Family Vacation Guide to Bend Oregon

Disclaimer: Many thanks to Visit Bend for hosting my family, and as usual – all opinions are my own! 

Rhut has been wanting to go to Bend FOREVER. We’ve had friends visit and come back telling us they want to move there more times than we can count. We figured Elara’s spring break would be the perfect time to visit! Bend is just a 9-hour drive from the SF Bay Area. You can knock it all out in one day or you can break up your drive and make a pitstop in Redding along the way, which is what we did since it’s almost halfway up. Bend is a great basecamp for tons of outdoor activities that are family-friendly. Beyond the outdoors, the food scene in this town is fantastic, especially the breweries! 

Where to stay in Bend:

We stayed at the LOGE Camps located in Bend. It’s 15 minutes from downtown and just 20 minutes from Mount Bachelor! This is the PERFECT place to stay for a family adventure. The family room we stayed in was equipped with boot warmers, a fridge, hammocks, Yeti, a curtain that separated the room into two spaces, and bunk beds!

The hotel has a playground, hot tub, pool, free bike rentals, ski and snowshoe rentals, a biking path, hiking path, grill area outfitted with Traeger grills, cafe, and bar. Their rooms range from anywhere from $90-$250+ a night depending on the style of room you book.

They also have van sites for around $50/night. We love how outdoors-friendly this place was! 

What to do in Bend:

Fun in the Snow! 

We went to Bend in Mid-April so it was still pretty snowy and winter activities were the best thing to do! Bend is just minutes from snowshoeing, sledding, skiing, snowboarding, and more! Mount Bachelor is only 20 minutes from Bend so we did a half-day ski trip, grabbed lunch at one of the lodges at Mount Bachelor, and then we stopped at one of the many sno-parks near Mount Bachelor to go sledding before heading back into town for a cozy meal.

The sno-parks are great to cross-country ski and snowshoe in. Be careful and listen for snowmobiles while you’re in the parks! We have the Ikon pass, which includes Mt Bachelor, however, if you don’t have a pass you can pick up pre-purchased lift tickets in the Old Mill District at a kiosk. 

Hiking

Hiking is a pretty obvious activity in a nature-filled place like Bend, however, what we really didn’t know is how many different hiking settings there are in Bend! You can hike through lava tubes, mountains, waterfalls, and so much more! You can find just about every difficulty level of hike in Bend. For families with kids, we really love the Trail of Molten Land hike.

It’s located in Newberry National Volcanic Monument. The trailhead is near Lava Lands Visitor Center and the trail runs a little over a mile. The majority of it is paved and stroller-friendly.

The trail winds through a unique landscape of volcanic rocks and formations and ends in a vista of the lava field meeting up with the Deschutes National Forest. There are boards with information throughout the hike and Elara loves stopping to read them all! 

If you’re looking to get even deeper into the lava beds, you can hike through Boyd Cave which is an old lava tube. It’s a .7-mile hike that is completely underground. The entry of it is a metal staircase that takes you right down into the cave.

You will need sturdy hiking clothes and boots as well as strong flashlights. Your phone flashlight will not suffice in the dark cave! If you’re unsure of going on a hike by yourself, Wanderlust Tours provides cave tours in group settings where they provide flashlights and helmets. We saw tons of little kids in the cave with their families. I suggest wearing a mask because it’s quite dusty as the floor of the cave is covered in volcanic ash. This was Elara’s favorite hike since she was small enough to fit into all the tiny nooks and it required a bit of scrambling over rocks. Heads up- there are spots where you have to get on your hands and knees to crawl through. 

If caves aren’t your thing, try Tumalo Falls Hike– in the winter season you do have to hike it more than you would in the summers. The road to the falls is closed in winter and covered in snow. It was about a 6-mile hike through the snow to the view, in the summers you can drive fairly close to the falls and it’s a shorter hike.

If you have weak knees or ankles, I wouldn’t hike this in the snow as it’s a bit precarious. Wear waterproof snowshoes, sunscreen, and sunglasses for this hike, and don’t forget to bring water and snacks!

As always be sure to leave no trace and pack out what your pack in, take your trash, and leave nothing behind. This hike took us about 4 hours to do round-trip. It can be much for little kids, but we took lots of snack breaks and played in the snow as we went to make it fun! 

If you have time- hike Pilot Butte for a 360-degree view of the mountains around Bend. And if you’re not up for a hike- luckily you can drive all the way up! Great spot to go to for sunset! 

Rock Climbing

Elara’s really been into rock climbing lately, but she’s only done indoor climbing. We took her to Smith Rock State Park, about 25 minutes outside of Bend for a half-day of rock climbing day. If there is ONE thing you do while in Bend, it’s to visit this park.

It’s stunning, with a winding river and sky-high cliffs, it feels almost unreal. We booked a half-day with Smith Rock Climbing Guides. We met the guide right outside the park and hiked 15 minutes to our first wall. They welcome all ages and skill levels. The guide belayed us and was really knowledgeable about rock climbing in the area. Elara was hesitant in the beginning but as her confidence grew the more excited she started to get about climbing the various walls.

