Bend is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Bend

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

. Bend is Central Oregon's largest city, with a population of 99,178 at the time of the

2020 U.S. Census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

, up from 76,693 at the time of the 2010 U.S. Census, and 52,029 at the 2000 census. The Bend metro population was 198,253 as of the 2020 census. It is the fifth largest metropolitan area in Oregon. Bend is located on the eastern edge of the Cascade Range along the

Deschutes River Deschutes River may refer to: *Deschutes River (Oregon) **Little Deschutes River (Oregon), a tributary of the Deschutes River in Oregon *Deschutes River (Washington) The Deschutes River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington. Its headwater ...

. There the Ponderosa pine forest transitions into the high desert, characterized by arid land, junipers, sagebrush, and bitterbrush. Originally a crossing point on the river, settlement began in the early 1900s. Bend was incorporated as a city in 1905. Economically, it started as a

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply cha ...

town but is now identified as a gateway for many outdoor sports, including

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more nat ...

rock climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically a ...

, white-water rafting,

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...

, paragliding, and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

. As of 2022 the city is also the home of the last Blockbuster video rental store.

History

The name "Bend" was derived from "Farewell Bend", the designation used by early pioneers to refer to the location along the

where the town was eventually

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bea ...

ted, one of the few fordable points along the river. Native Americans hunted and fished here. In the winter of 1824, members of a fur-trapping party led by Peter Skene Ogden visited the area.

John C. Frémont John Charles Frémont or Fremont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was an American explorer, military officer, and politician. He was a U.S. Senator from California and was the first Republican nominee for president of the United States in 1856 ...

, John Strong Newberry, and other Army survey parties came next. Then pioneers heading farther west passed through the area and forded the Deschutes River at Farewell Bend. Constructed in May 1901, the Pilot Butte Development Company's little plant was the first commercial sawmill in Bend. The original location was at the rear of the Pilot Butte Inn of later years. Steidl and Reed also set up a small mill in Bend in 1903. This was on the Deschutes River just below the Pioneer Park area. The mill was operated by water power. A small community developed around the area. In 1904, a city was incorporated by a general vote of the community's 300 residents. On January 4, 1905, the city held its first official meeting as an incorporated

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

, appointing A. H. Goodwillie as the first mayor. The settlement was originally called "Farewell Bend", which was later shortened to "Bend" by the United States Post Office Department. In 1910, Mirror Pond was created by the construction of the Bend Water, Light & Power Company dam on the Deschutes River in Bend. The dam provided the city with its initial source of electricity. The dam has been owned by Pacific Power since 1926 and still produces electricity that supplies approximately 200 Bend households. In 1916, Deschutes County was formed from the western half of Crook County and Bend was designated as the

. In 1929, Bend amended the charter and adopted the council–manager form of government. On August 28, 2022, a mass shooting occurred at a

Safeway Safeway is an American supermarket chain founded by Marion Barton Skaggs in April 1915 in American Falls, Idaho. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and features a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, del ...

grocery store in Bend. Two senior citizens, one of whom was an employee at the store, were killed, and two others were wounded before the gunman committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

Geography

Bend sits on the boundary of the Eastern Cascades Slopes and Foothills, a Level III ecoregion designated by the

United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it ...

(EPA) in the U.S. states of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, and

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, and the Deschutes River Valley, a Level IV ecoregion within the Blue Mountains Level III ecoregion. The Deschutes River runs through Bend, where it is dammed to form Mirror Pond. Bend's elevation is above sea level. The city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Inside the city limits is Pilot Butte State Scenic Viewpoint, an old

cinder cone A cinder cone (or scoria cone) is a steep conical hill of loose pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic clinkers, volcanic ash, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are formed by explosive eruption ...

. Bend is one of three cities in the continental U.S. (with

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

, and

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, along with Raymond. The city had a population of 153,701 at t ...

