Lots of little side roads to get lost down. The area features many square miles of relative…read morehorizontality, interrupted by occasional sheer verticality. Place was settled by farmers in the early 20th Century - but many of them couldn't make a living there. The government bought the land and it's managed by the USFS now. Several campgrounds there - Skull Hollow is one of my favourites and a favourite for Smith Rock climbers.; Haystack Reservoir has a problem with mosquitoes. Lots of places to dry-camp. Several trails are in the Skull Hollow-Gray Butte Area, and there's one to the Rimrock Spring wetlands, right off Hiway 26. Much of the CRNG is good for cross-country hiking - junipers and grasses; not lots of dense vegetation. There's also a big chunk of the Grassland west of the Deschutes, that looks promising, but I haven't explored that yet... Along the rivers there are state and county parks sandwiched within the Grassland. The CRNG headquarters on southbound 97/26 shares a building with the Chamber of Commerce in Madras.

While roaming through the area we spotted the State Park on a map and decided to check it out. It…read morefeels like it's in the middle of nowhere as you drive in, and as a result when the lake and grounds come into view it has the feel of a real oasis. It's a beautiful drive in and gorgeous setting. The lakes are awesome, and clearly a lot of fun as the place was pretty packed last weekend. Lots of room to boat, paddle, hike, camp, and picnic. As we were just passing through we really only covered the park and surrounding areas via van, but we did stop in some shade to enjoy a picnic lunch. You definitely need to plan ahead and come prepared, as we didn't see any stores or gas in the immediate area. But it does look like a very serene place to spend a few days....especially if you like sun, as there wasn't a big supply of shade to be found. Lots of soaring birds and spectacular mountain views abound from the cliffs above the lakes. Beautiful high dessert oasis. :)

Nice campground well taken care of. Clean restrooms and showers. Tons of deer walking through the…read moresites at all hours. So cool to see these majestic creatures with no fear. No reception or cell service so you really are able to disconnect and relax. Beautiful golden hour sunsets and gorgeous sunrises.

I've come to and through the Reservation on trips of and on my whole life. There is Kahneeta the…read moreresort. There is a natural spa hot pool, spa and food, horseback riding... On the main road there is a small casino and a museum. There is a town with a park that has a food cart that is open when they think it will be busy (good food, Indian Tacos and fry bread). also there is a restaurant and mini market up the road. It the town, casino and museum area make nice stops on long drives east and home again.

If you're heading south to Cali, Crater Lake, Bend, or beyond, the route through Warm Springs…read moreIndian Reservation is a must-do. This is one of my favorite "long" drives ever, and I get to do it fairly often as I head to the environs of Mt. Bachelor to visit my multitude of siblings in the high desert of Central Oregon. Warm Springs Indian Reservation greets me with dense conifers at the 45th parallel as I descend the flanks of Mt. Hood. I gradually wind my way into open rangeland and the scent in the air transforms from evergreen to juniper and sage. Evidence of past wildfires makes itself immediately apparant; it is here that a huge one jumped the road, and left a wasteland of blackened stumps in its path. Before I have the chance to get bored by the seemingly never ending open range, I am met with spectacular canyons, carved for eons by water that seems much less prominent now than it once was. The temperatures rise precipitously here in summer; when my skin gets damp with sweat, I know I have arrived. In a hurry to get to my final destination, I rush past the Warm Springs Indian Museum, but I am told by friends that it is worth making a stop for--at least once, if not more. In the deepest part of the valley, the Deschutes River rises up to meet the road with fly fishing riffles and small rapids made for a fun float down river. The spectacular scenery isn't over; as my little car chugs back up out of the canyon, I eagerly anticipate the views to come: of Black Butte, Mt. Jefferson, the Three Sisters, Broken Top, Mt. Bachelor, and Smith Rock. For all these reasons and more, I love this drive and feel that it is something everyone would be thankful to see in their lifetime. The high desert may not be for you, but you cannot deny the grandeur of this awesome display of nature.

