Bend is a small city on the Deschutes River, in Oregon. If you love being able to get outside and hike, rock climb, river floats, ski, and drink beer or wine, then Bend is the place for you. I’ve been two times now and I could easily go find new places to check out with every visit! Here are my recommendations on how to spend a week in Bend, Oregon!
Click to jump to these topics:
- How to get to Bend, Oregon
- How to get around
- Where to stay
- Breweries
- Coffee Shops
- Wineries
- Kombucha
- Restaurants
- Things to do
✈️HOW TO GET TO BEND, OREGON
From Seattle, Bend is about a 6 hour drive or a 45 minute flight into Redmond, Oregon (you can get pretty affordable round trip flights from Seattle on Alaska or Delta for around $100).
🚗HOW TO GET AROUND
We ended up renting a car to get to and from the airport (the Redmond airport is about 20 minutes from Bend) as well as random trips around Bend. There are also ride shares readily available if you plan to be out drinking.
🏢WHERE TO STAY
Address: 700 NW Bond St, Bend, OR 97703
Any time I stay in a city with a McMenamins I love to stay there. McMenamins properties have such a cool history behind them as the company acquires old buildings that probably would be demolished and preserves the history as well as tells the story of what the building used to be all over the property! We stayed at the Old St. Francis property on our latest visit and it was great! There were several restaurants on site, a pool, movie theater and a bar!
Residence Inn by Marriott Bend
Address: 500 SW Bond St, Bend, OR 97702
The first time I went to Bend, I stayed here. We were staying for about 8 days and wanted to have a mini kitchenette to be able to prepare some basic meals. It ended up working out as this property also included a basic breakfast. This property also has an indoor pool and great side patio with a large fire pit.
🍻BREWERIES
If you missed my post from last year, I went to Bend and worked there for about 8 days. During those 8 days, I made it my mission to visit all of the breweries on the Bend Ale trail passport! That means we visited (and had a beer) at 22 breweries! You can read all about them in this post here. Note: I really did love all of them for different reasons. We didn’t have a bad beer at any of the spots on the ale trail!
My top 5 favorites are:
1. Boss Rambler Beer Club
This takes the top spot as my favorite. This was one of only two spots that we ended up visiting two times. Though we didn’t get beer here, their reviews state their beer is great, but I highly recommend the Frose and Margarita slushies. I also love their interior. It is a different take on typical breweries.
2. Wild Ride Brewing
I love Wild Ride for a few reasons: Their outdoor space, large, open brewery, great beer and food truck court. You could spend hours here.’
3. Monkless Belgian Ales
Monkless by far has the most unique beer. No other brewery in the Bend area has a whole line up of Belgian ales + Belgian style foods to match. I branched out and enjoyed a beer that I normally wouldn’t like but still liked. Their space is also the most unique. It looks like the bottom of a Viking ship.
4. Goodlife Brewing Company
Goodlife was the second brewery we visited. I was amazed at their LARGE beer garden space. People were spaced out and their food was great! Top 5 best pretzel I have ever had (and I try pretzels at every spot they are on the menu). I also recommend trying their tacos.
5. Porter Brewing Co.
Porter made my top 5 due to their unique beer. They brew cask style beer. It is a popular beer style in the UK. It is a more room temperature beer and is almost like a nitro beer. They are all VERY smooth.
☕️COFFEE SHOPS
Address: 310 SW Industrial Way, Bend, OR 97702
Spoken Moto is an awesome motorcycle-themed café and repair shop. You can also purchase motorcycles here! They also have a small outdoor food truck court with some amazing breakfast sandwiches!
Address: 25 NW Minnesota Ave, Bend, OR 97701
I didn’t visit here, but the couple we were traveling with went and got coffee here two of the days we were there. The first day I got an Americano and the second day I tried the Mexican latte! Thump Coffee is only a few blocks from McMenamins where we were staying so it is a nice morning walk!
🍷WINERIES
Bend isn’t just a brewery hub, there are a few great wineries to check out in the area. We visited two on our most recent trip:
Evoke Winery (formerly Naked Winery)
Address: 330 SW Powerhouse Dr #110, Bend, OR 97702
Fun fact: I used to be a wine club member at Naked Winery. They recently re-branded to Evoke Winery so we were excited to come in and enjoy their wine again. They were still in the middle of re-branding so we got to have one last tasting from their old Naked wine glasses.
