Central Oregon is the outdoor paradise of the entire state. Options for things to do in Central Oregon in summer are endless, while winter weather limits accessibility to much of Central Oregon to those with 4×4 vehicles.
You’ll notice that most of the things to do in Central Oregon in summer involve some body of water.. that’s because the Alpine lakes in the area are amazing, and the summers are hot making water for outdoor activities a must!
Please remember, when visiting Central Oregon practice leave no trace principles. Be sure to pack out what you pack in, leave places as you found them, and be respectful of those around you!
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Best Things to do in Bend Oregon Summer
Enjoy the World’s Best Nachos
10 Barrel Brewing is famous for it’s beer, and yes, they pour a great glass — but their nachos?! Those are out of this world! Getting nachos at 10 Barrel is reason enough to visit Bend! Yes, we’ve gone to Bend just for the nachos!
Enjoy one of their many fantastic beers to pair with your nachos, and trust us when we say, only order one to share! It’s big enough for a meal for two!
READ MORE | Things to do in Bend, Oregon for Couples
Float the Deschutes River
The Deschutes is a great river to enjoy a super easy and relaxed float. The river has very little rapids and moves at a slow and steady pace, making it great for even the unexperienced floaters!
Typically, you can rent tubes and shuttle to and from the river locations, however, due to COVID, the rental and shuttle services are closed. Learn more about parking, where to put in and where to take out here.
Doing the Deschutes River Float, you’ll float right through downtown Bend and the Old Mill District of Bend Oregon, and even pass the Schwab Amphitheater… maybe you’ll get lucky and hear someone like Jack Johnson doing mic checks as you float — that was something we’ll surely never forget!
Learn more about concerts and events at the Schwab Amphitheater here.
Sample Some of Bend’s Best Beers in a Pub Crawl
While you can certainly do a pub crawl by foot in Bend, to get to some of the better breweries and truly experience Bend like a local, you should cycle to the different breweries.
Some of our favorite Breweries are, 10 Barrel Brewery, Crux, Fermentation Projects, Monkless, Deschutes, and Boneyard.
Please don’t drink too much and ride under the influence, you can cause great harm to yourself and others by do so, and can even get a DUI.
Hike South Sister
The mountains around Bend offer some amazing hiking. While the hikes are certainly not for the inexperienced, the trails and views are beautiful! Overnight trips are common for the three sisters hikes, but day trips are doable too, just be sure to get an early start on the trail!
Be sure to leave prepared with extra food and water, and consider bringing a water filter to filter water as you hike!
READ MORE | Free Places to Camp Along Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway
Mountain Bike down Mt. Bachelor
While Mt. Bachelor offers some of the best skiing and snowboarding in Oregon in the winter, the summer months on the mountain are just as great! You can ride the chair lifts up the mountain and then enjoy some epic downhill mountain biking back down to the base.
Learn more about the 300+ miles of mountain biking trails and pricing for this adventure here.
Stand in Awe at Tumalo Falls
Just outside of Bend is Tumalo Falls, a 97 foot waterfall with hiking and biking trails in the surrounding Deschutes National Forest. There is a viewpoint of Tumalo Falls right off the parking area that is handicap accessible, or you can hike around the falls and even visit a number of other waterfalls along the way.
Drive to Pilot Butte Scenic Viewpoint
Pilot Butte State Parks offers sunset views of the mountains in the Cascade Mountain Range, and the best views of Bend from above. You can drive up to the viewpoint in the summer months, or if you choose, hike up to one of the three trails all leading to the summit.
We’ve read that the drive up access to the summit of Pilot Butte is closed due to COVID. Please let us know if you experience something different!
Things to do in Redmond Oregon
Hike Around Smith Rock State Park
We’ve lived in Oregon the majority of our lives, and only recently made the trip up to Smith Rock, and boy, is it a pretty place!
There’s great hiking and rock climbing at Smith Rock, and also a fantastic walk up campground for $8 per person! Waking up to the sunrise over Smith Rock is one for the books!
Smith Rock is a very popular place and can get overcrowded really quickly in the high season, July + August. Try to go outside of peak summer months, and if possible, avoid visiting Smith Rock on the weekend.
Things to do in Central Oregon in Summer Near Bend
Soak in the Paulina Lake Hot Springs
Visiting hot springs in the summer may sound like an uncomfortable time, but these ones are the perfect summer time hot springs! The Paulina Lake Hot Spring are right on the shoreline of Paulina Lake and are self regulated to meet the users preferred temps!
If the water’s too hot, then dig out the rocks and allow more lake water in. If it’s too cold, then build a rock barrier to keep the lake water out! Being literally right on the shore of the lake also makes an easy dip in the cooler water to cool down and refresh yourself!
Park in the day use area of Paulina Lake near Little Crater Campground, then walk the nearly two miles to the hot springs on a trail bordering the lake with very little elevation.
**The trail to the hot springs used to start from the far side of Little Crater Campground, however, they have recently closed that parking lot and are now making visitors park at the boat launch area and walk through the entire campground. This changes the hike from the 1.2 mile distance you’ll find all over the internet to 1.9 miles one-way.
Spend a Day at the Newberry National Volcanic Monument
The Newberry National Volcanic Monument is a highlight of the Deschutes National Forest. With a lava river cave, obsidian flows, two alpine lakes, campgrounds, waterfalls, hot springs, and more, the Newberry National Volcanic Monument is a great place to spend an entire day or even two!
Check out the natural waterslides and hot springs at Paulina Lake while visiting this Oregon national monument!
If you like water…make sure to stop at the Paulina Waterfall for a small walk to the view point. Or better yet, if you are willing and able, make the trek down the creek for a more grander view of the falls!
