One of the Best Parts of Bend Was Right Outside Our Hotel…read more While staying in downtown Bend, my family and I were looking for something outdoorsy and close by, and the Deschutes River Trail ended up being one of the highlights of our trip. What started as a casual morning walk quickly turned into a beautiful four-mile hike filled with rushing rapids, peaceful river bends, towering pine trees, and some incredible Central Oregon scenery. One of the best parts of this trail is how much the landscape changes as you go. At some points the river was calm enough for paddleboarders floating by, and at others the rapids were roaring against the rocks with serious energy and sound. The trail itself was also a nice mix. Some sections were smooth and paved, while others became a little more rugged with dirt paths, rocks, and small elevation changes that made the hike feel adventurous without being overly difficult. I would still consider this a very approachable hike for most people and fitness levels. We saw walkers, runners, families, and people out with their dogs enjoying the trail. Pro tip: bring water, especially on warmer days, because parts of the trail are fully exposed to the sun. Another thing I appreciated was how accessible this experience was from downtown Bend. We were able to walk straight from our hotel into what felt like a completely different environment surrounded by river, forest, and nature. We eventually wrapped up near the Old Mill District, which made for the perfect ending with shops, restaurants, and a chance to relax after the hike. Sometimes the best travel experiences are not the big tourist attractions, they are the simple moments outside on a trail reminding you why places like Bend are so special.

if you want to kill yourself, dont do it here, do it in a place with peace and quiet. watch out for…read moree bike kids who dont care about your physical well being

We'd been to the other falls along Conklin Rd but missed Lava Island so we stopped by Saturday…read moremorning to check it out. The road down to the trailhead is rough, but so were those to the other falls. There's a turn around and parking near the water, with a picnic area at the day use and restrooms at the ramp loop. Unfortunately the trash was majorly overflowing at the day use...instead of carrying out apparently lots of people chose to just pile their refuse and dog poop bags around the full trash can. Real bummer. Luckily a good citizen must've had a bag on them, and by the time we returned to our van someone had sacked much of it. Thank you! The trail along the water to the falls is very pretty. You can't actually see the falls without doing a bit of climbing around the lava rocks. The falls aren't anything spectacular here, especially compared to those further up the road/trail. But the river is still very pretty and the surrounding area peaceful and lovely.

Lava Island is one of the many day use hiking and walking areas in the Deschutes National Forest…read more Located quite near Bend, Lava Island is accessed via Dillon Falls Rd, which intersects the Cascade Lakes Highway right at the ranger station. Just past Widgi Creek golf course and Seventh Mountain Resort. The trailhead parking area is not far off Dillon Falls Rd. The area is so named because of the island formed in the middle of the Deschutes River by a lava flow. The river was diverted by the eruption and now flows on either side of the island. There seems to be no 'official' access to the island, I got over from the main trail using a fallen tree. Even if you don't cross over to the island (which is pretty cool), the trail - part of the Deschutes River Trail - from the trailhead north is very scenic and quite easy to walk. You can also go the other way on the trail towards Big Eddy and Dillon Falls. The north trail direction quickly takes you to Lava Island falls where the river splits around the island. You can also see the Arnold canal/trough, a hundred year old irrigation canal that siphons water from the river. Super convenient to Bend, super nice easy hiking.

The day we set out on our hike to Benham Falls, we started out by parking off the East trailhead…read more We then hiked the short distance (about 1/2 mile) to the Falls. Benham Falls actually look a lot more like large whitewater rapids than waterfalls; you'll encounter some spectacular views as you approach them :-) On the day we did this hike, we started out just before lunch. The trail was hot and dusty, but we still had a delightful hike. Tip: The hiking difficulty here is easy; beginning hikers and above won't have any trouble even when it's hot. The trail is fairly broad, so there's no problem with hikers and bicycles using it at the same time. Note that the West trailhead is so close to the falls that if you start out from there you'll basically be skilling the hike and just taking in the views and the Falls.

One of my favorite short hikes that my family and I have enjoyed for decades. Stunning views, safe…read moretrails, lots of hikers and cyclists, I feel safe here. One can make this a long hike, but I limit my hikes to an hour round trip--Benham Falls is the perfect weekend hike.

Kyle and I love to come to this lake in the summer. It's nice small lunch is always good at the…read morerestaurant.. Great little atmosphere!

It was a little smokey due to all the fires. The lake was nice and the scenery was peaceful &…read morebeautiful. Our family had a nice picnic & day. The kids loved seeing all the butterflies, dragonflies & frogs. We'll be back again.

