Wander Here: Four Days of the Best Adventures with Kids in Bend, Oregon

Sep 6

Wander Here: Bend, Oregon, USA

I didn’t plan on cold plunging.

It was a few days into our time in Bend, Oregon, and it was HOT. We live in a tiny, aluminum camper and it is just not the place you want to be hanging out when the temperature gets into the 90’s.. We knew we had to spend the day in the water, so after asking for a few recs we set our sights on paddleboarding Devil’s Lake, just about 30 minutes outside of town, nestled in the Cascades near the base of Mount Bachelor.

Paddling Devil’s Lake Outside of Bend

We arrived, paddle boards in tow, to find the most beautiful turquoise blue lake, surrounded by tall pines. Small, cozy, clear and calm. At over 5000 feet elevation, the heat had given way to cool temps and a bit of drizzle. Nestled in the pine-covered mountains, Devil’s Lake is fairly shallow with a white sandy bottom, making the water look all the more clear. And it’s great for swimming (that is if you’re willing to take the plunge into icy cold water:).

We had just started paddling into the middle of the lake, when one of my worst fears happened AGAIN. You may remember our incident a couple of months ago at Lake Tahoe, where I dropped our keys and both phones into the lake? This time it was a single, solitary car key with just a silver ring attached. I can’t even explain how this could possibly happen again, but honestly it’s also not that surprising knowing us. Let’s just blame it on the kids (it really was the kids:)

**The water really is that clear**

When I said this lake was clear, I wasn’t kidding…and I would know having spent what felt like an eternity laying facedown on my paddleboard, staring through about 9 feet of water, searching the sandy bottom for that tiny black and silver key. Multiple times we had spotted little somethings that had turned into false alarms. The drizzle was picking up and dusk was setting in, when I suddenly spotted what I thought might be it, but I wasn’t sure. All of our paddleboards kept drifting on the water, which made us have to paddle to get back to the spot, stirring up the water and making it impossible to see such a tiny object on the bottom.

I hovered right over the spot, trying to decide if it was it. Getting up the courage to plunge in head first and straight to the bottom to grab it, I threw on a pair of goggles. I didn’t know how deep it actually was…but I knew it was cold as ice. I took a deep breath and dove straight to the bottom, grabbed a handful of sand and the black object and swam back to the surface to the cheers of all the kids as I held that tiny key up out of the water. A much better outcome than the last time!

Highly highly recommend Devil’s Lake, but maybe leave all important objects on the shore.

Bend, Oregon was simultaneously not on our lists of places to visit and at the top of our list of places to visit!

Our travels are based around the National Parks, which would eliminate Bend from making it on our route. But we have always wanted to visit and have (from afar) considered it to be a place we might want to end up at the end of all this! Our vintage airstream home was actually renovated in Bend, so we felt it appropriate to take her back there ourselves for a quick hello, even if only for a few days.

Bend captured our hearts and left us all imagining what it would be like to just never leave. We enjoyed the bookstores and coffee shops, a cute little local barber shop, and so much outdoor recreation.

From the river to the lakes, mountains and bike trails…to the community events and street markets, coffee shops, good food and cute local shops. We are smitten as expected and are so happy we didn’t pass up a chance to swing through this charming little city on the river. One of my favorite things about this little mountain town is how it feels as if the entire town is about and about at any given time, enjoying the outdoors. Walking, biking, paddling, relaxing - people are outside everywhere, all over town.

After just 4 way too short days exploring, here are a few of our favorite spots in Bend as a family of 6!

Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway - drive this beautiful road for the views and stop off at any of the lakes along the way
Devil’s Lake - not sure if it’s the best because it’s the only one we got to visit, but I can say it’s one of the most beautiful alpine lakes we’ve been too and great with kids!
All the cute coffee shops! We tried Back Porch Coffee Roasters and Thump, but our absolute favorite (not just in Bend, but a top favorite from all our travels) is Lone Pine Coffee Roasters. Can I just move in there?
Deschutes River - rent/buy a tube and try out the rapids section of the river. Or float the entire thing on a paddleboard (portage around the rapides:) or tube. One of the best adventures right in the middle of town, floating the river is THE thing to do in Bend :)
Scout and Pine - a cute little shop with local goods. They carry my favorite candle company, and I was so happy to snag a new one!
Stroll around downtown - so many fun, cute shops and restaurants. The vibes and energy are on point, and I promise you won’t want to leave.
Walk the Riverfront path and stop for a picnic in one of the many parks or just to run, play and people watch! There are so many spots to hang out and enjoy the river. A couple of our favorites were Drake Park and McKay Park.