Address: 425 SW Powerhouse Dr Unit 301, Bend, OR 97702
Va Piano is just a quick walk from Evoke and has a beautiful space. If it is nice out you can enjoy their back patio, which has an amazing view of the river. We shared a bottle of red wine and it ended up being really good! Va Piano is based in Walla Walla, Washington.
🥤KOMBUCHA
Address: 1125 NE 2nd St, Bend, OR 97701
I did a collaboration with Humm Kombucha on my Instagram last year so I was excited to see that they are based and have a tap room in Bend! Their space is super cute and they have about 10 different flavors for you to try! We did a 5 glass tasting and loved them all.
🍕RESTAURANTS
Address: 536 NW Arizona Ave, Bend, OR 97703
If you love options, than Podski food court lot is for you! It is a cute little court full of food trucks ranging from Thai food to chocolate charcuterie boards to Mexican food and more! There is a bunch of outdoor seating as well as a bit of indoor seating (which is where you can purchase alcohol from). We lucked out with grabbing indoor seating. Please remember to bus your own table and wipe down your table for the next group.
Address: 550 SW Industrial Way STE 102, Bend, OR 97702
I was craving some ramen and found Miyagi via a Google Maps search. It ended up only being a mile from our hotel. We got it to go and enjoyed it on the outside patio of our hotel. I recommend the spicy miso ramen and any of the steamed buns!
Address: 550 NW Franklin Ave, Bend, OR 97703
I can’t believe how busy the Thai restaurants were when we were in Bend! We ended up ordering online and picking up at the restaurant about 20 minutes later. This was a great Thai restaurant that hit the spot. I recommend: Pad Thai, pineapple fried rice, and larb salad
Address: 900 NW Wall St, Bend, OR 97701
If you are looking for a fancier option, than I recommend 900 Wall. I also recommend making a reservation during happy hour (3 – 5:30 nightly). We shared: a half dozen of oysters, spicy deviled eggs and the prosciutto pizza (arugula, truffle oil and Parmesan).
Address: 1404 NW Galveston Ave, Bend, OR 97701
Victorian Café is arguably one of the most popular brunch spots in Bend. I definitely recommend getting here before 9:30AM. When I think of The Victorian Café, I think of “bloody’s and bennys”. They have quite the list of variations on an eggs benedict. Be sure to check out their specials as they are continuing to come up with special eggs benedicts. You also have to get their “proud bloody mary”. Come hungry, because this bloody mary includes a whole meal of toppings!
Address: 1110 NW Newport Ave, Bend, OR 97701
This is another great spot for brunch. There is a lot more outdoor seating than indoor, so I would arrive early for an inside spot. I got the chowrriba burrito (which you could definitely share) and my husband got the honey truffle fried chicken sando.
🧗♂️THINGS TO DO
The last Blockbuster in the world
Address: 211 NE Revere Ave, Bend, OR 97701
For all of you 90’s and early 00’s kids, you will remember the joys of going to Blockbuster with your parents and being able to pick out a video to rent for the week! There is so much nostalgia for me in video rentals! There is just one Blockbuster left in the world and it is located right in Bend, Oregon. Make sure to go check it out!
Smith Rock State Park / Misery Ridge
Address: Terrebonne, OR 97760
This probably has to be one of the coolest state parks I have ever been to. I have now visited in both the summer and in the winter. Both times I was blown away by the sheer magnitude of the rock formations. This is a great place to hike and rock climbing is a huge thing here. We did the Misery Ridge hike which is a steady 1.5 mile incline. The hike isn’t too difficult and the views are stunning.
Newberry National Volcanic Monument
Address: Bend, OR 97702
Another amazing spot to do a bit of hiking is the Newberry National Volcanic monument. You can walk through a bed of lava rock or hike to the top of the Lava Butte Cinder Cone. Both are relatively easy hikes, but just bring some water if you go during the summer.
Address: 799 SW Columbia St, Bend, OR 97702
The Deschutes River flows right through Bend. There are a bunch of parks along the waterfront that are super fun to go relax at, have a picnic, read a book or even a good place to start your float. You will notice that floating the river is one of the most popular outdoor activities in the summer. There are some companies that do rent out floaties, or you can bring your own.
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