We ended up doing 4 different walls with varying difficulty levels. The best part of climbing in Smith Rock is the sheer number of people climbing around you. Watching people of all ages, sizes, and skill levels was amazing in itself! Also, if rock climbing isn’t for you, there are tons of hiking trails in the park that are worth doing! 

Downtown Bend

You don’t really need to leave Bend to find hiking trails and outdoor activities. You can kayak, paddleboard, hike, and more in town! They have a lovely river trail that meanders around the Deschutes River. We walked the trail in the Old Mill District in the evening and it was truly peaceful. One of my favorite activities we did in Bend was doing a ghost tour! I think it’s such a fun way to learn about Bend history and they are super great with changing things up so the stories don’t scare the kiddos. We learned about the 2 main streets in Bend and how the town was established while we walked around. The guides are a mother-daughter team who write and worked in journalism. 

If you’re looking for a little indoor fun- check out The High Desert Museum right on the edge of Bend. They have live animals ( the otters are adorable!), a Birds of Prey exhibit, and plenty of historical and nature-based exhibits. We really enjoyed the outdoor walks around the little creek filled with fish and the Spirit of the West Exhibits which showcased the history of the area. They also have sensory bags for people with intellectual or social disabilities which include noise-canceling headphones, tactile tools, and activities! 

Also if you’re a movie buff like Rhut, a trip to Bend isn’t complete without a quick stop at the last Blockbuster on Earth! We walked the aisles, reliving our younger days when we’d hunt for the perfect sleepover movie while Elara asked us what their rectangle boxes were. 

Where to eat in Bend:

We are A LOT in Bend and what we learned is that they really know how to do comfort food well. Some of our favorite spots include:

Breakfast:

• Sparrow Bakery– they’re famous for their Ocean Roll, a cardamom roll, however, don’t sleep on their bagels! They were amazing with the perfect chew! 

• Nancy P’s Cafe & Bakery – their cheddar jalapeno bagels were great here, also they had a good amount of gluten-free baked goods! 
• The Pantry – a cute coffee shop and sustainable zero-waste pantry shop
• Thump– the York Street location has fire pits and pretty views. Great coffee and good bagels! 
• The Commons Cafe & Taproom– in downtown Bend, felt the most hygge here! So cozy and warm, grab a cookie and some tea or a cold beer and relax here!

Lunch/Dinner

• Lady Bird Cultural Society – this place is great for a fun fancy meal. They had a great kids menu and they’re known for their hand-tossed pizzas and cocktails. Highly suggest grabbing dessert too while you’re here. The tiramisu was astounding and so rich and lush! 

• Chomp Chomp – we loved the spicy garlic ramen- wasn’t very spicy but it was super flavorful! 
• Spork– multi-cultural comfort meals that just hit the spot! 
• Anita’s Kitchen – a little cart in the middle of a motel parking lot with Indian food! Heard about it because we were told Guy Fieri was around filming for his show and he stopped here! The chole bhatura is worth a try! Outdoor seating only.
• Wild Rose – Northern Thai food spot downtown that is super busy. Be sure to make a reservation and order the papaya salad! Super vegetarian-friendly. 

Breweries

• Crux Fermentation – we did a little tasting and played some board games. They have board games for you to borrow, but we opted to buy some new ones from Modern Games, nearby.  
• Bend Brewing Company – everything we ate here was amazing! It’s a warm spot in downtown Bend- we loved the pesto pasta and pretzel. 

Desserts/Snacks

• Holm Made Toffee Co.– stop by a grocery store or the Bend Shop and grab a bag! They’re a small-batch toffee company that happened to be a woman-owned business! They make their toffee with Oregon hazelnuts and other local ingredients like marionberries! 
• Goody’s – old-fashioned soda/ice cream shop. We grabbed a root beer float and some ice cream and treated ourselves post-dinner at Wild Rose! 
• Brownbag Popcorn Co. – try the cheddar caramel popcorn and truffle parmesan popcorn!
• Bonta– handmade gelato spot with a cult following! I loved the salted chocolate gelato! 

Quick 5-day Itinerary:

Day 1: Breakfast at Nancy P’s, Hit up the High Desert Museum, hike Boyd Caves, hike the Trail of Molten Land, walk around Old Mill District, and have dinner at Lady Bird Cultural Society

Day 2: Breakfast at Sparrow Bakery, go to Blockbuster, go to Crux Fermentation for beer and board games, walk around downtown and check out Bonta, Brownbag Popcorn co, dinner at Bend Brewing Co, do the Bend Ghost tour

Day 3: Breakfast at Thump, half day Ski at Mount Bachelor, lunch at the lodge, sled and play in a Sno-park, dinner at Anita’s Kitchen if warm otherwise go to Wild Rose for dinner and Goody’s for dessert

Day 4. Breakfast at the Pantry, hike Tumalo Falls, lunch at Chomp Chomp, visit a few breweries, or take some time to chill out and hang at LOGE- hot tub a great idea post-hike! Go to Pilot Butte for sunset. 

Day 5- Breakfast at LOGE and check out, head to Smith Rock to rock climb and/or hike, lunch in Bend at Spork, and head home!

If you want to see my trip, check out my IG highlight for Bend!