Cycle Around Sunriver
Sunriver is a resort village just south of Bend. With great paved cycle paths, a little village with shops, restaurants, and even a brewery, and a golf course right in the middle of the resort area, there’s so much to do in Sunriver.
There’s a great Sunriver Deschutes River float that’s just as easy going as the Bend Deschutes River float, but not as crowded.
There are loads of vacation homes to rent in Sunriver, however, most homes have a long minimum stay policy. If you don’t stay in Sunriver, you can still visit the area, park at the Sunriver Village, and then cycle around!
Hike or Bike to Benham Falls
When we stayed in Sunriver with our family, we rode our bikes through the village and all the way to Benham Falls. The bike ride from Sunriver to the falls is a good day ride, that’s paved most the way and relatively flat.
If you’re not staying in Bend, there is a parking lot with toilets at the Benham Falls trailhead, where you’ll then take a hike to the falls themselves, sharing the trail with cyclists.
There are no real river access points on this hike, making it not the best choice for a really hot day, though most of the trail is shaded.
Explore Fort Rock State Park
Fort Rock State Park isn’t a very popular park, but it has some rich history. The oldest sandals ever found were located in the caves at Fort Rock. Typically, you can take Cave Tours through Fork Rock, however, those tours are closed for the 2020 year.
More Things to do in Central Oregon in Summer
Hike to Blue Pools (Tamolitch Falls)
Tamolitch Falls, better known as Blue Pools, is a stunning hike in central Oregon! It’s a relatively flat, easy hike with access to both mountain bikers and hikers. Be sure to check the temperature of the water before jumping in. Multiple people have died here from jumping in and then the water being too cold to swim to shore safely.
With that said, we do not recommend swimming or jumping in at Blue Pool. Instead, just enjoy the hike and admire the colors of the water!
Drive the Cascade Lakes National Scenic Byway
Cascade Lakes National Scenic Byway loops around Mt. Bachelor passing multiple alpine lakes along the way. Go out for a drive just enjoying the nature for a day trip, or stop at any of the lakes on this scenic byway and swim in pristine clear (yet cold) water.
This road is closed during the winter, so be sure to only visit Cascade Lakes Highway in the summer months!
WATCH MORE | A Relaxing Scenic Drive Through Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway
Visit Oregon’s Only National Park
Crater Lake National Park is home to the United States deepest lake! When visiting Crater Lake, it’s easy to see why this is deemed a national park. When the volcano erupted many years ago, the top blew off, and then came right back down, creating an island in the middle of the deep blue lake!
Cycle around the lake on Crater Lake Rim Drive, hike down to the water and swim in some of the cleanest water around, stargaze with nearly no light pollution, or simply head up with a lunch and marvel at the amazing views!
READ MORE | All of Oregon’s National Parks and Monuments
Slip and Slide Down South Umpqua’s Natural Falls
South Umpqua Falls found in the Umpqua National Forest is home to natural water slides right on the Umpqua River. Slide down the moss covered rocks into a pool of water, or just pick a spot and relax on the water for the day.
South Umpqua Falls has a campground with 19 sites, all on a first come first serve basis. It gets popular in the summer months, so be sure to get their early and even start your stay on a weekday for greater chances of a campsite!
Enjoy Toketee Falls and Hot Springs
Toketee Falls, also in the Umpqua National Forest, is one of the most popular waterfalls in Oregon. It’s a short out and back hike to the waterfall. Less than a mile long, with stairs and a bit of elevation change.
Down the road from Toketee Falls is a campground and hot spring, known as Toketee or Umpqua Hot Springs. This hot spring is clothing optional, so be prepared to see the nude ;).
READ MORE | Hot Spring Etiquette | 11 Things to Remember at Hot Springs
Places to Stay in Central Oregon
AirBnB | AirBnB is a great options for finding a place to stay in Central Oregon. With many people offering entire homes for rent on AirBnB, you could have a whole home to yourself. This is a great options for saving money on food by cooking at home and being able to spend more on adventures!
If you’re hoping to stay with a local, don’t worry, AirBnB offers local stays too! What a great way to find out even more about the local area and even other places you may be traveling to!
Hotel Stays | If staying in someone else’s home doesn’t tickle your fancy, search for hotels in Central Oregon here. Search for places to stay in Bend or Redmond — those are the two bigger towns in Central Oregon, and small towns will pop up within those searches.
Camping | Camping is a great money saver and memory maker! Central Oregon isn’t short of places to camp! There are free campsites, paid for campsite, and campgrounds run by the state, all offering a place to stay for under $20 USD.
Learn how to camp for free and where to find the best free campsites here.
Getting To And Around Central Oregon
Flying | There is an airport in Redmond, but flights don’t really go there from many places outside of Oregon. The “international” airport in Southern Oregon is Medford International Airport. Look for flights from your location to MFR (or Medford, Oregon), although fair warning prices for flying into Medford are a bit more than Portland.
Portland (PDX) is another option for flights, serving many international flights, and will honestly probably be the cheapest place to fly into. This is the search engine we use when booking flights. You could also look into flights to Eugene, Oregon. There are sometimes random good deals into that airport!
Rental Cars | If you’re not from the area or don’t have your own car, you’ll want to rent a car to get around Central Oregon. Public transportation in Oregon is a joke, so renting a car is certainly your best bet! While most of the places on this list can be accessed by a normal vehicle, you may want to rent a car with high clearance in case you want to travel off road, or down dirt roads to find free camping.
Training | Klamath Falls, Oregon offers the only train stop in the area with the Amtrak trains. You can train to Klamath Falls from places all up and down the west coast and then rent a car from there to explore Central Oregon. The drive from Klamath Falls to Central Oregon is really pretty, so it’s not a bad place to train into!
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