) to have an extinct volcano within its city limits. It is reached by U.S. Route 20. A lesser known characteristic of Bend, the

Horse Lava Tube System The Horse Lava Tube System (or Horse system) is a series of lava tubes within Deschutes County, Oregon, of the United States. The system starts within the Deschutes National Forest on the northern flank of Newberry Volcano and heads north into an ...

enters and borders the eastern edge of the city. Just south of Bend is

Newberry National Volcanic Monument Newberry National Volcanic Monument was designated on November 5, 1990, to protect the area around the Newberry Volcano in the U.S. state of Oregon. The monument was created within the boundaries of the Deschutes National Forest, which is managed ...

U.S. Route 97 U.S. Route 97 (US 97) is a major north–south route of the United States Numbered Highway System in the Pacific Northwest region. It runs for approximately through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, primarily serving i ...

Climate

Bend's climate is typical of the high desert with cool nights and sunny days, classified as semi-arid (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

'' BSk''). Annual precipitation averages . Annual average snowfall is . The winter season in Bend provides a mean temperature of in December. Nighttime temperatures are not much lower than daytime highs during the winter. Annually, the lowest nighttime temperature is typically to (Zone 6). Central Oregon summers are marked by their very large diurnal temperature ranges, with a July daily average of , and an average diurnal temperature variation approaching . Hard frosts are not unheard of during the summer months. Autumn usually brings warm, dry days and cooler nights. Bend is known for its annual Indian summer. Bend's growing season is short; according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Resources Conservation Service, in half of the years between 1971 and 2000, the USDA weather station in Bend recorded the last below-freezing temperatures after July 3 and the first below-freezing temperatures before August 31. Based on 1981–2010 normals, the average window for freezing temperatures is September 13 through June 19.

Demographics

Bend is the larger principal city of the Bend-Prineville CSA, a

Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and ...

that includes the Bend metropolitan area (Deschutes County) and the Prineville micropolitan area (Crook County), which had a combined estimated population of 216,310 by the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

in 2008.

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2010, there were 76,639 people, 31,790 households, and 19,779 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was . There were 36,110 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 91.3%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 0.5%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.8% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 3.4% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 8.2% of the population. There were 31,790 households, of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.9% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.8% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.91. The median age in the city was 36.6 years. 23.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 30% were from 25 to 44; 25.1% were from 45 to 64; and 12.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.0% male and 51.0% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 52,029 people, 21,062 households, and 13,395 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,624.8 people per sq mi (627.4/km). There were 22,507 housing units at an average density of 702.9 per sq mi (271.4/km). The racial makeup of the city was 93.98% White, 0.28% African American, 0.79% Native American, 1.00% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 1.75% from other races, and 2.12% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 4.61% of the population. There were 21,062 households, out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.4% were non-families. 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42, and the average family size was 2.92. The age distribution was 24.5% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 31.1% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $40,857, and in 2006 the median income for a family of four is $58,800. Males had a median income of $33,377 versus $25,094 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $21,624. About 6.9% of families and 10.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 13.8% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

is one of Bend's largest sectors. The

Mount Bachelor Mount Bachelor, formerly named Bachelor Butte, is a dormant stratovolcano atop a shield volcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the Cascade Range of central Oregon. Named Mount Bachelor because it stands apart from the nearby Three Sisters, ...

ski resort brings in tourists from all over Oregon, Washington, and California. The nearby

Cascade Lakes The Cascade Lakes are a collection of lakes in central Oregon in the United States. The 12 lakes and two reservoirs are found along the Deschutes river, east side of the Cascade Range in Deschutes County, Oregon. The lakes begin west of Mount Bac ...

are also a large draw for tourists. Recreational activities include downhill and cross country skiing, hiking, biking, rafting, golfing, camping, fishing, picnicking, rock climbing, and general sightseeing. Transient room tax revenues through the first quarter of fiscal year 2015 equaled $2,221,610. The transient room tax is used in partnership with Visit Bend and the Bend Economic Development Advisory Board to convert visitors to Bend into residents and business owners. In 2011, Visit Bend reported that families are the largest demographic that visit Bend (35%), while couples with no children make up the second largest portion (24%) of visitors to the city. During the same year, tourism generated $570 million and employed 16% of the city's workforce. Brauns, L. (2021, November 21). According to a 2019 economic impact data from Travel Oregon, “the local tourism industry employs 10,000 people and brings in more than $1 billion into the regional economy” Room taxes attributed to tourism in Bend is divided up to be given back to the community. Bend, Oregon depends on $7 million in the room tax income that essentially funds services for Streets, Fire, and Police. $3 million are specifically contributed to Tourism Promotion. As of April 2021, the Bend City Council has agreed to spend an undisclosed portion of the $3 million to maintain some of the trails in the city. Bend is home to the

