Every year, we return to this once small town in Central Oregon, for a trip, detour, or vacation. This town has had a special place in our hearts since first going in 2020 when we rented a van and traveled around Oregon with our friends. Though the town has grown into quite the larger city, and home prices have tripled, to us, it hasn’t changed in the slightest bit. But that might just be because we’ve done the exact same thing, every single time we’ve visited. And I don’t see that changing any time soon, well, because Bend, Oregon is quite literally our favorite place within the contiguous USA.
We look back on 2020, like most people, and think, “If I had only known what I know now, we should’ve moved here or bought a place here.” And in the four trips since then, we’ve said the same thing every time. What used to be affordable family homes close to the river and all the breweries, are now million dollar homes. But even with the sprawl of the city growing larger and larger, the reason we come for still hasn’t changed, so we’ll keep on coming back and dreaming of one day living here. Of course, I’m talking about the river, the breweries, the mountain biking, and of course the dog friendly culture they’ve perfected.
The routine that we’ve found ourselves in hasn’t changed on any of the visits to Bend. We go back to the same camping area in the Deschutes National Forest, just 5 miles from town, nestled amongst the fantastic mountain biking trails that are seemingly endless. After a good ride or trail run, we head into town to the riverbend park where we float down the 1.5 mile stretch of river, past the Old Mill District and Hayden Homes Amphitheater, down the white water rapids, and eventually meandering out to Drake Park. But that’s not the end of the day, but just the beginning. Because at the takeout, we deflate our SUPs or rafts, and then proceed to walk over to Bend Brewing Company or one of the other dozen breweries in downtown Bend, before slowly making our way back to the truck at the put-in. Depending on the day, we might make our way back into town again for more beer and dinner, or head back to camp to make hotdogs over the campfire.
It was on this last trip, as one stop on our month-long trip through Oregon and California in the summer of 2024 that we finally slowed down and spent a full week here. With slight deviations, we pretty much repeated that routine every single day, of course, taking place after work every day. But spending a week, living in the Deschutes National Forest, doing exactly what we wanted to every day, was quite a hard reality to wakeup from. After the stop in Bend, we had stellar spots planned like Crater Lake National Park, Redwoods National Park, and Lake Tahoe, yet, we still didn’t want to leave this place. Which had us coming back to, “Maybe the grass isn’t greener on the other side.” We knew that we could spend an entire month here, especially since we hadn’t even come close to scratching the surface of everything to do near Bend. We still had probably a hundred more miles of trails to explore, the cascade lakes to visit, countless mountains to still climb, and even a visit to Smith Rock was overdue.
Of course, I’m underselling what we are able to do every day in comparison to what can be done. The mountain biking trail network is so massive, and to be able to walk 100ft from camp and be on the interconnected trail system is hard to beat. The trails flow perfectly, making it the perfect option for a big mountain bike or even a gravel bike. One day after work I rode from camp all the way up to Mount Bachelor’s base area almost entirely on singletrack trails. And the river this year was perfection as we finally had two SUPs to make the time on the river much more enjoyable with a dog. Gregor is able to jump off and swim whenever he wants. Albeit, now it can get a bit annoying because he jumps off to swim every 4 minutes. As for the breweries, I find that there is a much better appreciation when the same handful of breweries stick around, making great quality beer, rather than when a new one pops up every year. Which is why, we absolutely love going back to Worthy, Bend Brewing, and 10 Barrel over and over again. Plus, they’re all super dog friendly, which makes a stop there effortless after an afternoon on the river.
I can’t forget, the main reason we picked this week to be in Bend, and that was for Courtney’s half marathon. Having been to Bend in previous summers for a race, Court picked the Alpine Solstice Half Marathon through the Deschutes National Forest. Just up the highway from where we camped, she and a hundred other runners headed out to make loops through the high alpine region of the forest, just below Mount Bachelor. Even with all the snow piles still hidden in shaded corners of the race course, the heat and sunshine was fully turned up to 11 during the race, but overall, she crushed it. Better yet, Gregor and I were able to meet her halfway on the course, cheering her, and all the other runners on as the passed by. And by cheering, Gregor also takes part in, because whenever anyone claps or gets excited, he barks to join in. Needless to say, it’s pretty funny when people are also dog people, otherwise it’s pretty embarrassing.
Leaving had us pretty torn, to be honest, thinking about what if the next places on the trip weren’t as good, or we were wasting our time? Well, I can tell you now, no, not a single other place we’ve visited on the rest of the trip, or since visiting Bend that very first time has topped the love we have for this place. And you might be thinking, “Then why do you go anywhere else?” And to that, I don’t have a good answer, especially since I am the type of person who finds one thing they love do or eat and won’t change for years. Maybe this is the only thing I gamble with, that feeling that maybe there’s another amazing place out there to visit, or maybe the sense of newness of a place can overcome it’s shortcomings in comparison to Bend? I don’t really know, but what I do know is that our week in Bend was amazing, and I can’t wait to get back there next summer to get on the river again and drink one of their amazing IPAs.
Hi there, my name is Zachary Kenney and I’m an adventure filmmaker & photographer. My passion is to tell stories that will hopefully motivate you to go live a more adventurous life. Whether that is to experience the view from the summit of a mountain, or wandering through a new town on a road trip. Currently based out of Park City, UT.
