community.

Tags: No Comments.

The skies cleared after the surprise snowfall the lst weekend in October in Central Oregon.  And with the full moon in the forecast, Jeff knox, Mertlot Mortgage and Ken Pearson, Desert Pine Properties,  decided that would be an excellent time to head for the hills and experience a snow camp in the moon glow!  The beauty abounds near the best town - Bend, Oregon.

Tags: No Comments.

I haven’t run a marathon since the 1998 NEW YORK marathon.  A car accident 4 weeks later changed my life.  Running was out of the question for about 4 years.  Summiting mountains later on imitated a long run.  Running did not become consistent until about 2 months ago when my sister asked me to do the Portland Marathon with her.  My sister lost her 22 year old son in August and wanted to run this in his memory.  (LINCOLN WARREN TUTT) So we gathered a few running friends and started training.  This was a very ambitious goal as none of us had much of a base and are much older now!  Several long runs and summits filled our weekly schedules.  And on a partly cloudy, chilly morning in Portland on October 4th (and on my son’s 25th bday) we went to the starting line.  Corrie Tutt, Kathy Christensen and I.  (”Every breath we take and every step we take” for Linc)  Over 10,000 runners on a very organized course with bands and enthusiastic supporters, we focused, mile after mile.  It was a great day.  lst time I cried going across the finish line…My sister and I and Kathy hugged and  found our way back to our hotel room.  Leaving the festivities behind, we celebrated in the room with other runners and our specially made Lincoln tshirts.  In his honor, he made us strong again.

Tags: 1 Comment

The Shasta three (Jeff, David and Nancy) headed up the Pole Creek trail head for an overnight stay at Camp Lake.  5.5 miles from the trail head with 1700 ft elevation gain and two creek crossings brought us to a beautiful sandy beach at Camp Lake.  A beautiful starry night.  Calm winds.  Could hear rocks falling on the mountains!  An early morning (2.45 hour) ascent.  Scrambling through the scree and large rocks.  Breath taking veiws.  Only ones at the top!  Descended, reluctantly breaking camp and packing out to the trail head.  Cold beer in the cooler awaits, thanks to Jeff.  Listening to a couple tunes, just enough to wear down the battery.  The truck wouldn’t start… hmmmmm.  Who comes to the trail head at this time of early evening?  Yes, we heard a car coming and once the dust cleared, notice an old friend getting out of the car.  Skip to the rescue… my whimpy jumper cables and his good timing got us back in Bend as expected.  A STELLAR SUMMITING DAY in Central Oregon!!!!

Tags: No Comments.

Training for the Portland marathon.   Training in Bend is higher elevation, hilly and hot!  But, a beautiful course starting at lst Street Rapids, along the Deschutes River trail to Archie Briggs Canyon trail, to Mount Washington onto Shevlin Road to Shevlin Park.  Adding a nice 5 mile loop through the park and back to Shevlin Road to Portland street and back to Awbrey Road.  About 2.5 hours running time.

Tags: No Comments.

Ken, Mick(our Labradoodle) and I went 5 miles away from Bend to vacation at 7th Mountain resort this weekend. We enjoyed the Deschutes River trail every day!  Hot tubbing and the refreshing pool.  Lounging and relaxing at the resort.  Scooted up to Mt Bachelor and other close by trails.  Come experience the resort at the foothills of the Cascades… Stay and play!

Tags: No Comments.

Another glorious day in Central Oregon!  Friend and pets adventure to the east side of the trails at Smith Rocks.

Lunch, buffalo burgers and beer in Terrebonne.

Tags: No Comments.

Thundering skies and thundering engines livened up the streets of Bend Saturday night.  Restored classic cars displayed in Drake Park by day, cruised the downtown streets of Bend at night.  Later, dancing in the streets!  The Firehall Penthouse Condominium and The Loft of Bend were two premium locations to view the parade.  Desert Pine Properties offers lodging in downtown locations conveniently located for Bend’s year round menu of events.

Tags: No Comments.

Only 1 in 4 people who climb Mt. Shasta will summit.  A variety of reasons can foil the ascent.  Poor weather conditions, altitude sickness or lack of training to name a few.  Our climbing party consisted of 4 guys from Mrytle Creek and 3 guys and a girl from Bend.  We all left from our respective home towns and met in Shasta City for lunch.  We stategized where to stay on Mt. Shasta that night.  Horse Camp or Helen Lake.  Horse Camp was about an hour in with our heavy packs… allowing for a lighter load on Summit day, but a much longer trip up.  Helen Lake was closer to summiting and could we adjust to the elevation spending the night there.  BUT, what a haul with those packs.  We went to Helen Lake.  We went from our hometowns that morning to Helen Lake by 6PM.  We were all set up for the evening, getting our days packs ready for the summit starting at 3:30 am.  Everyone had crampons, ice axe, helmets and packs ready… The sun went behind the ridge and all of a sudden, our fellow trekker, Nick from Mrytle Creek got altitude sickness.  He had no color in his face, panting, scared and couldn’t move.  We all reacted.  Tried to get him to hydrate more, put his feet up, chest out for expanding the lungs.  Luckily there was a guide camping near by.  She checked his vitals, we called 911.  No helicopter, but rangers will be up in 3 hours.  We got Nick into a tent, as comfortable as possible.  He was having chest pains and trouble breathing. The guide, Mckenzie, was incredibly calming.  The rangers arrived around 12:30 am and administered oxygen through the night.  Nick had by daylight recovered well enough to descend on his own with the rangers assistance.   Several other people in our climbing groupl followed them down.  Nick felt better down at Horse Camp.  Back at the trucks, the guys took off for a recovery day at Lake Sisikyou.  David and Jeff and I climbed to The Heart, just under Red Banks, saving the rest of the summit for next June.  What a relief to have all safe on this journey.  We have amazing respect for the mountain.  Another time…

Tags: 1 Comment