Deschutes Brewery Deschutes Brewery is a craft brewery in the northwest United States, located in Bend, Oregon. Founded in 1988 as a brew pub, it is known for such products as Black Butte Porter and Mirror Pond Pale Ale. In 2008, the brewery opened a second pub in ...

, the eighth-largest craft brewery in the nation and the largest of over a dozen microbreweries in the city. Each year the city hosts many events celebrating its brewing culture, including the Bend Oktoberfest, the Little Woody Barrel Aged Brew and Whiskey Fest, Bend Brewfest, and Central Oregon Beer Week. Beer aficionados can also visit many of the breweries along the Bend Ale Trail. As of 2018, there were 23 breweries in Bend and 4 hard cider companies. Since 2017, Bend's Worthy Brewing has hosted an observatory with a 16-inch reflecting Ritchey–Chrétien telescope. Bend, OR, August 2018 24

In 2005, Bend's economic profile comprised five industry categories: tourism (7,772 jobs); healthcare and

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or adminis ...

(6,062 jobs); professional, scientific and technical services (1,893 jobs);

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

products manufacturing (1,798 jobs); and recreation and transportation equipment (1,065 jobs). In 2019, the officially licensed

Blockbuster Video Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to: *Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived. Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain ** Bloc ...

in the city became the last remaining one in the world. Much of Bend's rapid growth in recent years is also due to its attraction as a

retirement Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

destination. The rapid population growth has fostered organizations such as Central Oregon Landwatch and Oregon Solutions. Bend has also become a commuter town for a number of tech workers in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area G ...

and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

metropolitan area despite the extreme commute, due to its appeal to the outdoors as well as its relatively cheap cost of living compared to the skyrocketing rent and housing prices of the Bay Area and Seattle. Pilot Butte, Bend, Oregon

Construction and real estate

In 2005 construction and real estate accounted for 17.3 percent of all jobs in the Bend

metropolitan statistical area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

(MSA), which constitutes all of Deschutes County. This figure is about 70 percent more than the proportion of construction and real estate jobs in the Oregon and national economies. Construction activity in Bend appears to be slowing. The number of building permit applications received by the Bend City Building Division fell from 826 in August 2006 to 533 in August 2007, a 35 percent decrease. A large influx of new residents drawn by Bend's lifestyle amenities, along with the low interest rates and easy lending that fostered a national housing boom in 2001–05, resulted in increased activity in Bend's construction and real estate sectors and caused the rate of home price appreciation in Bend to grow substantially during that period. Median home prices in the Bend MSA increased by over 80% in the 2001–05 period. In June 2006, ''Money'' magazine named the Bend MSA the fifth most overpriced real estate market in the United States. By September 2006, the Bend metro area ranked second in the list of most overpriced housing markets, and in June 2007 it was named the most overpriced housing market in America. The 2008−09 housing downturn had a strong effect on Bend's housing and economic situation. According to the ''Seattle Times'', single-family home prices dropped more than 40 percent from a peak of $396,000 in May 2007 to $221,000 in March 2009. Additional signs of the housing downturn include an April 2009 Deschutes county unemployment rate of 12.6 percent and in a tri-county area of Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson counties a 66 percent rise in homelessness from 2006 to 2,237. In May 2010, the Federal Housing and Finance Agency released a report in which Bend had the largest price drop in the country, 23 percent, from first quarter of 2009 to the first quarter of 2010.

Arts and culture

The city is becoming known for its burgeoning art scene, and is home to numerous visual and fine art galleries, as well as the independent BendFilm Festival, which launched in 2004. There are numerous public art displays, including th
Roundabout Art Route
tour of outdoor sculptures throughout the city.

