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Given the amount of amazing outdoor activities in Bend, Oregon it comes as no surprise that I and many others have found it to be the perfect place for an adventurous escape from the city.

This blog post goes over six of my very favorite outdoor activities to do in Bend, Oregon! From rock climbing to river floats Bend really does have it all.

Exploring Bend, Oregon

Where is Bend?

Bend, Oregon is about a 3 hour drive southeast of Portland, Oregon. Venturing into Central Oregon the scenery and landscape features change quite a bit from what you may typically think of as Oregon.

The normally wet and dreary environment of the Pacific Northwest fades away and is replaced by a drier climate similar to what you may find at Lake Tahoe or in Colorado.

This change can be a welcome one especially since it means better snow in the Winter and warmer weather come Spring and Summer!

When Is The Best Time To Go?

Bend, Oregon is one of those lucky places that is amazing in Winter or in the Summer! This particular blog post is going to focus more on activities that are done in warmer weather.

Most of the outdoor activities in Bend, Oregon listed below are great from late April through to mid October. Beware that the Summer months can get quite hot down in Bend and so it may be a better idea to stay more towards the shoulder seasons of Spring and Fall!

#1: Go Rock Climbing At Smith Rock State Park

Where Is Smith Rock?

Only a 35-minute drive north from Bend, Oregon, not only is Smith Rock known worldwide for it’s amazing rock climbing it is also an insanely beautiful place to photograph and hike! This is by far one of the best known outdoor activities in Bend, Oregon!

Driving up to Smith Rock you may feel like you just entered “The Land Before Time”, I know I sure did! 

Rising out of a landscape made up of mainly flat grasslands is this stunningly beautiful, jagged rock formation with a river winding its way through it. It doesn’t look like any other landscape I have seen before. 

How Many Climbs Are There?

This unique geological formation lends itself beautifully to rock climbing- with close to 2,000 different bolted routes ranging from class 4- 5.14 you will find an endless array of climbing options to explore! 

Best Climbs For New Climbers:

Since I am a bit of a newbie in the outdoor rock climbing world my boyfriend took me to some of the easier routes in the park- one of which is considered a classic smith rock climb and the one I would recommend you definitely try out! 

This climb was called the 5 Gallon Buckets: a 5.8 climb and a super enjoyable top rope or lead! This route does require that someone in your party sport-leads it though so make sure you have enough quick-draws and experience for this. 

If you only want to hit top rope be sure to check out the Rope de Dope Block where you can start out without having to sport climb.

For more information on specific climbing routes buy the guidebook! 

Can You Do Anything Besides Climb At Smith Rock?

For those who are not so keen on rock climbing but still want to explore, you can easily make a wonderful day out of hiking around Smith Rock! 

The Misery Ridge Trail is one I have been dying to check out and is a wonderful hike for sunset! 

READ MORE: Roadtrip To Oregon’s Alvord Desert

Check Out My Oregon Wall Art!

#2: Go Mountain Biking in Bend, Oregon!

Mountain biking has always seemed a bit intimidating to me, it was just a tad bit too far outside of my comfort zone…that is until I tried it in Bend! 

Bend, Oregon is a mountain biker’s heaven- with over 900 miles of mountain biking trails you will surely find a couple that you love. 

Where to Rent:

We rented our mountain bikes for the day at Sagebrush Cycles.

It was $70 for a day rental of a full suspension bike with the added option of a $20 renters insurance add-on.

The employees were super kind and helped us find a trail location that worked well for us! 

Where To Ride:

We decided to opt for the closest trail system called “Phils Trails” and simply bike there from the shop!

Luckily, the trailhead was only 4 miles away making for a lovely warm-up and cool-down ride. 

I would highly recommend heading to Phil’s trailhead on your first time out.

Next to the parking lot and the beginning of the trails they have a small little park with moguls (small & large bumps) that you could practice on.

There were tons of families there as well and honestly many of the kids were showing me up at the practice park. 

How Hard Are The Trails?

Phil’s trail also has a wonderful assortment of different difficulty levels- we started out on a green (easy) and eventually made our way to some blue (medium) level trails.

I was definitely gripping my handlebars pretty hard at some points but the challenge made for a fun day! 

This specific trail system as a handful of difficult trails but if you are a seasoned rider I would suggest taking a look at some of the other trail systems as well!

Pro Tip:

If your going to be out on the trails all day consider downloading the Mountain Bike Project App onto your phone and downloading the map offline- it was hard for us to know exactly where we were at points in the trail and it would have been helpful to have an app to tell us where to go. 

#3 Go Paddle Boarding At Sparks Lake!

Ahh, Sparks Lake, one of my new favorite spots in Oregon! This lake is absolutely freaking GORGEOUS and an amazing spot to take photographs, paddle board, or just lounge around at for the day. I personally think this is one of the best outdoor activities in Bend, Oregon for the summer time!

Where Is Sparks Lake?

Located around 25 miles west of Bend off of the Cascade Lakes Highway it is an easy and very scenic drive from the town. The actual lake has an amazing view of Mt. Bachelor, South Sister, and Broken Top.

What To Do There:

I would highly recommend renting a kayak or paddle board for the day and paddling around the lake! There are many boat rental spots in Bend that it shouldn’t be too hard to find one for the day. 

