On a Sunday morning, after exploring Bend and attending a concert the night before, my husband and…read moreI decided that we wanted to float the Deschutes River. Luckily, we managed to do a walk-up appointment and get our tubes for floating. They do offer online reservations, more than 24 hours in advance, but they had plenty of inner tubes so a reservation was not needed that particular day. From start to finish, they made the entire process extremely easy and seamless. From being able to park your car and get a ride with your inner tube to the drop off point and then being picked back up by the shuttle and returned to the parking lot, and everything in between. They provided us with a good safety briefing as well as the opportunity to leave our car keys since I had not thought about bringing a waterproof pouch. For just about $30 per person, it was well worth the experience and took us about two hours, but we did stop after the rapids and spend some time just swimming before continuing on. If you are a local or just visiting the Bend area, I cannot recommend floating the river enough.

Meh. I thought the price was fair for the tubing experience, but they could provide such…read morebetter...several things, for customer enjoyment. (I've done the tube float down the Virgin River at Zion, and canoed and rafted countless rivers and lakes, several guided, some private.) The outhouses were full and needed to be serviced. So gross. We were there on a Sunday morning; perhaps yesterday was super busy?! Ew. Nobody offered to keep our keys. This is weird to me. Every raft/tube outfitter I've ever gone with has checked our keys for us. The tubes worked well and were fine. They're backless, though. Nicer models with backs and cup holders are so much better. The tip prompts are obnoxious. I paid for a service. Tipping is for people who go above and beyond. When I pay for a float, I shouldn't have a tip option presented right at booking. Weird. Then the driver also has a personal Venmo QR code on the bus. The only way I'd consider tipping is if I was personally fitted into a pfd, the driver handed me a water bottle or a slice of watermelon or something after the float, etc. They literally did nothing but hand us a life jacket, tell us where to get out of the river, and drive us to and from. They've been having issues with people missing the take out at Drake Park. We did see an employee on a kayak paddle out to help someone come in (she should tip him!), but otherwise there is no sign or anything, so if you're not paying attention you absolutely could miss it. To compare directly, on the Virgin River, an employee was standing IN the river, ready to help us, a huge sign was present, and another employee was on the shore to help carry tubes back to the trailer. Surely the city of Bend would allow them to erect a sign, even if only during business hours?! Or stack some of the orange tubes on the shore so floaters can see them clearly.

This fitness center probably makes fives times as much money as any other gym in bend. They charge…read more65-75$ a month. All the gym products are old and falling apart. The locker rooms are absolutely disgusting by the end of the day. They don't have male cleaners here. That means no one is cleaning the men's locker rooms all day. The classes posted on the doors don't match up to the classes online. They do not turn on the heat in the hallways. You go from the sauna to a freezing cold hallway. Feels like you're gonna get sick. This gym is basically a daycare center mixed with an old people's home. They are always having events and closing the pools. They close early without notice and the hours here are horrible. There are homeless people lurking in the parking lots and come into use the facilities. Things get stolen as well. I cannot wait for there to be real adult fitness club in bend. Because juniper is garbage.

So many pools to choose from! Sauna, Hot tub, and no cold plunge but a cold shower. I wish there…read morewas a cold plunge. Barb D.'s restorative yoga class is amazing. Go at least ten min early though it fills up. I like the home made granola bars at the desk snacks. Also the lap swim is great. Both 25 and 50 meters. I think 25 is easier and allows more swimmers to have their own lanes but they switch it up. I'm thin and the outdoor pool is a few degrees too cold for me. I'm uploading pictures of the indoor pools only which are great temperatures.

This hike hit all the spots. Easy to get to from downtown. You get a nice river view. You get a…read morebridge. You get trees. You get sunlight if the weather is cooperating. You get a small park/playground area at one point and you get rocks and trees and nature and a few homes to look at too. Easy 3.5 miles walk around.

The Deschutes River Trail is super cool because you can walk, jog, or hike as far as you want…read more There are intermittent bridges where you can cross at different points. The landscape is beautiful because of all the shrubs with berries or the pretty flowering plants. The water in September is clean and clear. I didn't see any fish, but there were a few birds resting by the water banks. I liked that there were poles markers at different points showing the distance and a small map of the whole trail.

We visited this large outdoor sports complex a few miles outside of Bend for a summer sports…read moretournament. I was impressed by the number of grass sports fields and facilities and was particularly pleased that it included a large off-leash dog park. At this location there is also a BMX park, playground and a few covered areas for picnics. It is a couple miles from restaurants and other businesses, so make sure you bring everything you need with you. I didn't see any seasonal or permanent concession stands, so you definitely need to plan ahead.

Great facility that I have been visiting for several years now. I've got both lacrosse and soccer…read moreplayers here. Nice, clean, well-marked and maintained fields. Plenty of parking. Walkable to all the fields. Restrooms are consistently clean. They do a god job keeping the games on schedule. Like previous reviews, no food, so plan ahead.

