Things To Do
Smith Rock State Park
Endless activity options and our personal favorite (peep the pic) Thousands of climbing routes Hiking (easy, moderate, and hard trails) Picnic and car-to-table views! Including small rockwall play area for kids Day-use fee of $12.50 paid at parking lot machines Yearly fee of $30 - the pass can be bought at Oliver Lemon near the entrance 25 minutes from River Run Lodge, 33 minutes from downtown Bend
Tubing on the Deschutes River
(It's cold this weekened wahhh but if you're brave go for it) Rental tube spots: dependent on tubing season and the weather that weekend Before June 20th: Tubes will be available at our Riverbend location (799 SW Columbia St.) from May 23 through June 19 on a walk up basis, weather permitting. No shuttle will be available.
Pilot Butte
Nice jaunt in the middle of town to see the beautiful surrounding topography of Central Oregon. Beautiful in the morning and evening, bring water if it's a hot day. Enjoy 360 views and infoplaques at the top! Bring your coffee and pastry and enjoy. We like this spot! (You can also just drive to the top if you prefer) One-way: 1 mile and 500 ft elevation gain (steep but short and scenic)
Blockbuster
Calling all the 90s kids (and my peeps from the 50s - 80s). Relive your younger days and rent yourself a DVD from the last Blockbuster left in America!
Old Mill District
Historic mill buildings turned into outdoor retail mall with shops, restaurants & a riverside trail
Bend Downtown
Definitely visit Bend's downtown and river walkways. Small cute downtown with plenty of coffee shops, breweries, boutiques, and bookstores. Next to a park with a nice stroll along the river.
Pine Mountain Observatory
Bend has some of the best stars! Located in a dark sky area, there are public viewing nights twice a month, astronomy tours, etc. great for the whole family as well
McMenamins Old St. Francis School
Old catholic schoolhouse turned into a hotel and theatre and bar with a few speakeasys open to public. If you're looking to relax, they also have a warm Turkish bath-inspired soaking pool. Pool admission is $8 per adult or free if you stay at the hotel.
Lava River Cave
Walk through a lava tube! This cave is part of the Newberry National Volcanic Monument and takes approximately 1.5 hours to tour the entire cave (~2.2 miles roundtrip). Initial access descends 55 stairs to a combination of flat boardwalk, uneven surfaces and stairways. Visit the link for more info on how to reserve your timeslot.
GoodDog!
Ok I know you're like "recommending a dog park??" but if you love dogs and hiking, this is your paradise. Thousands of cute friendly off-leash dogs in a 600 acre sized forest that leads to the river. There are better hikes out there, but if you don't want to drive far and miss your own doggo at home, this is the spot.
Mount Bachelor
If you have a spare few days and love hiking/mountaineering: Broken Top Trail: Glacier Lakes! Might need microspikes in May Type: Out and back Distance: 14 miles Elevation gain: 3,848 feet Difficulty: Moderate – Difficult Could be ski season or mountain biking season at Mt Bachelor late May. Mountain biking - Adam has a lot of good recs for trails closer to Bend if you love mountain biking. He also knows shops to rent mountain bikes from.
Crater Lake National Park
Are you really looking to explore and have extra time off? Just 2 hours away, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the U.S. and one of the deepest in the world, formed 7,700 years ago when the mountain Mount Mazama collapsed into a caldera after a massive eruption. Drive the scenic 33-mile road or hike one of their many beautiful trails. Hikes: The Watchman (popular - easy) Garfield Peak Hike (most popular - moderate) Mount Scott trail (hard, 360 views of the surrounding area)