We decided that this week we would explore the Deschutes Historical Museum as part of our weekly…read moreexploration adventure. We were not disappointed! Parking was easy. There is a parking lot at the museum, plus there is street parking. The museum is contained in a 100+ year old schoolhouse. The small gift shop has several books that we want to add to our collection thereby ensuring that we will return multiple times. We spent about an hour and a half studying the exhibits and did not see everything. For me the most interesting part was the railroad contribution to the logging industry. Next time I want to spend more time in the bicycle exhibit. Before we left, we had an interesting conversation with the friendly and helpful museum staff. This is a great place to learn about early Bend history.

Museums will almost always get a high rating from me, so take that as a caveat to the 5 stars…read more For a small to medium-sized museum, DHM packs in quite a lot of stuff. From historical artifacts and memorabilia of the area's early days to photo exhibitions curated by COCC, there's plenty to see. And quite reasonably priced. My only ding is that many of the items/photos lacked an explanatory label where one was desperately needed. They have a small gift shop. They have a dedicated parking lot and there's plenty of street/city parking nearby (usually).

The Tower is a Bend institution and it's kind of fun seeing the iconic tower rising skyward in…read morevintage photos of downtown. Inside, you'll find the theater holds its own as a city treasure. It's a pleasure just to be in the building. But you're there to see an event, right? Tower's music and lecture calendar is always packed with interesting events and the prices are reasonable. - Snacks and beer/wine are available. - Acoustics are good. - Seats are comfortable although they do lack cup holders. - People running the place are unfailingly courteous and personable. The Tower exemplifies the notion of 'Bend friendly.'

This is a very nice venue.It is a old fixed up theatre with a balcony.Their are no lousy seats…read morehere.I have seen quite a few rock concerts here and the sound is amazing.All the people who work there are very nice too.I think it is one of the best places in Bend to see music.

We had a terrible guide & no real tour, apparently something has changed since prior trips. We paid…read moreessentially for a 2 hr bike rental around Bend with no information of use from our "guide." Our friend had done 2 prior tours with Scott as tour guide & said they were fabulous. Sadly, he was NOT our tour guide & if you are the owner, you should know that your new "guide" needs some help on how to give a tour.

Did the short and sweet tour with Scott. Had a blast and learned a lot. Highly recommend doing this…read moretour as soon as you get to Bend!

Gayle and I were out walking during our only morning in Bend. We started Downtown at Drake Park…read moreand Mirror Pond and walked counter clockwise past Brooks Park, through some beautiful neighbourhood homes, onward to Pageant Park, and back. It was a fine morning to be out and about. I'm a sucker for historical points-of-interest and at Brooks Park (and overlooking the water of course) is the Bend Heroes Memorial. It's small, it was built with great car and love, and it left an impression. It was dedicated Veteran's Day 2009 and honors the men and women of Bend who have served, are serving, and will serve to defend our freedom during times of peace and war. My favourite part of this plaza is the statue of the little boy holding a folded US flag.

SATURDAY APRIL 18, 2015 A Purple Heart City memorial will be added here too!!!!!!…read moreFree at 10:30 am

On my first visit to Bend, I saw a little bit about the Bend Ale Trail but realized it was too much…read moreto work on that trip. I had a visited a bunch of breweries, but not all in any one region. For my most recent trip, I purposely tried to complete what I could. The Bend Ale Trail is a sponsored by the Bend tourism authority where you get stamps for each brewery visited either digitally or in a free passport book. I read there were prizes and artwork associated with each, so it made sense all of this was done out of the Visit Bend Oregon visitors center right downtown. It's easy to find, just a few blocks away from the river. They have mostly daily hours, making it convenient to drop in. If you're a first timer to the area, I recommend coming here on your first days, as they have a ton of free literature about the area including maps, activities, coupons, etc. They also have areas to sit, have pictures taken, plus advice and planning from the people who work here. I had mixed interactions with the people working here, but none were negative. Back to the Ale Trail - it's free to do, and worth your time if you're already visiting all the excellent breweries in the area. As you complete each of the seven regions, you bring in your passport and show it to receive a tasting glass and matching sticker with the key art. Once you complete all seven glasses, you get a matching wooden flight paddle! Even better, if you have a designated driver they can complete it too; but they'll earn a free branded Hydro Flask, another famous company headquartered in Bend. If you're visiting, it's worth stopping here to help plan your trip!

We came, we saw, we conquered the Bend Ale Trail. 16 breweries in three days sounds like a lot but…read moremy pretty designated driver and myself were up to the challenge. You can either grab a map at any of the participating breweries or download their app. I recommend you do both. The map as a souvenir and use the app to redeem for your rewards. The app is also very helpful in navigating the area and figuring out a course of action as you move from brewery to brewery. We of course started with the best beer in Bend at Boneyard. The Deschutes tour is another must. Crux makes some damn fine beer as well. I noticed for the most part, all the breweries in Bend are also restaurants as well. I prefer to keep my restaurants and taprooms separate so there's several breweries that I would have skipped if it weren't for the quest to visit all of them before we left town. The only negative to the whole thing was that 2 of the 16 breweries are about 20 miles away so you'll have to do some driving whether you want to or not. Since they're not in Bend, I'm not sure why they're included on the trail. Bridge 99 would have been a better choice to be included on the trail. The bottle opener and Silipint that you get from the Bend visitor's center for completing your passport are actually pretty neat and not throw away trinkets. The memories will certainly last a lifetime but it's always nice to get a little bit of schwag as well.

After a lovely walk along the river, we stumbled into the area and discovered Red Chair Gallery…read more The artist there (wish I could remember her name) was so pleasant about inviting questions and sharing what she knew of the others' art. All kinds of interesting things in there. I did like her work, but something about this bunny by another artist called to me. The sweet lady must have spent half an hour playing with different combinations of boxes and bubble wrap to make sure it'd be safe for my walk back and subsequent trip in the suitcase home to San Diego. "River Rabbit" now oversees our living room. An interesting shop that we'll peruse again the next time we have reason to be in Bend.

Really cool spot to check out, their art is amazing! They are following the covid rules and are…read moresuper happy you stopped in. Very nice folks work here, recommend

Pretty little park on the side of the ever. Some nice views and a decent sized green space too. The…read moreplayground is for smaller kids in my opinion, as if they're over 7 it may be slightly bored. The park itself is nice with nice views and a lot of space.

Kids had a blast! Well kept and lots of people throughout the hour or two we were there. The grass…read morewas nice and green and the fact that is on the river front makes for an very relaxing surreal experience with the ss minnow and the awesome swings that can go higher than the tree tops if you ain't careful... I recommend it to anyone looking for a quick hit of child like running and yelling and jumping and ducking and just all around acting like a 4 year old high on pixie sticks and capriSun 100% Pure Juice!