I love the vibe here. Cute & eclectic. Beautiful outside area with a comfy area inside the…read moreoutfitter bar. Bartender Zach is so charismatic & makes sure you're taken care of! Laid back & homey.

Came here with a family of 7 so we got our own boat but 1 person sat in the middle seat and didn't…read morerow. She didnt want to row so she was fine with that. The overall trip was fun but not the best I've done. We did a class 3 rapids and the beginning of the rapids was slow as in it took some time to get into the rapids. It was fine because our guide was nice and telling us about the surrounding lava rock. The guide was great at telling us what to do. He let people ride the bull and jump into the water if they wanted. I'm so glad we did this as a family activity.

According to the Bend Parks & Recreation website, Bend has three city-owned parks with tennis…read morecourts, and two of them are in the high rent neighborhood of Awbrey Butte (Sylvan Park is the other one on the butte, with Juniper hosting the sole non-Awbrey city courts). Not sure what to think about that other than I don't much like it. Anyhoo, Summit is a small, highly manicured bit of green space that indeed sports two new tennis courts, which are immaculate. Parking is very limited, which reinforces the notion that this park is for locals only.

This is a great little neighborhood park on the corner of Summit and Promontory. Within walking…read moredistance from many of the homes on the Butte. We ventured up their after spotting their tennis courts. We've lucked out both times and have had the place to ourselves. There are two courts, nothing fancy, but certainly do the trick. Benches for spectators inside the court area, nice grassy area outside for those who need a little shade. Plus a working water fountain. Basketball hoop, not even half court size, but works for practicing free throws, or working on your jump shot. Nice grassy area which is fairly level. Seems like an ideal spot for a game of frisbee, or picnicking with the family. Only one side of the park is actually on Summit Drive, the far side opposite the tennis courts at the end of the far grassy area. So, safe enough for little kids if you aren't picnicking on that side of the park. Has it's own lot with maybe 3 or 4 spaces and plenty of street parking.

One of the reasons I love my neighborhood - the river is right here, with easy access to the…read moreDeschutes River Trail. Small park, nice footbridge over the river, a few areas to explore on either side of the river, a bench to sit on and watch the rapids. There is a very small parking area at the end of 1st Street. Otherwise, you're on the street.

This is a little spot at the First Street side of the Deschutes River Trail that goes between First…read moreStreet and Mt. Washington. Picnic tables and trash cans. A spot for a picnic, or meeting place before strolling along the Deschutes River. Beautiful location, great views, right on the water. Nothing fancy. No facilities. Street Parking in the neighborhood.

We did the Big Eddy Thriller - Bend experience with Sun Country Tours in late July -- myself and…read moreeight family members. Overall, the company was spot on: easy booking, great communication (clear guidance on what to wear, where to be, and what to expect), and friendly, professional staff. Everything ran smoothly. That said, the experience itself felt a bit underwhelming for some of us -- particularly those with prior rafting experience. The three main rapids were billed as Class 3, but they felt pretty tame. I never really needed the foot holds while paddling, and the adrenaline just wasn't there. Additionally, the actual time on the water was only about 40 minutes, which felt short. While Sun Country's website does state "Trip Distance: 3 River Miles - Approx. 1.25 Hours," it seems that includes the 15-minute bus ride each way. With five boats in our group, perhaps our group moved faster than typical -- but either way, it would help if Sun Country clarified this more explicitly to set realistic expectations. On the bright side, our guide Dillon was perfect -- upbeat, skilled, and made the trip as fun as possible. He was a total pro and truly enhanced the experience. Jumping in the water always feels amazing and unless you're really concerned about not being able to get pulled back in the boat, you should show off your best back flip or bomb off the side of the boat and enjoy the refreshing dip. In summary: This is a fun, family-friendly rafting trip, especially for first-timers or younger kids. But if you've rafted before and are looking for something more thrilling or substantial, I'd suggest considering one of Sun Country's full-day or multi-day adventures instead. For the $79 per person (plus tip) price tag, it might also be worth weighing other fun options in Bend -- like a round of golf or a great meal.

We did the Big Eddy Thriller for the first time this last weekend and it was AMAZING! I brought my…read more7-year-old son & parents... ALL loved it and cannot wait to go again. A huge thank you and shoutout to Binzley our epic guide. He made the trip safe, FUN, educational, and exciting. We couldn't have asked for a better experience, especially for our first time. Safe to say we will definitely be booking another adventure with Sun Country Tours!

I stopped by this park with my partner and his family while we were visiting Bend. It's a nice…read morelittle area with a few spots to sit. The big attraction is obviously the whitewater rapids, which had some river surfers and kayaks going through. There is plenty of street parking by the park. It's all free. There is also a public bathroom in the park, but I didn't use it so I can't say how clean it is. This is a pretty peaceful and surprisingly clean park. It's definitely worth a trip if you're looking for a chill and peaceful way to spend some time.

We stopped by to enjoy the scenery at this park. We didn't get a chance to go tubing while in…read moreOregon. We enjoyed tubing the river in Montana. We will have to come back and enjoy some of the activities we missed on this trip.