Quote:
Originally Posted by zikzak
I spent a few days in Bend and I never really got the appeal. It's a nice enough town, groovy lake in the middle of it, but nothing struck me as special enough to warrant its reputation.
When? It's more than quadrupled in population since 1990 (+80% since 2000). It's definitely gotten a lot nicer, the brewery scene there is amazing and (excluding Deschutes) came to be almost entirely in the last ten years, the Les Schwab Amphitheater is fairly new (2001) and has surprisingly good shows and events for how out of the way Bend is.
My brother-in-law had his bachelor party there during a beautiful summer weekend - it was hot but the western dry heat that doesn't bother you too much, we sat outside drinking great local beer, walked around town through parks to breweries and coffee shops, did
Cyclepub which I can't emphasize enough is a real thing that exists, it was awesome. I'm not super into outdoorsy **** but if you are, you can't deny the appeal of the Deschutes River and Mount Bachelor.
Downside, as my gf noted after going to visit my parents there: suuuuuper white.