Museums

* Deschutes Historical Museum (located in the historic Reid School building) *

High Desert Museum The High Desert Museum is located near Bend, Oregon, United States. Opened in 1982, it brings regional wildlife, culture, art and natural resources together to promote an understanding of natural and cultural heritage of North America's high d ...

National Register of Historic Places

* Bend Amateur Athletic Club Gymnasium * Charles Boyd Homestead Group * Downing Building * Drake Park Neighborhood Historic District * George Palmer and Dorothy Binney Putnam House * Goodwillie–Allen House * N. P. Smith Pioneer Hardware Store * O'Kane Building * Thomas McCann House * Trinity Episcopal Church

Venues, restaurants, and shopping

* Hayden Homes Amphitheater * Old Mill District * Pine Tavern * Tower Theatre * Old St. Francis School

Natural history

* Mirror Pond * Pine Mountain Observatory

Sports

Bend is home to the Bend Elks of the

West Coast Collegiate Baseball League The West Coast League (WCL) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 2005, comprising teams from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alberta. The WCL was previously named the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League (WCC ...

. The Elks play at Vince Genna Stadium. Former minor league teams include the Bend Rockies, Bend Bucks,

Bend Phillies The Bend Phillies were a minor league baseball team located in Bend, Oregon. The Phillies were members of the Class A Short Season Northwest League from 1979 to 1986. Prior to 1981 the team was named the Central Oregon Phillies. History Professio ...

, Bend Timber Hawks,and Bend Rainbows. Bend is also the home of the Central Oregon Hotshots of the

International Basketball League The International Basketball League (IBL) was a semi-professional men's basketball league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States. In 2010 the Albany Legends became the first team in the Northeastern United States to join. Th ...

. The Central Oregon Steelheaders, continually one of the top teams in the NW conference of the

Premier Arena Soccer League The Premier Arena Soccer League (PASL) is an indoor soccer league with mostly semi-professional teams; along with a number of amateur teams across North America. The PASL was previously known as the Federation of Sports Arenas (FSA). The PASL logo ...

(PASL), play at the Central Oregon Indoor Sports Center in Bend. Bend is the home of the professional

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreatio ...

team XC Oregon, which competes in races locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. Bend has had success in landing major sporting events such as the 2008 and 2009 USA Winter Triathlon National Championships, the 2008 and 2009 XTERRA Trail Running National Championships, the 2009 and 2010

United States National Cyclo-cross Championships The United States National Cyclocross Championships is a four-day competition held annually each winter and is sponsored by USA Cycling USA Cycling or USAC, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the national governing body for bicycle racin ...

, the 2009 and 2010 USA Cycling Elite Road National Championships and the 2013, 2015 and 2016 USA Cross Country Championships. In 2019 and 2020, Bend hosted USA Climbing's pro and youth National Bouldering Championships. A popular spot for cycling, Bend has over of mountain bike trails and is the home to the

Cascade Cycling Classic The Cascade Cycling Classic was the longest running elite road bicycle racing stage race in the United States (1980–2019), with 2018 being the only year the race was not held. The race took place in the Central Oregon region and was based in Be ...

, the nation's longest running stage race for road bicycle racing. Bend was recently named the top mountain bike city in Mountain Bike Action magazine. Bend features the Bend Roughriders RFC, a men's division 3 Rugby Football Club. Bend's Lava City Roller Dolls became a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association in April, 2009. Bend's Pole Pedal Paddle is one of the Pacific Northwest's premier athletic events. It is a relay race held each spring with six legs that include alpine skiing/snowboarding, cross-country skiing, biking, running, canoeing/kayaking and sprinting. The event begins at Mount Bachelor and ends in the Old Mill District. Bend is also home to the Deschutes County Rocks Boxing Team, a USA Boxing program ran by Level III USA Boxing coach Richard Miller, who is also the Golden Gloves & Silver Gloves President. February of each year Coach Miller hosts the Oregon State Golden Gloves Boxing Championship at Eagle Crest resort, a two-day event that highlights the best Olympic-bound boxers in the Northwest while bringing hundreds of boxing fans to the area. The program is non-profit and raises money for youth in the community. Running is also a popular sport in Bend. The city is home to the Cascade Lakes Relay, Bend Beer Chase, Haulin' Aspen Trail Marathon, XTERRA Trail Running National Championships, and the Pilot Butte Challenge. The Cascade Lakes Relay is the largest sporting event in Central Oregon with over 3,000 participants each year. One of the largest running clubs in Bend is Central Oregon Running Klub (CORK). In 2006 Bend was named the best trail running city by ''Outside'' magazine, because of of in-town trails. Runners also enjoy parks such as Shevlin, Tumalo Falls, and Deschutes River Trail. With the opening of the Bend Pavilion ice rink in 2015, Bend established its first USA Hockey sanctioned amateur ice hockey program, the Bend Rapids. The Rapids field four different teams in the 10u, 12u, 14u and high school divisions. In January the pavilion hosts the Cascade Invitational Hockey tournament. The three-day tournament features amateur hockey teams from Washington and Oregon.

