July 15Jul 15 Headed to Bend for 6 days Thursday. Top restaurants (looks like a ton of great ones), hikes nearby or other day trips recommended? One day planned to crater lake and do the rim drive but that is all that is “scheduled” for now. Thanks.
July 15Jul 15 Rent some paddle boards and pick a lake on the Cascade Lakes Highway(not the reservoirs, the lakes) most have great sandy beach day use areas. Beach chairs, some lunch and a few beers is a great relaxing day.
July 15Jul 15 3 hours ago, txduck87 said: Headed to Bend for 6 days Thursday. Top restaurants (looks like a ton of great ones), hikes nearby or other day trips recommended? One day planned to crater lake and do the rim drive but that is all that is “scheduled” for now. Thanks. Countless good beer options, including 10 Barrell, Bend Brewing, Immersion, and Deschutes. Blissful Spoon is a good meal.
July 15Jul 15 If you like Thai food, this is your spot! Some of the best thai meals Ive ever had...https://www.wildrosethai.com/
July 15Jul 15 Bend Brewing is classic. I like Crux Fermentation Brewpub. Brook Closet is a cool tiny bar in the McMenamin’s Hotel.
July 15Jul 15 Haven't been there myself, but I recall a friend of a friend raving about the scenery, hiking, and rock climbing in Smith Rock State Park, which is about 30 miles north of Bend.
July 16Jul 16 7 hours ago, Incredulity said: Meth labs got priced out of Bend about a decade ago. that might be accurate. My experience with that part of the world ended about 15 years ago. And I'm happy to never go back.
July 16Jul 16 7 hours ago, Carl Spackler said: Haven't been there myself, but I recall a friend of a friend raving about the scenery, hiking, and rock climbing in Smith Rock State Park, which is about 30 miles north of Bend. Yes, Smith Rock is great (maybe too hot right now?). My AllTrails notes are not great but we liked Green Lakes and Tumalo Falls hikes.
July 16Jul 16 What's it like there weather-wise in late September? Looking for a trip sometime that fall. Was thinking about Tahoe, but was there in late August last year and it actually snowed and was cold all weekend.
July 16Jul 16 Keep in mind that parts of the Rim drive at Crater Lake are closed for construction. NPS websites have sucked since January 2025 so you might want to call the Ranger Station there and find out what i going on. Plus, you're going to spend 4 hours roundtrip on the drive down and back
July 18Jul 18 We go to Bend just about every other summer so here are a few things. Deschutes river trail, concerts in the old mill amphitheater, floating/padleboarding the river, hike black butte (on a clear day you can see all the major peaks of the cascades from the top), so many breweries (Crux, Boneyard, 10barrel, and Dechutes are the main ones we frequent), drive out to Mt. Bachelor, white water rafting (Big Eddy is pretty easy and kid friendly depending on age), just be outside
July 18Jul 18 On 7/16/2025 at 6:28 AM, ftf82 said: What's it like there weather-wise in late September Sublime. Weather will be great till sometime in mid-OCT.
July 18Jul 18 High is supposed to be 80 on Monday. Sweet, as long as the large fire near Madras doesn’t blow smoke south toward Bend. If Bend does get smoky, I’d head to higher elevations with presumably clearer air like the Cascade Lakes. Edited July 18Jul 18 by Degenerate Gardner
July 18Jul 18 On 7/16/2025 at 6:28 AM, ftf82 said: What's it like there weather-wise in late September? Looking for a trip sometime that fall. Was thinking about Tahoe, but was there in late August last year and it actually snowed and was cold all weekend. Late September will probably be shoulder season. Hopefully fires will have died out by then too and smoke abated.
July 21Jul 21 Just got back from a week in Bend yesterday. Book-ended by a few days in Portland. Hiked in Three Sisters Wilderness Area: Moraine Lake (out past Mt. Bachelor), Matthieu Lakes (near the town of sisters). Beautiful, sublime, alpine lakes. Hardly anybody around. Lakes were swimmable, but nut-cutting cold. Tubed on the river through town. Grew up tubing all over the Hill Country, so that was meh, but daughter and her friend enjoyed it. Lots of fine ass paddleboarding around. Beer is prohibited on the river and the river trail through town, but lots of people were drinking openly while tubing without any hassle. The river trail is a great place to run or walk in the mornings or evenings. Everybody has a dog and a tattoo. Its fire season, so there will be fires somewhere. We had one day of smoke in Bend. Could of been worse, kind of a crap shot if you have fires large or close enough to fuck up the air. Drove right by fires both coming from and going to Portland that were large enough to call out the helicopters and superscoopers. Those planes are badass: Highs were in the 80s, but didn't get that hot until later in the day. Lows were in the 50s. not a foodie, but wife picked out one fancy restaraunt: Bosa (Italian). I thought it was fine. Wife loved it.
