My wife and I moved to Oregon last year but had not been the to the Central OR tourist town of Bend yet so we did a late summer mid-week trip to check it out. The 3.5 hour drive to Bend included a boring stretch of I-5 from Tigard to Salem and a scenic 120+ miles through mountains and alongside rivers, creeks, and lakes via OR-22 and US-20. I would not want to do that drive during the winter, but it would be a pleasant way to go during other times of the year.
Bend is described as breathtaking in marketing blurbs. The area around Bend may be breathtaking, but it's not a term I would use once you are in the town itself. The term I would use is walkable. There is a high concentration of shops, restaurants and breweries in the downtown area. Most are within a ten minute walk. Plus there are pathways and parks along the Deschutes River. As I mistakenly found out, there is no reason to walk all the way to the Old Mill District as it really is just an outdoor mall with big box stores and chain restaurants.
Bend sits at 3,623 feet above sea level. This arid high desert climate is at just enough altitude to experience the effects of thin air. I normally wouldn't give this a second thought but the massive 23,000 acre Flat Fire was burning not far away in Sisters OR which made the air quality unhealthy. With daytime temps hitting 90 degrees plus unremitting sunshine, we weren't really motivated to do any of the outdoor activities that Bend is known for. Like I said, the town itself is walkable. The place we stayed had its own parking spot so once we parked we didn't have to move the car again for two days. Our main outdoor activity involved walking from one place to another! Consumer, consumer.
Bend did live up to some of its stereotypes. For example, there is a high concentration of tall, skinny, outdoorsy types who look like they just walked out of a Patagonia, Stio, or Carhartt catalog. These folks procreate so you can expect their blonde-haired 2.5 kids to be running wild at any brewery or restaurant you go to that isn't 21 and up. I don't think it was quite as bad as usual though since we were there mid-week when kids are supposed to be back in school.
Here are some places worth mentioning:
Jackson's Corner - a nice spot for breakfast, coffee or lunch in Old Bend. An excellent BLT sandwich.
The Cellar - kind of like a basement speakeasy with a British pub theme. Featuring cask-conditioned ESB, red ale and porter from Porter Brewing Company in Redmond, and imported Kilkenny, Guinness and Old Speckled Hen on nitro. They have old-time Appalachian fiddle-style music on Wednesdays and an Irish session on Thursdays!
Spider City Brewing Downtown Tasting Room - a smaller, quiet space offering beer and wine.
McMenamins Old St. Francis School Hotel - another one of the sprawling McMenamins properties that can be found throughout and Oregon and Washington. There's nothing else like it in Bend. See if you can find the hidden Broom Closet Bar!
Dudley's Bookshop Cafe - a two-story book store with a mix of new and used books. I always like going into bookstores while traveling and Dudley's was a pretty good one.
Pine Tavern and Bend Brewing Company - both of these places have outdoor areas along Mirror Pond, an impoundment of the Deschutes River. Both are better than you might expect them to be.
Mirror Pond, Drake Park and the Deschutes River Trail - Bend has made good use of its location along the Deschutes River by having green spaces and walking paths. Not much shade though!
Thai restaurants - Bend is not known for its diversity, but it does seem to have a different Thai restaurant on each block. What's up with that?
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| Cool poster in McMenamins Art House |
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| River walk in Bend, OR |
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| Our place had a welcoming courtyard |
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| Tin Pan Alley in Bend |
Was it worth the visit? Yes, although it's no match for the Oregon coast.
Would I go back to Bend? Maybe for a concert at the Hayden Homes Amphitheatre just across the river from downtown.
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