Parks and recreation

The Bend Park & Recreation District protects the parks, natural areas, recreational facilities, gardens, and trails of Bend. *

Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway The Cascades Lakes Scenic Byway (Forest Route 46) is a National Scenic Byway in central Oregon in the United States. It runs for in the rugged country of Deschutes and Klamath counties on the east side of the Cascade Range. It offers particul ...

* Drake Park * Pilot Butte State Park *

Shevlin Park Shevlin Park is a park located in Bend, Oregon. It was first established in 1921 by the City of Bend. Notable natural and manmade features include Tumalo Creek, Aspen Hall, and Fremont Meadow. History Central Oregon is located on the ancestral ...

* McKay Park * Farewell Bend Park * Riverbend Park * Ponderosa Skatepark

Education

Higher Education

Central Oregon Community College Central Oregon Community College is a community college in Bend, Oregon. It primarily serves residents of Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook Counties. Additionally its district includes portions of Klamath, Lake, and Wasco counties. History Cent ...

and the OSU-Cascades Campus of

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering ...

offer two- and four-year programs.

Public schools

The Bend area is served by Bend–La Pine School District. It contains five high schools ( Bend, Marshall, Mountain View, La Pine, Caldera High School, and Summit). It also contains six

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

s (Cascade, High Desert, Pilot Butte, Pacific Crest, La Pine and Sky View), and 19

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

s which include three magnet schools. Within Bend-LaPine, additional special schools include an environmentally focused middle school and high school called Realms. Charter schools include Desert Sky Montessori and the K-8 Bend International School.

Private schools

Private schools in the area include Cascades Academy of Central Oregon, Seven Peaks, Waldorf School of Bend, St. Francis of Assisi, Morning Star Christian, and Trinity Lutheran School.

Media

;Newspapers * ''

Bend Bulletin ''The Bulletin'' is the daily newspaper of Bend, Oregon, United States. ''The Bulletin'' is owned by EO Media Group, which prior to January 2013 was named the East Oregonian Publishing Company. Over the years, a number of well-known journalists h ...

'' * ''

The Source Weekly ''The Source Weekly'', also known as the ''Source'', is a free weekly newspaper published in Bend, Oregon, United States. The paper is circulated throughout Central Oregon and covers news, events and culture in the area. The paper is published ...

'' * ''Cascade Business News'' ;Television * KOAB-TV 3 (PBS) * KTVZ 21 (NBC) - The region's first broadcast TV station (launched in 1977). * KFXO-CD 39 (FOX) - On April 17, 2006, the station launched a local news broadcast. The station later was purchased by KTVZ's parent firm, News-Press and Gazette Co. *

KOHD KOHD (channel 18) is a television station in Bend, Oregon, United States, serving as the American Broadcasting Company, ABC affiliate for Central Oregon. It is owned by local cable television, cable company BendBroadband alongside low-power broad ...

