Lava Butte sits above the trail of the molten lands. It is home to one of the first fire watch…read moretowers in the area and has a rim trail that circles the edge of the crater. It is a steep hike up to the fire watch tower and has an information center under neath the tower with information and history. There is a nice pathway. We were unable to do the rim trail as there was a huge lightning storm coming in. From the top you can see lava rock for miles from the eruption thousands of years ago.

This short 15-minute loop trail is located on the summit of Lava Butte. The 360-degree view of the…read moresurrounding countryside side was grand. It was worth the $3 shutter price to get to the summit. The active fire lookout station was closed to visitors.

Bend has a great many trails to walk and jog and this is one of the best. There are areas to launch…read morea personal non motorized watercraft and plenty of places to sit and watch the natural runs of the river. The Descutes river is so pretty. A great way to spend the day walking and enjoying the natural landscape.

The Deschutes River Trail runs a fair distance, including through the city of Bend. Lucky us - it's…read morea great resource virtually at our doorsteps. On Yelp, reviews for the trail are divided among the various 'reaches', or segments, located within and near the city. For a good overview of the whole trail system, see Chris C's review here: https://www.yelp.com/biz/deschutes-river-trail-system-bend Running from Pioneer Park/First Street rapids to Sawyer Park, the River Run reach is a fine urban trail popular among locals who live along and near its path (which includes me). We obviously can walk to the trail from home but there are parking areas at both ends, although quite limited. At Sawyer Park, you'll find a moderately-sized lot but that park is very popular (with good reason) and likely to have a full lot. At the south end, you'll find space set aside for three or four cars only. After that, it's street parking, which is plentiful. The trail runs right along a fairly placid yet still scenic section of the Deschutes, crossing Mt Washington Drive near the middle. There you will need to walk along the sidewalk a bit before proceeding. It also runs past the River's Edge Golf Course, and here's where I take issue with whatever urban planning went into this section of the trail. The third hole of the golf course is literally divided by the trail. The tee boxes are on one side, the fairway and green on the other. Golfers must hit their tee shots across the trail. For non-golfers, the tee box is where the initial shot of a hole is played, typically with a club meant to deliver the ball a good distance. But golfers are not all PGA pros - sometimes their shots go wild. I know mine do. Here, however, if you shank your tee shot to the left, you may well send your ball on a path directly along the trail. You may well hit someone on the trail. Needless to say, getting hit by a golf ball driven with great force off a tee is not pleasant and can be quite dangerous. Because the trail runs close to the tee box, there is little time to warn trail-goers of an errant missile coming their way. It may not even be a good idea to issue a warning. Yelling 'FORE', for example, may only cause unwary people to look towards the call, thus exposing their faces to the ball. Not everyone knows to cover up and hunker down when they hear that warning. The trail has signs advising people on the trail of the possibility for flying golf balls, but they are inadequate. The tee box is a bit hidden anyway and what are people supposed to do? Run as fast as they can through this section? Hold up shields? The signs are a joke, although better than none, I guess. I've played River's Edge Golf Course. The first time, I was horrified when I arrived at the third tee box. Seriously? You expect me to drive a golf ball over the heads of people on the trail? As it happens, Old Man Winter was still with us and there was no one on the trail, so I went ahead and hit the shot. The second time, too. However, on my third visit to the course, it was a pleasant day and there were people on the trail, including a group of one adult, two kids and a dog. I waited on the tee box for them to walk out of sight and with great trepidation, hit my shot. It went screaming to the left, directly up the trail towards them. I was horrified. It could possibly have hit someone and if I hadn't waited, I'd say there was a very good chance it would have. Plus, the golfer has no way of knowing if a runner or biker is coming down the trail towards them. You hit the shot and then there they are, exposed. It's unsafe and the golf course should be redesigned to make the third hole a par 3 or short 4 with the tee box on the same side of the trail as the fairway and the green. For myself, when I play River's Edge I've vowed not to take that tee shot. I'll just drop my ball at the beginning of the fairway and start from there. Other than that, this section of the Deschutes River Trail is awesome! Very scenic; very relaxing. And being a golfer, I know to listen for the sound of a club striking a ball and look the other way. You should do the same if you come here.

