Visiting Bend Oregon – Vacation Guide!

This past month, we start off on a 4-week road trip traveling through eight different US states. I have so many fond memories traveling with an RV growing up that I wanted to start building similar memories with my children and together as a family. Of course, it was also a great excuse to escape the Phoenix heat which reached near 120* while we were away. The first destination on our trip was visiting Bend Oregon! We had such a fabulous time that I have two more posts to come about our trip but this first post is a great starting point as our Bend Oregon vacation guide.

 

Crown Villa RV Resort

Since we were traveling with a travel trailer we specifically looked for a RV park to stay at during our trip. We were able to stay at Crown Villa RV resort which is the nicest RV resort I have ever seen. The spots are oversized with really nice paver driveways. Every spot has its own unique paver designs and we enjoyed walking through the resort and checking out all the different paver designs and patterns.

Crown Villa gives each plot a wide grassy side yard that offers some privacy and a place to play and relax. Our boys loved to play with a ball out in the grass while my husband and I watched relaxing at the bistro table and chairs that were included at the site. We also had a blast playing with all the different sports offered on site including a putting green, pickle ball, shuffle board, tennis, and horseshoes.

They have nice amenities on site for laundry, bathroom with showers should you need them a lounge with a TV and some games you could enjoy and even a spa for relaxing. The Crown Villa staff was very helpful and always attentive to any questions or needs we had. At one point, my license fell out of my jacket pocket while I was walking back from the lounge to our trailer. Before I even got back to my trailer one of the grounds keepers saw it and returned it to me searching the grounds for me on his golf cart.

If you’re looking for a really nice place to stay with your RV while visiting Bend, you will not be disappointed with Crown Villa. We loved everything about our stay at their resort. Their price is higher than other RV parks in town, but their facilities far surpass the competition in quality and privacy.

 

High Desert Museum

One of the local attractions that looked like it would be great with my young boys was the High Desert Museum. It’s located just a few minutes outside of downtown Bend. The museum gives you both an indoors traditional museum feel with a variety of exhibits as well as a whole outdoors experience as you walk on the paths through the natural high desert landscape.

We all loved the otters which seem to never stop playing as they cruised back and forth kicking off the walls and climbing up on the logs. We even got to the exhibit just in time to listen to the otter talk and watch as the otters were fed. We then headed up through a 1904 town where the kids had a ball doing all the chores that were expected of the kids of that time. They did the laundry, watered the garden, and swept the porch all with huge smiles on their faces (not a single complaint!!).

The High Desert Museum features a Predators of Sky show daily at 12:30pm. It’s a bit of a walk out to the show and some of the walk is not accessible for strollers or wheelchairs, so keep that in mind. Once we got out to the location, though, we really enjoyed the show! They showed us four large predator birds including a Barn Owl and a pair of falcons. The birds flew just inches over our head as they crisscrossed back and forth over the audience area. It was really amazing watching these beautiful birds flying right past you with such a close view.

After the show, we headed over to the Rimrock Café and really enjoyed our meal. I loved that the kid’s meals come with apples and apple juice rather than any option of fries. The main course are still very kid friendly options such as hot dogs or grilled cheese. I choose a delicious ham and swiss sandwich which came out as a toasted grilled cheese!

The High Desert Museum has an indoor area to walk through an old western town, mining caves, and Indian reservation. We loved walking into the bank and trading store and taking a peek back in time. You will also find two fun play areas to stop and burn some energy. Dig Crawl Climb features tunnels, a large rope spider web, and a canvas tent under which you can dig for bones. Then, visit Who’s Home to discover some of the hidden habitats of smaller creatures like a scorpion, turtle, and spider and climb through the rocks and down a slide.

We really enjoyed our visit to the museum. It was educational and entertaining and perfect way to spend a sunny summer day. They have a Dinosaur exhibit that is open now that sounded really neat! It opened the day we left town.

 

Farmer’s Market

During our stay in Bend Oregon, I noticed there would be a local farmer’s market. I have never been to a farmer’s market and so it was the perfect time to check one out and pick up a few fresh fruits that we could snack on during our stay. There are several farmer’s markets during the summer months. We went to the Brooks Alley Farmer’s Market located in downtown Bend. The street is closed off for the event and shops run along Brooks Alley Wednesday’s from 3-7pm.

We loved walking up and down past the set-up shops and picking out some fresh Strawberries, Blackberries, and Raspberries. We also stumbled across an amazing cookie stall that had a big assortment of large 6” or so cookies. They were absolutely amazing cookies! They had broken cookie bits you could try of any of the flavors.

I found their flavor Lemon White Chocolate to be so unbelievably good that I don’t hesitate to say it was the best cookie I have ever had! Next time we head to Bend, that cookie will be at the top of my “to-do” list. The Farmer’s market also had vegetables, more varieties of fruits, meats, cheese, flowers, jams, honey, and other goodies!

 

You will absolutely love visiting Bend Oregon if you choose it as a vacation destination, no matter what time of the year. Check out Visit Bend and Central Oregon Visitors Association to get started planning a trip or to learn more about Bend!

Disclosure: I received a press rate and a two night complimentary stay at Crown Villa and complimentary admissions and meal at High Desert Museum for my editorial review. Opinions expressed above are my own.