Beautiful Central Oregon has it all!

Whatever you do for fun, you can do it within 1 & 1/2 hours drive from Bend. Excellent facilities and locations exist for wind surfing, sailing, water skiing, and just about any other activity you care to pursue!

Easy access to and from Central Oregon using Robert's Field, located in Redmond. Robert's services United Express and Horizon, with direct flights to Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle.

View the Central Oregon Area Maps.

ACTIVITIES

Golf
25 courses, 21 public, ranging from smaller executive courses to the world class championship courses at Broken Top and Sunriver Resort. Sunshine, crisp air, and little rain gets you on the course more days.

Fishing
14 lakes, six rivers, and four reservoirs allow you to go after the gamut of fish - from fly fishing the Deschutes to deep lake trolling.

Hiking
Over 1,300 miles of trails and 100 campgrounds feed you into the fresh meadows, pine forests, and the spectacular Cascade Mountains.

Biking
Whether on-road or off-road, choose from hundreds of miles of diverse scenery and terrain. Bend hosts the Cascade Cycling Classic each July.

Rafting
White Water enthusiast eagerly descend on the Deschutes river each Summer for exciting class 4 action. Easy trips ranging from 2-4 hours up to three days.

Climbing
Smith Rock State Park draws climbers from around the world to test the skills of even the most skilled.

Pole, Pedal, and Paddle
Each May, two to three thousand entrants from all over the globe descend on Bend for this unique and exciting event. Competition starts on Mt. Bachelor for a downhill sprint, continues on to a cross country jaunt, then on the bikes down the mountain to Bend and the Deschutes river for a water leg, and finishes with a run through the town and park. Competition can be done solo, with a partner or in a group.

Skiing
Mt. Bachelor is only 26 miles from Bend, and boasts excellent powder skiing and snow boarding from November until June.

COMMUNITY

Schools
The Bend-La Pine School District is located in Deschutes County in the heart of Oregon. The District serves three distinct communities: Bend, Sunriver and La Pine. Nestled at the base of the Cascade Mountain Range, it borders the alpine forest and the high desert. The District serves a population of over 13,000 students kindergarten through grade 12. Deschutes County is one of the fastest-growing counties in the state of Oregon and offers abundant year-round recreational activities. The scenery is breathtaking. Many points of interest lie within the county's boundaries.

La Pine is located 30 miles south of Bend. Three schools - La Pine Elementary, La Pine Middle School and La Pine High School - serve the close-knit community with an enrollment of approximately 1,350 students.

The Sunriver area of the District also includes Fall River and Spring River. Three Rivers Elementary serves students K-8 with an enrollment of over 400 students. Students from this area continue to either Bend or La Pine schools for high school.

Bend is the largest of the communities served by the Bend-La Pine School District. The balance of the enrollment - approximately 10,500 students - is served in ten elementary schools, three middle schools and three high schools.

Central Oregon Community College:

OSU-Cascades is a campus of Oregon State University located in the outdoor recreation mecca of Bend, Oregon.  Explore your academic potential while you hit the slopes of Mt. Bachelor, raft down the Deschutes River, or climb South Sister.  Think of it as having a great outdoor experience while you choose from any of our 20 different degree options. 

More importantly, OSU-Cascades has extra small class sizes, one-on-one mentoring by world-class faculty, and creative course delivery, that makes for a dynamic learning experience.  Students find a personal approach to academics on a vibrant, student-centered campus.

This is all possible because of the partnerships we have formed with Central Oregon Community College, the University of Oregon, and Eastern Oregon University.  Once admitted to OSU-Cascades, students take lower division classes from COCC and upper division classes from the university offering the degree and program of their choice.  An OSU-Cascades four-year degree is seamless and more affordable for the student.

Cascades' international opportunities include a degree option in International Ecotourism as well as hundreds of student and internship programs around the world. 

Central Oregon Community College offers Associate of Arts Degrees and professional/technical training in one to two year programs. It also offers Bachelor's and Master's degree programs through the Central Oregon Consortium for Higher Education program, whereby COCC contracts with Universities to deliver advanced programs. OSU has a branch office in Bend, and negotiations are in process to make COCC a four year college.

Medical
St. Charles Medical Center, the regional hospital, is the largest acute care hospital east of the Cascades and has the region's trauma center.

Employment
St. Charles Medical Center is the largest employer in Central Oregon. Other major employers are the Bend/LaPine School District, Advanced Power Technologies, Bright Wood Corporation, Bend Millwork Systems, and Les Schwab Tire Distribution Center. Central Oregon has become a Mecca for high-tech firms, as well.

As light industry grows, the combined jobs from tourism booms. Of the region's top forty employers, approximately 2,400 jobs are from the ski areas and destination resorts. Add to that the restaurants, motels, shops, Forest Service and park employees, and recreation is of major importance.

Topography and Climate
The geographical climate for Central Oregon is predominantly High Desert. Summer temperatures range from an average high of 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Winters average highs in the 40's to low 20's. Precipitation ranges from 10.5 to 12.04 inches annually. Every community in Central Oregon has it's own variations of temperature and precipitation, relative to it's elevation and proximity to the mountains.

Elevations
Bend - 3,623'
Sisters - 3,100'
Prineville - 2868'
La Pine - 4,300'
Madras - 2,242'
Redmond - 3,077'
Warm Springs - 1,575'

Thought for the day:
"Nothing is as strong as gentleness or as gentle as strength."