If you close your eyes tightly and use your remaining senses, you can feel that summer is drawing to a close. The sun shines a little less brightly, the darkness falls faster, and the smell of pumpkins, hay rides, and Halloween candy is just beginning to tickle your nostrils. And while we love fall with all our hearts, saying goodbye to summer is always a sad moment for us; summers always bring us back to our youth, and the long, lazy days that seemed to be filled with so much promise.

If you’re like us, and are not quite ready to don your corduroys and sweaters. Never fear: There’s still a few more summer days left for flip flops, ice cream, and frolicking in the sun. Here’s a few end of summer activities in Bend to get you started during your unforgettable Bend vacation!

Visit a Volcano

Newberry National Volcanic Monument is kind of big deal in this area, and with heights reaching as high as 8000 feet, hiking Paulina Peak is NOT something you want to wait till winter to do. The weather is perfect and the time is right to explore ancient craters and lava flows in Bend.

The Bend Ale Trail

Summer days are only enhanced by the taste of an ice-cold beer sliding smoothly down your throat, and Bend has been nicknamed Beer Town USA; there are more breweries (and wineries, for those of you with a more sophisticated palate) in our small town than are in towns much larger. Take a brewery tour along the Bend Ale Trail and enjoy a taste of Bend safely.

Laughter is Good for the Soul at these Activities in Bend

The Central Oregon comedy scene offers Comedy Thursday Nights at the Summit Saloon, and the more you laugh, the younger you look! This is the spot where future Oregon superstars are discovered and current stars can’t stay away from. Saying so long to summer isn’t so bad when you can do it with a laugh!

Explore Art

Stop by the Bend Visitor Center and pick up a map for the Roundabout Art Route; in addition to galleries and stores, our art is also displayed out on the streets for everyone to enjoy! Save your pennies for souvenirs: This art tour is 100% free!

Don’t Do Anything at All

The best part of summer is spending long lazy days doing absolutely nothing, and what better place to do nothing than in your cozy Bend Vacation Rentals cabin? Sleep late, watch movies on the big screen, or watch the sunset from the porch with a glass of local wine. Summer will soon be over, and the hustle and bustle of the holidays will arrive before you know it! Reserve yours today!

Bend Vacation Rentals is a proud supporter of the fourth-annual Muse Conference this weekend, March 4-6, 2016. Held in Bend, Oregon, this inspiring women’s conference brings local women of all ages together with internationally-recognized artists, authors, athletes, entrepreneurs, activists and social change leaders to celebrate International Women’s Day as well as kick off Women’s History Month.

We are honored to be providing luxury vacation rental accommodations for some of the out-of-town speakers, and are looking forward to connecting with the women of Bend at the receptions, yoga class, 5K run and workshops during this inspiring, three-day event in Bend.

The mission of World Muse, the Bend-based nonprofit that produces the Muse Conference, is to inspire women to create positive social change from within. They strive to connect women to their “own inner awesome,” and offer tools and support for putting it into action. Ready, set, muse.

Fall in Bend, Oregon, brings crisp fresh air, pure landscapes and pristine beauty that both locals and visitors enjoy and appreciate as they embrace activities like hiking, biking, and even outdoor mediation and yoga. This weekend’s retreat with acclaimed yogi Rolf Gates was a perfect way to savor the wonder of fall in Bend.

We are blessed in Bend to have some of the best yoga studios in the Pacific Northwest, and Groove Yoga, which organized the retreat, is no exception. People gathered from several states to come together in Central Oregon with the shared purpose of deepening their yoga practice, creating space and stillness in their minds, and participating authentically in their own self-discovery.

I started my weekend with a Bend yoga and meditation session Friday evening at an amazing property in Tumalo, a rural community just outside of Bend. Situated on a large parcel of land, the Miracle Barn is a gathering place that feels magical. Gazing out on the seven peaks of the Cascades, and surrounded by the brilliant colors of the changing aspen trees, we were truly practicing our mountain pose at the mountain top!

It’s official. The Mt. Bachelor Downhill Bike Park is to open September 13, 2013.

Upper Lava Flow to Rattlesnake and Blade Runner will be ready for top-to-bottom riding. For an easier, alternate route in avoidance of the black diamond Rattlesnake trail, riders can take Lava Flow to Cone Run, which connects to Blade Runner. For experts, the upper portion of Last Chance trail will be finished down to the 21 Road. From there, riders can use 21 Road and lower Red Road to return to the base area. The West Village Getback, 21 Road and Red Road are service roads that will not be a part of the finished Bike Park trail network, but will be used this fall and early next summer as connector trails until other permanent bike trails are complete.

Tickets for opening day on September 13, 2013, will be available online. Tickets for other days will be sold on a first-come, first-serve basis at the ticket office on the mountain.

August 30 and 31, 2013

Friday 5pm-10pm; Saturday noon-10pm

The Little Woody Barrel Aged Brew Fest was created to commemorate one of Central Oregon’s cultural hallmarks – craft beers. This is a festival for beer lovers and connoisseurs alike!

In the past, brewers served beer that had been aged in oaken casks. Once again, brewers are turning to these historic techniques in order to add depth of flavor to their brews. The Little Woody celebrates this ancient brewing technique as adapted by American craft brewers, featuring beers aged in wine barrels, whiskey barrels and oak barrels, which uniquely flavors and intensifies the beer.

Details and Entry Fees:

Location: The Little Woody Festival takes place next to the Des Chutes Historical Museum, 129 Northwest Idaho Avenue in downtown Bend.

• • Basic entry including commemorative glass: $7
  • Tasting package: $15. Includes glass, entry and 10 tokens
  • Whiskey tasting: Tokens will apply to both beer and whiskey
  • Tokens: $1 each and tastes cost 2-5 tokens each

Note: The Little Woody is a 21 and over event!

Sept. 4-8 – Bend, OR

For the third year in a row, hundreds of masters cyclists will head to central Oregon for the USA Cycling Masters Road National Championships. New for 2013, the criteriums will be held in beautiful downtown Redmond to cap the final two days of racing. Titles will also be up for grabs in time trials, road races and tandem events.

Mt. Bachelor has been blessed with amazing conditions this winter. We enjoyed a big powder day at the end of January. The web site reported eight inches, but I can testify to at least a foot. By the end of the storm, we had over 30 inches of new snow!

One of the great things about Mt. Bachelor is the length of time the powder can last. We skied un-tracked snow the entire day, and pretty much the next five days. 
This past week has been high pressure, with the best groomers and off piste you will find in the West.

Bend Vacation Rentals is offering great lift ticket discounts, as well as our Kids Under 12 Ski Free program, even over holidays. I have noticed that other ski areas are offering many great discounts this year, and it allows families to enjoy outdoor sports during a long winter.
 Bend is such a great place to visit, not only because of all that Mt. Bachelor offers, but also because Bend is more than a ski resort. Snowshoe, sled, Nordic ski or just take a walk along the Deschutes River. This week, the snow sports industry will gather at Mt. Bachelor to demo the new 2013-14 equipment, and it looks like there will be great snow and weather for the event!