Bend: Discover trails, river landscapes, and art

Bend offers several specific focal points for planning your trip: trails along the river and in the park, art in the city, and tasting rooms on the Bend Ale Trail. If you’re looking for a hotel, you can first consider which of these aspects of Bend you’d like to shape your stay. The places and topics below can help guide you.

Trails along the river and in Shevlin Park

The Deschutes River Trail runs through the heart of Bend and stretches for more than 12 miles along the Deschutes River. It passes through canyons and basalt rimrock formations. The river and geological features shape this trail together, giving it a distinct landscape focus.

In Shevlin Park, the Loop Trail is 6 miles long. The park includes Tumalo Creek and miles of trails through old-growth forest and highland landscapes shaped by desert sagebrush. The forest and highlands offer a different landscape accent from the river trail, with its canyons and basalt rimrock formations.

In Shevlin Park, the Mountain Bike Trail connects with the Forest Service’s Mrazek Trail. This named trail connection adds another aspect to the information about trails in the park alongside the Loop Trail.

The trail lengths are also easy to compare directly: the Loop Trail is 6 miles long, while the Deschutes River Trail stretches for more than 12 miles. Length and landscape offer two different criteria for planning your trip: the Loop Trail in the park and the longer trail along the river.

Art in Bend

The Tin Pan Alley Art Collection comprises 28 murals spread across Downtown Bend and the Old Mill District. The collection thus includes two named areas of the city. If art plays a part in your trip, you can consider these murals as a focus in their own right, alongside the trails in the landscape.

The Roundabout Art Route combines cultural variety with an artistic scavenger hunt. It offers a different focus from the mural collection: the route emphasizes the search, while the Tin Pan Alley Art Collection is defined by its murals and their distribution across Downtown Bend and the Old Mill District. The two art themes thus differ in form.

Getting oriented and planning the rest of your trip

The Bend Visitor Center in central Bend provides maps, guidebooks, and local information. If you’re organizing your interests for your stay, you’ll find materials there to help you get oriented.

The Northwest Forest Pass is required year-round at many forest trailheads around Bend. Requirements and availability may change; check both before your visit if those trailheads are part of your plans.

The Bend Ale Trail includes tasting rooms in seven areas. Program details may change when participating venues change. Check the current program information before making plans.

The Bend Ale Trail’s tasting rooms offer another specific point of interest for your stay.

Discover more destinations: Deschutes River Woods, Sisters, La Pine

For the broader travel overview: Deschutes.