Whenever I travel anywhere I always google "what to do with kids in X" and I was surprised when I moved to Bend the endless options I discovered for a crunchy mama like me! So, if you dream of a place where the kids can run wild, climb trees, get dirty, collect bugs, and breathe fresh air, Bend is where its at for your next family vacay. 1. Endless Parks One of the first things I noticed driving through Bend was the seemingly endless amount of parks and playgrounds to explore. A family favorite is the "pirate ship" park at Columbia Park and the tube slide that ends at the trail by the Dechutes. Also, Larkspur Park has several huge playgrounds, but also hiking trails nearby! Harmon Park is usually hoppin' with kids afterschool and has a fenced greenspace for soccer and frisbee right by the river, too. Farewell Bend Park has a great playground, faux rock climbing, and shallow river access for kids to play. 2. Water Play Tumalo falls is a short 20-30 minute drive outside of town chock full of trees to climb and trails along the creeks. My boys loved walking across a giant tree trunk that had fallen across the creek. Devil's Lake and Paulina Lake are both a short drive outside of town and are a GORGEOUS place to take a canoe or kayak and have a picnic and a cold craft brew just about any time of year. My kids chased dogs around Paulina Lake for hours while my partner and I had a few beers by the water! There are SO many ways to explore the Dechutes River with kids. Take a kayak or canoe out from Tumalo Creek Kayaks right by the Old Mill District. Access the river from Shevlin Park water holes a short walk from the parking lot or surf the river if you have bigger kids. There's an entrance by the bridge in southeast Bend. 3. Volcanoes, Rocks, and Mountains, Oh My! One of the first places we hit up when we got to town was the High Desert Museum near the Newberry Volcano. We hiked the top of the caldera with the boys overooking Paulina Lake and we fully intend to return with snowmobiles or high terrain options this winter! They'll have a blast. Smith Rock is epic and a great place for a picnic, rock climbing, creek play, or a short family hike. There's even a rock climbing wall for kids! We haven't been out to Mt Bachelor yet, but we can hardly wait for the first snow. We're definitely putting the kids in ski school this year to snowboard, or ski, and my partner and I plan to snow shoe a few mornings a week. Cross country skiing is available up there as well, but it's recommended for older kids so I'll have to wait a few years before that becomes a family day option. 4. Crescent Moon Ranch I never googled "where can we feed alpacas", but I was fortunate enough to find Crescent Moon Ranch in Redmond just north of Bend and the boys were all about it! Not only can they hand feed the alpacas, but there's plenty of greenspace to run around the ranch and just enjoy the fresh cool air! I love the boutique as well and will be visiting often for handmade alpaca wool gloves, scarves, hats and sweaters. I spent 15 years in Austin, 5 years with my boys and to be honest, I got tired of not being able to full enjoy being outside. If it wasn't 4000 degrees, humid, and we were covered in mosquitoes, then it was pouring rain, sleeting, or icing over. I want to raise my boys to enjoy the rhythm of the seasons and truly be able to enjoy being outside 365 days a year. I found a place where there's no such thing as bad weather; there's just bad weather gear. When you're dressed for the elements, nature is your playground. We've never been happier!
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Chelsea VailParenting expert, blogger, inventor, single mom to twins, barefoot nomad, adventure seeker, boho spirit, advocate of play Archives
March 2022
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