Bend is an awesome adventure town on the Deschutes River in Central Oregon!
Bend Tips:
Bend is a pretty small city, but I would recommend visiting with a car to allow you to get into the nearby forest, lakes, and volcanoes. I would say 3 days is the ideal amount of time to visit since it is pretty small, but you could also spend plenty of time exploring the plethora of nature-filled activities in the area.
The climate of the city itself is pretty dry and desert-like, which I personally was not expecting. It can be hot, dry, and dusty.
The Bend Ale Trail is a super fun way to explore the brew scene in town. Download the app or pick up a paper passport to log your stops and receive all kinds of fun prizes! It also includes wineries, cideries, and distilleries if you want to explore more than just the beer scene!
Overall Bend is pretty sleepy, during the week most things close at 9pm.
Adventures & Ales Top Bend Recommendations:
The Ale Apothecary: A fantastic brewery that has all spontaneously fermented and barrel aged beers! The beers are absolutely delicious and this is a must visit. Ale Apothecary has a small taproom and patio with limited hours so make sure to plan ahead for your visit!
GoodLife Brewing is also right next door!
Canoe & Brew! I partnered with Wanderlust Tours to take a canoe trip out on the Cascade Lakes. The drive out to the lakes is about 40 minutes and it is a gorgeous ride through the forest. We canoed on Hosmer Lake and then stopped in the marsh to enjoy some beers from Cascade Lakes Brewing.
Bevel Craft Brewing: A nice brewery with a great outdoor space and food trucks onsite! Fun fact—the owners are professional disc golfers with seven professional world championship titles between the two of them!
Waypoint Hotel: I loved my stay at The Waypoint Hotel! Some of my favorite parts were that you can walk into town, they have a nice hot tub/pool, they a food truck onsite, they have local beers on tap, they have a nice little outside seating area with a fire pit, and the rooms are beautiful! I definitely recommend staying at The Waypoint Hotel for your Bend visit!
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The Ale Apothecary
Wild Roots Coffee House: A cute little coffee shop on the edge of town with delicious Sparrow Bakery pastries
Boss Rambler Beer Club: A great brewery in a snazzy space! Their Hazy IPAs are particularly delicious and they also have slushees. Their outdoor space is super cute and very welcoming. Boss Rambler is directly next to Sunriver Brewing and also has Megaphone Coffee inside.
Crosscut Warming Hut No. 5: A great beer bar with food trucks out back, a nice patio, a fire pit, and a plethora of local beers to choose from.
Crux Fermentation Project: A popular brewery with a large outdoor space and food trucks onsite. The infamous El Sancho taco truck is housed here so be sure to go hungry.
Canoe & Brew
Bend Tourist Spots Actually Worth Visiting:
Hike Tumalo Falls & Double Falls: Tumalo Falls is definitely one of the most popular sites in the Bend area because you don’t have to hike to see this huge waterfall and it is super close to town. It is very busy and parking can be difficult. Be sure to grab the $5 parking pass on your way in, there is a machine as you get close to the trailhead. Tumalo Falls you can see from the parking area or from another viewpoint higher up. From there the trail to Double Falls is much less crowded. I did this trail on AllTrails which ended up taking an hour and was 2.5 miles long and 28 flights up. The trail also continues further to more waterfalls if you have more time/energy to explore! Overall this was an easy and beautiful hike.
Hike the Matthieu Lakes Trail: This trailhead is about 45 minutes from town and says the Lava Camp Trail. The first portion of the trail was quite buggy (highly recommend bug spray) and boring in my opinion, but once you get to through that to the lakes it is much nicer. From South Matthieu Lake you can see the North Sister Volcano and then on your way down you’ll walk along a ridge with nice views of the entire Three Sisters Wilderness. I did this trail from AllTrails that ended up being about 2 hours and 20 minutes, 6.2 miles, and 62 flights up. As a heads up you are supposed to have the $5 day pass to park at the trailhead.
Float the Deschutes River! This is a super popular activity and perfect for the hot summer months. Here is more information on how to float!
Double Falls
Other Bend Things To Do:
Sunriver Brewing Co.: A restaurant-style brewery with average beers located in the heart of the Galveston neighborhood. Sunriver has a full food menu and a small back patio.
Backporch Coffee Roasters: Another cute coffee shop with Sparrow Bakery goods
Immersion Brewing: A brewery with average beers and a full food menu. Located directly across the street from the beer bar Crosscut.
Bend Brewing: A touristy brewery with a full food menu and average beers. They have a nice seating area along the river that is beer-only.
Monkless Belgian Ales: A Belgian-style brewery with food and views of the river. Personally I had a terrible experience at Monkless and I would not recommend visiting. The beers were not good, the food was not good, and the service was terrible.
Have more time in the Pacific Northwest?
Drive up to Portland! This beer mecca is about 3 hours north of Bend and full of fantastic spots to check out! Here is my full beer and travel guide for Portland!
Explore the Columbia River Gorge! This gorgeous area is about 2.5 hours from Bend and has some fantastic hikes and breweries. Here are all of my recommendations for the Columbia River Gorge!
Take a trip to the beautiful Oregon Coast! Check out my one day Oregon Coast itinerary and recommendations here!
Drive up to Seattle, Washington! Full beer & travel guide coming soon!
Drive a bit further north to Vancouver, BC! Vancouver is one of my favorite cities I’ve visited, check out my full beer and travel guide here!