July 21Jul 21 I’ve only been to Bend once. Had a fantastic halibut sandwich somewhere that someone on this site or shaggy recommended but I can’t remember what it was called. Generally I found the scenery to be beautiful but the people there were the fucking worst. YMMV
July 22Jul 22 Author Go to the last Blockbuster Video store.Done. Here this week. Absolutely love it here. Will post specifics when return but this town/region has made our top 5 retirement destinations which we are deciding on in next 18 months.
July 22Jul 22 Author I’ve only been to Bend once. Had a fantastic halibut sandwich somewhere that someone on this site or shaggy recommended but I can’t remember what it was called. Generally I found the scenery to be beautiful but the people there were the fucking worst. YMMVMan, we have had a very different experience here this past week with people . Everyone we met has been incredibly nice and welcoming . And the scenery is indeed stunning.
July 22Jul 22 Done. Here this week. Absolutely love it here. Will post specifics when return but this town/region has made our top 5 retirement destinations which we are deciding on in next 18 months. Bend and Poulsbo, Wa are on my list.
July 22Jul 22 Re retiring in Bend: Cold snowy winters. Some people would not like the winters, my wife being one of them. Summer fire season. One day of the 7 we were there was chokingly smoky. We didn't leave our room pretty much the entire day until about 7 pm for dinner. There are days like this every year, some years more than others. (I think its only a matter of time before there is a major urban wildfire, a la Hawaii or Paradise, in Bend's or the surrounding area's future). The people around there are nice, but they do not like Texans (and Californians.)
July 22Jul 22 8 hours ago, shnsajax said: Bend and Poulsbo, Wa are on my list. Poulsbo gets you close to Port Townsend, Sequim and Vancouver Island as well. Plus the whole Olympic National Park thing.
July 23Jul 23 Poulsbo gets you close to Port Townsend, Sequim and Vancouver Island as well. Plus the whole Olympic National Park thing. Did Port Townsend in 2021 and thinking of going back to that area next summer. Happened to be during a freak heat wave which kind of made things suck since almost no one has AC up there.
July 24Jul 24 Will be out there as well next month. Anyone have any recs on the drive from Eugene to Bend, places to stop/sights to see? I believe there are 2 routes from Eugene and one is quite shorter.
July 24Jul 24 Hazard, indeed. Quote Oregon authorities on Tuesday identified two people who died in a fatal waterfall accident as search operations continued for the one person who remains missing. The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office said the victims include Amanda Lloyd, 40, of Rockwall, Texas; and Lindsay Bashan, 33, of Parkland, Florida. Lloyd had just turned 40 on July 16. The accident happened Saturday afternoon when a group was swept over Dillon Falls on the Deschutes River, about 10 miles from the city of Bend. Authorities describe it as a dangerous section of the river, featuring 15-foot falls and whitewater rapids obstructed by rocks, logs and other debris. The six people were floating on inner tubes tied together, the sheriff's office said. The three people who survived jumped from their inner tubes and made it to shore, while the other three were swept into the rapids. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/women-killed-oregon-waterfall-identified-search/
July 31Jul 31 I recently visited Bend, Oregon, and was blown away by the mix of great food spots and scenic views! While exploring the local dining scene, I couldn’t help but wish there was a Shake Shack in town. I always like checking the Shake Shack Menu With Prices ahead of time so I know what to order—those burgers and shakes are hard to beat. Hopefully, they open a location in Bend someday!
July 31Jul 31 I did not realize until today that the chief marketing officer of Shake Shack is jordanwell456.
August 1Aug 1 Bend was our favorite weekend getaway when we lived in Portland. It’s been over 20 years since we were there and before the Cali invasion. But Deschutes Black Butte Porter there at the brewery was my favorite beer in my life.
August 1Aug 1 Agreed. I would eat McDonald’s or burger king over shake shack. Talk about an overhyped New York export.
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