Redmond

Newberry National Volcanic Monument

Twenty-five miles south of Redmond on US-97 — the 50,000-acre USFS monument wrapped around Newberry Volcano. Lava Lands Visitor Center (free), Lava River Cave (a 1-mile self-guided lava tube, $5 day-use, bring-your-own-flashlight), Paulina Lake and East Lake at the caldera bottom, and Big Obsidian Flow's 1.5-mile interpretive loop through 7,000-year-old volcanic glass. The Redmond-day-trip-with-the-rental-car classic.

Address

58201 S US-97, Bend, OR 97707

Cove Palisades State Park

Twenty miles north of Redmond in the Crooked River canyon — Lake Billy Chinook's three-armed reservoir at the confluence of the Deschutes, Crooked, and Metolius rivers. Houseboat rentals (3-night minimum, $1,800-up), the Tam-a-láu Trail's 7-mile rim hike with 800-foot canyon walls, and the Cove Palisades Marina restaurant. $5 day-use; open year-round.

Address

7300 Jordan Rd, Culver, OR 97734

Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway

The 87-mile loop west of Redmond and Bend that threads through Mt. Bachelor and the chain of glacial lakes on the eastern Cascade flank — Sparks Lake, Devils Lake, Elk Lake (the lakeside Elk Lake Resort), Cultus Lake, and Wickiup Reservoir. Free; opens late May after snowmelt. From Redmond, allow 90 minutes via OR-126 west to the Sisters connector, then OR-242 to the Byway loop.

Petersen Rock Garden

Eight miles south of Redmond — the 1935 folk-art lava-and-agate castle-and-pond garden built single-handedly by Danish immigrant Rasmus Petersen over 17 years. A 4-acre rock-art landscape with miniature castles, ponds with goldfish, a Statue of Liberty, and a small museum of polished agates and obsidian. Free (donations accepted). The unexpected-classic Central Oregon roadside stop, on the National Register of Historic Places.

Address

7930 SW 77th St, Redmond, OR 97756

High Desert Museum

Thirteen miles south of Redmond on US-97 — a 135-acre indoor-outdoor natural-history-and-cultural museum with the permanent Spirit of the West frontier-era walk-through, a live-raptor flight demonstration, an indoor desertarium, a river-otter habitat, and the Sin in the Sagebrush gold-rush exhibit. $20 adult; allow 3 hours. The Redmond-rainy-day classic for families with school-age kids.

Address

59800 S US-97, Bend, OR 97702

Deschutes County Fair & Rodeo

The first weekend of August — Central Oregon's biggest county-fair-and-PRCA-rodeo at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds in Redmond. Five days of livestock exhibitions, carnival rides, the Friday-and-Saturday Xtreme Bulls and rodeo, and the local-favorite Big Country Concert Series headliners. $15 adult day-pass; $30 rodeo seat. The Redmond summer-week landmark.

Address

3800 SW Airport Way, Redmond, OR 97756

Redmond Saturday Farmers Market

Saturdays 9 a.m.–1 p.m. on SW 7th Street between Evergreen and Black Butte (mid-June through mid-October) — about 35 vendors with central Oregon orchard fruit, local raw honey, lavender from Eagle Mountain Lavender, and a rotating prepared-food court. Free; live music most Saturdays. The Redmond downtown summer-Saturday-morning ritual.

Address

SW 7th St between Evergreen Ave and Black Butte Blvd, Redmond, OR 97756

Operation Santa Claus Reindeer Ranch

A small reindeer-ranch open-house operation 4 miles east of Redmond — the only working reindeer ranch in Oregon, with about 30 reindeer used for parades and Christmas events. Open-house visits run mid-October through December (free, donation-suggested) where families can hand-feed and pet the reindeer. The Redmond-with-kids December default.

Address

4355 W Hwy 126, Redmond, OR 97756

Bend — 16 Miles South

Sixteen miles south on US-97 — Bend's downtown brewery row (Deschutes Brewery, Crux Fermentation Project, Boneyard Beer, Worthy Brewing, 10 Barrel), the Old Mill District on the Deschutes River, Drake Park and Mirror Pond, and the Tower Theatre. The Redmond-day-trip-to-Bend dining-out classic; allow 25 minutes each way. Browse our Bend microsite.

Address

Bend, OR 97701

Sunriver — 33 Miles South

Thirty-three miles south on US-97 — the 3,300-acre Sunriver Resort planned community with three championship golf courses (Crosswater, Meadows, Woodlands), the SHARC family aquatic center, 40 miles of paved bike path, and the Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory. The Redmond-rental-car-trip-to-Sunriver weekend classic. Browse our Sunriver microsite.

Address

Sunriver, OR 97707

Sisters — 22 Miles West

Twenty-two miles west of Redmond on OR-126 — the Old-West-themed mountain town of Sisters with its frontier-era Main Street facade, the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (the second Saturday of July, the largest quilt show in the world), Three Creek Lake's reflective Mt. Washington-and-Three Sisters view, and the McKenzie Pass Highway 19 miles west (a National Scenic Byway, open mid-June through October).

Address

Sisters, OR 97759

Crater Lake National Park

Two hours and twenty minutes south of Redmond on US-97 — the deepest lake in the U.S. at 1,949 feet, a collapsed Mt. Mazama caldera filled with the bluest water in North America. Rim Drive is a 33-mile loop with 30+ overlooks; Wizard Island boat tours run mid-July through mid-September ($66 adult). $30 vehicle entry. The Redmond-day-trip-south anchor.

Address

Crater Lake, OR 97604