Just 20 minutes east of town is one of the most underrated peaks in Central Oregon. Pine Mountain is a forest oasis out on Highway 20 that has an awesome observatory, great camping, world class paragliding and hang gliding. I used to drive out here with friends to go shooting and cave exploring and thought nothing of it for years. At first glance, you might think it's just another butte with rocks and trees. But after a few different trips, I discovered the observatory and a ton of flying paragliders. When we saw the paragliders we had to stop and ask the pilots about their hobby and why Pine Mountain. Apparently, there is some kind of wind phenomenon called "Glass Off" out there. I was lucky enough to work on some video projects with them and fly up to experience it.This phenomenon brings in paragliders from all over the world to this spot. Once a year the pilots will get together and have a festival called the "Pine Mountain Fly In" There must have been about 50 paragliders in the sky the first night I checked this event out. The Observatory is something that I have only experienced from a distance and yet to check out. But I hope to visit before summer is over. Overall this mountain is often overlooked when people plan their trip in Central Oregon which is perfectly fine by me. If you have the time and live in Bend. You really need to head over and check out Pine Mountain! read more

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