Sisters is a perfect little city, in my humble opinion. And one of the best things to do is just to…read morestroll... through art galleries, then grabbing a cup of coffee at Sisters Coffee House or an ice cream cone from BJ's True Old Fashioned Batch Ice Cream, then kicking back in this park. When the days are hot, and that is often in Central Oregon, this is always a nice shady spot. It connects Cascade Avenue and Ash Street and has a few wood carved benches, a public restroom and a small water feature with a glorious sculpture. As a nod to one of Sisters' biggest tourist attractions, the annual Quilt Show, there is a large mural on one wall with a series of colorful quilts blowing in the wind. The park is tiny but still manages to pack a punch. It is the location of the Sisters Farmer's Market on Friday nights in the summer, which has a good selection of vendors and usually some musical entertainment on the lawn. But, it is just a great place to take a moment and enjoy the area any day of the week. Essentially in the middle of it all, just the perfect place to catch your breath. The full name of the park is Harold & Dorothy Barclay Park, who were early residents and mill owners. I can't think of a nicer way to be remembered by my community.

When exploring a new town or city, I always am on the lookout for parks. We came upon this park…read morewhile visiting the town of Sisters,Oregon. This park offers plenty of picnic tables, a beautiful covered bridge that is built over the creek and lovely, tall mature trees. The grass is so green but that's Oregon for you. It is an extremely clean park. We stopped and had a snack and just enjoyed the sounds of the creek. We walked along the gravel path just taking in the views but then it began to drizzle so we had to take cover. I would definitely recommend and I hope I get to return here someday.

Really nice little park especially on those hot afternoons for kids and adults! Splash away!read more

Nice park! New bathrooms and clean facility with artistic flair. Splash pad is a nice edition. You…read morehave to step on the large raised blue disc to get the splash pad going, this can be tricky to figure out if it's not pointed out to you. Great stag with a rotating array of artists. Good / easy parking.

A beautiful park right here in downtown Bend. What seems so far away is within walking distance if…read moreyou are anywhere close to downtown Bend. Lots of space to throw a blanket and chill. You can put i. to float here as well.

Drake Park has a lovely walking trail as well as water access, restrooms, picnic tables and large…read moregrassy areas. There is alot of street parking (4 hour max). There were people floating on paddle boards, there could be some good fishing within as well as alot of crayfish. There are beautiful homes along the waterfront as well as some resturants and downtown access from the parkway.

Bring your binoculars! This is a hidden treasure well kept by the locals I'm sure! There are…read morestunning views everywhere you turn, so many picnic tables, and plenty of trees for shade at the top, there are restrooms, and the trail has different experience levels. It's a pretty beginner friendly hike going down to the first part and then from there, you can decide if you want to continue. You definitely need to be more experienced when you reach the sharper edges. There was a Ranger on site and I can honestly say I've never seen anyone do their job with such enthusiasm or efficiency in my entire life. I didn't even interact with them, but you could tell from every task they truly cared.

Love this State Park!…read more This place is a little gem amongst state parks. It's kind of in the middle of nowhere...wouldn't have come upon it most likely had the hubby not seen note of it on a waterfall blog. First impression, the grounds are pristine. Perfectly manicured grasses scattered with picnic tables. Restrooms...extremely clean. There's a decent amount of parking near the restrooms/upper falls, as well as some right off the highway. A genius idea really, they made a now ghostly, obsolete hydroelectric power plant into a park. You can hear the upper falls as soon as you pull up, running hard and fast right now! You get great views from the overlook at the end of the lot, which is very accessible to most anyone. From there you can take the trail down to peek into the rusty, old ruins of the plant, as well as further down to another smaller, but still impressive falls. Heads up though, the trail down is NOT accessible to everyone. The footing is loose and fairly steep. BUT, if you can at least get down to the overlook above the old building do it...the view of the upper falls from that point is extraordinary. Really a gorgeous falls, much more than I expected. Just a great park, I highly recommend a visit to this one!

Came here to see the balloon launch at night. Pretty cool experience. There were food trucks,…read moreinflatable jumpers, beers, and other activities for kids. The playground was a hit for my kids.

We visited Redmond for the day, with kids in tow, so we took them here to burn off some energy…read more They had a lot of fun. It's a newer playground with lots to do. They ran around for at least an hour, which was nice for me to then relax.

Really nice, well-maintained park with a lot of different options. There's a play structure for…read morelittle kids, a baseball diamond, a volleyball net, and a big grassy area to hang out or play. Plenty of picnic tables if you want to stay awhile. I liked that there's a water station for both people and dogs, which is super handy. A good amount of parking in the connected lot.

This is a cool playground we found at Sunriver. I'm surprised it wasn't listed on Yelp. My kids had…read morea blast and my husband and I even took our turns on the teeter totter and had an intense game of tetherball that took me back to the 6th grade. Good find! No public restroom, just two porta-potties. This is along one of the biking trails but there is also a parking lot.