River Rim is a small public park operated by the Bend Park and Recreation District. Of all the many…read moreparks in the BPRD portfolio, River Rim might be among the weirdest. It has absolutely no facilities other than a small parking lot and is accessed via a narrow right of way from the street. I'm guessing it was a compromise solution when the neighborhood got developed, perhaps because it is the last takeout on the river before you get to a gnarly stretch of rapids/falls downstream. It's not a great take-out point, though, at least in terms of getting your kayak up to your vehicle. River Rim also contains the southernmost segment of the Deschutes River Trail on this side of the river (the trail takes up again on the west side and heads towards Sunriver). It's a disconnected segment though, as there's no continuous connection north to where the DRT fully blossoms into a major in-town walking trail through Bend, and there's no bridge across the river to the west side here (there is renewed efforts to get a footbridge built somewhere around Good Dog on the west side). All in all, it's great that BPRD has this bit of land on the river but it's hardly a destination park. Perhaps one day it will be part of a continuous Sunriver - Tumalo Deschutes River Trail.

An absolutely amazing set of bike trails. We rented bikes at Pine mountain sports and brought them…read morehere. There were tons of beginners trails that were very well-maintained. I really liked that there were lots of one-way sections, as a beginner it was nice to know that no one was going to come around a corner right into my bike. There is also a ton of signage so I always knew where I was and how to get back to the main parking lot. I can't recommend checking this place out enough!!!!

Great place, clean and nice smelling toilets (if there can actually be something like that)…read more Love the pumper course and all the trails. My wife, son and I road well over a 100 miles while here for 5 days and loved it. Must ride up to lower whoops. Phil's trail is great for beginners (though it might test you in a few areas). Tyler's and funner are amazing as is tiddlywinks. We will back.

Miller's Landing was super busy when we went by. Quite alot of people enjoying the river and the…read moregrassy areas. We walked the trail up and over the bridge and down the other side of the park. They were hosting a river surfing competition on the rapids along with some vendors and food trucks on that side of the park. There was a live band performing in the park along side the food truck and the vendors. It was nice to be able to listen to the music while walking the river trail. The park is well maintained and well loved as quite alot of people were in the park when we visited. Beautiful park and a nice trail.

Truly such a wonderful place to rest and reset in Bend during the summer months. The water provides…read morea place to cool down and the plentiful amounts of grass provide a place to do some fun summer activities like hula hooping!

Nice view of the river and falls. Not very high but still beautiful. Would not recommend to lower…read morecars. I took a midsized car and encountered several locations that we bottomed out, muddy and or dusty area. Had porta potty at parking area. Near is addtional walking areas. Wear appropriate shoes since can be slippery. Area also looked like a tent camping place. No tents were in area. Possibly off season. Would like to return.

This is part of the Deschutes River System / Deschutes River Trail, which has its own listing…read more However, Dillon falls really deserves its own listing because there's parking nearby and you can treat it as a stand-alone destination. It's also listed on Google Maps as its own destination. The falls are glorious. This is a real gem of a spot. There's a couple of small parking lots nearby. It doesn't take long at all to walk to the falls - they are only a couple hundred feet away from the parking. There's also a bathroom that is maintained incredibly well. It's super clean. Check out the beautiful Ponderosa Pines on this land while you are on your way to the falls! The Deschutes River is incredibly beautiful. This spot is magical because above the falls it's quiet and serene. The falls themselves are loud and boisterous, a high energy feeling. Barely saw any people here. The few that I did see were walking dogs, fishing, etc. If you're looking for beautiful waterfalls to check out in the area, while Dillon isn't the biggest you've ever seen it's really pretty and worth the very short walk it takes to get there from the parking lot. Only downside... and it's non-negligible... the roads going in are amusingly atrocious. Like really really bad. I've never seen so many potholes in my whole life. I'm not docking any stars though, because it's still just so beautiful I don't care. Worth it anyway.

South Canyon Reach comprises the section of the river trail running on both sides of the river…read moresouth of the Reed Market Road Bridge. Note that the section including Riverbend and Farewell Bend Parks is in the Old Mill Reach. A loop trail of about three miles in length, South Canyon is an easy walk. Much of it is on developed gravel trail. A footbridge spans the river at the loop turn around point. Bikes are allowed on the section running along the east side of the river but not the west. There are connections to other trails on both sides. A cool feature is an outfall from a small Central Oregon Irrigation District hydropower plant. You'll see it on the east side where a boardwalk runs along the river.

I came here on a weekday afternoon to run, and the trail was awesome! It goes along the river, very…read morepeaceful and great views. Not too many people, and it has a one-way path due to covid I think. Lots of water, trees, great views.

This is one of the coolest paved bike paths in Bend. I started my journey here on the side of the…read moretrail over by Overturf Park. It started on a gravel road and passes by a dog park. The trail is pretty high in elevation like the name suggests. It has great views of Awbrey and Pilot Butte. It travels through neighborhoods and ends near Phil's trail complex. There are plenty of native habitats that surround this trail. Though there are houses and neighborhoods in the distance, there are some natural aspects of the surrounding ecology. The pavement on this trail is in pretty good condition and the path is wide enough that you really do not have problems passing others. This is a great trail for a bike ride or walk. I will be back again!