If you're looking for spectacular views of the Cascade Range, including all the way to Mt Hood, as…read morewell as views of Central Oregon east of Bend/La Pine, you could do a lot worse than the Bessie Butte Trail. With a short but somewhat steep round-trip distance of 1.5 miles, Bessie Butte is an easy, quick hike, perfect for a morning or afternoon jaunt. The trailhead is off NF-1810, which branches off to the south from China Hat Rd. From Knott Rd near the Hwy 97 junction, take China Hat south and drive maybe 4 - 5 miles. The turnoff for NF-1810 is unmarked but after you come abreast of the butte on China Hat, look for a road to the right. After turning onto the road, you'll see a sign for a horse farm. The trailhead is a few hundred yards on the right. Or, just check Google Maps. Bessie Butte Trail is also listed on the AllTrails app, which I recommend. No parking lot - just a wide spot in the road at the trailhead, which has a National Forest sign. As mentioned, the trail is moderately steep, gaining about 480 ft elevation in 3/4 mile. It's a dirt trail easily negotiated with normal walking shoes. You may find runners on the trail, as I did. Other than the great views, there's nothing on the trail except one rickety wooden bench at the top (seriously, be careful if you sit on it). But the views ...

This trail branches off of the north side of the Deschutes River Trail. It travels uphill into…read moreAwbrey Butte. The beginning of the trails travels upwards into a dry canyon. The canyon is filled with smaller pine and junipers trees. You can start to see the view of mt Jefferson and Hood as you climb up in altitude. Once you leave the dry canyon that the trails start off on you begin to cross a few roads. There are about four from my count until you reach Sylvan Park. Nearly each time the trail approaches the road, the trail on the other side of the road is to the left or the right. So you may want to give the Bend Parks and Rec map a look before hand. This trail will take you to two different parks. The first being Sylvan and the second being Summit Park. Both have tennis courts, picnic tables, and water fountains. But most of the fountains are shut off currently. Most of the trail is shaded and not too busy from the few times I have been on it. All in all, I would say if you are looking for a good uphill hike and a good view isn't a deal breaker, this trail would be a good alternative to Pilot Butte!

Tumalo Falls was an amazing adventure and one of the highlights of our trip. We chose the loop…read moretrail so we could see all of the waterfalls, and it was absolutely worth it. One of the most exciting parts was crossing the river several times. In some places there were bridges, and at one point we had to carefully balance across a log, which made the hike even more fun and memorable. We visited in April, and there was still a little snow on the trail. The weather was beautiful, but I would recommend bringing traction spikes if conditions are slippery and hiking poles for extra stability. The waterfalls were spectacular, and the scenery along the trail was breathtaking. It was a perfect mix of adventure and natural beauty. I'm sure I'll return one day with my kids to experience it all again.

It's been awhile since my last stay here. We love the yurts here. Easy access, they have heat, a…read morecouple of tables and beds, and it's comfortable. The fire pits are nice to but they cemented the bottom of them. They need to have more holes for air flow. Still I'm grateful to have those. Love the river trail as well. So beautiful! It's been awhile since we've been here. No snow this time but that's ok. Still peaceful and beautiful and not far at all from Bend.

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.

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.

I think I walk this trail 3-5 times a week! It is the best trail to chill out or walk your dog. You…read morestay within city limits but escape the noise and busyness of it all! First off. NO SWIMMING IN THE CANAL. I am not an expert but I think that might be drinking water??? Someone fact check me. Also all of the bridges are blocked underneath so if a lonely tourist decides to try and float the canal. They will get stuck under a bridge and no one will see or hear them again. Ominous right? But don't do it. Otherwise, very very lovely trail and I enjoy it immensely.

An in-town walking trail running from about the intersection of Reed Market and American to the…read morewest side of the parkway south of Blakely Park, the Central Oregon Historic Canal Trail (also referred to as the Central Oregon Canal Trail but the trail markers include the word 'Historic') is one of the many maintained by Bend Parks and Recreation. As such, it connects (or comes close to connecting) to other trails - the Larkspur Trail on the east side, and the Deschutes River Trail to the west. The trail is improved gravel and affords easy walking. With several inches of loose gravel in some areas, I'd say it isn't the best biking trail but maybe some like it for that anyway. One of the great features is an underpass that gets you across the parkway without dealing with the parkway itself. One of the drawbacks to the trail is that it runs alongside or near Reed Market for a good ways and that means traffic noise.