Photography Tips:

If you are looking to photograph Sparks Lake you really can’t go wrong with sunrise or sunset- I would just recommend that you get there a bit early to scope out the shoreline and find your spot as it can be a bit confusing on where to actually go.

Another pro tip is to hang out and shoot at the meadows outside of the Sparks Lake entrance! You can get insane views of all of the mountains from here as well as some amazing leading lines from the waterways that have carved themselves into the grasslands! 

READ MORE: Relax At Crystal Crane Hot Springs

#4: Climb South Sister

Oooo my favorite activity of all! Climbing South Sister was definitely the highlight of my trip to Bend, Oregon last May.

What is South Sister?

South Sister is Oregon’s third tallest peak at 10,358 ft.– and definitely not a trail to underestimate. 

This trail is not for the faint of heart and is ranked as extremely difficult for the average hiker.

Gaining 4,900 ft of elevation gain over 5.5 miles one way you will be sure that you are getting your workout in for the day! 

What Skills Do You Need?

While it doesn’t require any technical skills and you do not have to rope up for the climb I would highly recommend making sure you have good snow skills, mountaineering boots, an ice ax, and a solid understanding of navigation.  

Check out my blog post on mountaineering gear to get a better idea of what to bring!

Do You Need  A Permit?

If you plan to climb South Sister you will need a permit from Memorial Day Weekend to the last Friday in September. You can reserve permits through Recreation.gov. If you go to the search bar and type in “Central Cascades” the Central Cascades Wilderness Permit- Day use will come up and you can go from there!

Why Climb It?

The summit looks over so many different mountains it is honestly unreal, it looks over Middle Sister, North Sister, Three-fingered Jack and you can even spot Mt. Hood or even southern Washington when it is really clear!!

From the south side you can see Broken Top and Mount Bachelor- basically a 360 view of all of Oregon’s best mountains! 

Make sure to prepare wisely for your hike- bring enough food, a GPS (whether a downloaded map on Gaia or all trails or a Garmin In-Reach) ice ax, extra layers, and a good amount of water! 

READ MORE: My Guide To Getting Started In Mountaineering

#5: Explore Skylight Cave

One of the coolest, and most obscure activities you can do near Bend, Oregon is to go explore a lava tube cave! 

Getting To Skylight Cave From Bend, Oregon

Skylight Cave is about an hour away from Bend and is technically much closer to Sisters, Oregon. Trust me though, it is 100% worth the drive! 

Finding Skylight caves is one of the harder parts as it is located out on a forest road in what feels like the middle of nowhere- download the google map offline and trust the GPS- the pin on Google Maps is correct. 

Once you get there follow the trail from the “parking lot” (more like a clearing in the woods) until you see a Forest Service sign and an entrance log.

Near here you will find the entrance to the cave- a metal ladder that descends into the dark and cold cave. 

Once you are in the cave you will head to your left around 200 ft where you will find the skylights.

When Should You Go To Skylight Caves?

The cave is only accessible from June- September, luckily this is also when the light is the best!

You will want to go on a sunny, clear day as they won’t be able to shine through on a cloudy day. 

It is important to time your visit correctly as the light will only shine through during mid-morning when it is at the correct angle. We went at 8:30 am and stayed until 10- they were amazing at this time!

Photography Tips:

Bring a tripod for a longer exposure!

Also if you throw a bit of dirt or sand into the air it will make the beams show up stronger on camera 🙂

For my portraits, we shot them at the lowest f.stop (1.4) with a shutter speed of 1/40 and raised the ISO up pretty high (around 1500) I had to make sure to stand pretty still to avoid motion blur and used the luminance slider in the detail section of Lightroom to decrease the grain! 

READ MORE: My Ultimate Guide To Adventure Photography Gear

#6: Hike To Proxy Falls

After you check out Skylight caves, Proxy Falls is a great add-on! It is a stunning waterfall loop trail that offers great reward in a very short hike!

Where Is Proxy Falls?

Just a half an hour down the road from Skylight Caves near Sisters, Oregon this waterfall is worth the extra drive. 

Proxy Falls trail description and location!

How Hard Is The Hike?

This trail is easily accessible for kids, dogs and any skill level!

It is only  1.6 miles for the entire loop trail with 147 ft of elevation gain!

Be sure to not only check out the upper falls overlook but venture down the side trail to the base of the waterfall- it is most definitely worth it! 

Photography Tip:

Bring your camera, tripod and ND filter and do a long exposure!

Proxy Falls is a stunning waterfall to photograph and one of the most photographed waterfalls in Oregon! 

#6: Float the Deschutes River!

After all of that intense physical activity, I would say you deserve a break!

Head to the river that snakes through town, rent a paddle board or floatie and chill out as the river takes you on a lazy float! 

This is best done on a hot day so you can enjoy the cool river while getting your tan on! 

Head to a brewery in town afterward to enjoy some craft beer and end your trip- you have earned it!

Conclusion

Bend Oregon is a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts of every kind. I hope this list of 6 outdoor activities in Bend, Oregon helped you find one that was perfect for you!

Let me know if there are any outdoor activities I missed- I am always stoked to get back down to Bend and try something new!

Check Out More Oregon Destinations!