51 (ABC) - Chambers Communications (Eugene, Oregon) recently purchased a broadcast license for the market and began its local newscasts in the fall of 2007. * KBNZ-LD 7 (CBS) - TDS, parent company of Bend Broadband, has purchased KBNZ. KOIN-TV Portland's news is offered with no local cut-ins. * NTVZ-CW (CW). KTVZ (DT2). Broadcast by NPG of Oregon, The CW carries popular entertainment programming. First local on-air broadcast was September 2006. * KQRE-TM (Telemundo). Subchannel of KFXO-CD. Spanish language television broadcast by NPG of Oregon since 2007. * COTV 11 - Carries RSN (Resort Sports Network), local events (parades, city council meetings, candidate forums). In addition, COTV airs local sports, including the Central Oregon Hotshots, Bend Elks, and local high school teams. ;Radio

AM

* KRCO 690 AM -

Sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

format *

KBND KBND (1110 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format. Licensed to Bend, Oregon, United States, the station serves the Bend area. The station is currently owned by Combined Communications and features programing from Fo ...

1110 AM - News Talk Information format * KRDM 1240 AM - Regional Mexican format * KBNW 1340 AM - News Talk Information format

FM

* KLBR 88.1 FM -

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

and locally produced radio shows from Lane Community College. KLBR is a

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simul ...

of KLCC (FM) in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, ...

. * KWRX 98.9 FM - non-commercial

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" al ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

broadcasting to the Bend, Oregon area. KWRX is a

of KWAX in

. * KPOV-FM 88.9 FM - Low-power

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popu ...

station owned by the Women's Civic Improvement League. * KVRA 89.3 FM - Contemporary Christian format. Air 1 * KVLB 90.5 FM - Contemporary Christian format K-LOVE. * KOAB-FM 91.3 FM - Oregon Public Broadcasting *

KRXF KRXF (92.9 FM) is a commercial modern rock music radio station in Bend, Oregon, broadcasting to the Bend, Oregon Bend is a city in and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Bend Metrop ...

92.9 FM - Bend Radio Group commercial

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

music

in Sunriver, Oregon, with a slogan of "Local. Independent" *

KXIX KXIX is a commercial top 40 (CHR) music radio station in Sunriver, Oregon Sunriver is a census-designated place and planned residential and resort community in Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a popu ...

94.1 FM - Bend Radio Group commercial Top 40 music. * KRCO-FM 95.7 FM -

Classic country Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades. Repertoire The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on inn ...

format. * KNLR 97.5 FM - Contemporary Christian format. * KTWS 98.3 FM -

Classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prim ...

format. * KMTK 99.7 FM - broadcasts a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

format. *

KMGX KMGX (100.7 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock format. Licensed to Bend, Oregon Bend is a city in and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Bend Metropolitan Statistical ...

100.7 FM - Bend Radio Group

Hot Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

format * KLRR 101.7 FM - commercial adult album alternative music

in Redmond, Oregon, broadcasting to the Bend, Oregon area. * KEGB-LP 102.1 FM - Christian Radio

3ABN Radio The Three Angels Broadcasting Network, or 3ABN, is a Christian media television and radio network which broadcasts Seventh-day Adventist religious and health-oriented programming, based in West Frankfort, Illinois, United States. Although it is ...

, broadcasting to the Bend Oregon area. *

KSJJ KSJJ (102.9 FM) is a commercial country music radio station in Redmond, Oregon, broadcasting to the Bend, Oregon, area. Syndicated programming includes ''After Midnite with Blair Garner'' hosted by Blair Garner from Premiere Radio Networks ...

102.9 FM - Bend Radio Group

format. Arbitron rated #1 station in the Bend, Oregon market. * KWPK-FM 104.1 FM -

format. * KNLX 104.9 FM -

Spanish Religious Christian radio is a Christian media radio format that focus on programming with a Christian message. Many such broadcasters play contemporary Christian music, though many programs include sermons, radio dramas, as well as news and talk program ...

format. * KQAK 105.7 FM -

Classic Hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 198 ...

format. * KWXS 107.7 FM - CHR-Rhythmic format.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Air

The nearest commercial airport is

Roberts Field Redmond Municipal Airport (Roberts Field) is in Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is owned and operated by the city of Redmond, Oregon. It is the main commercial airport in Central Oregon, with nonstop scheduled passenger airline fl ...

(RDM) in Redmond, north of Bend. Alaska Airlines, Avelo Airlines, Horizon Air and SkyWest Airlines (flying as Alaska Airlines, American Eagle, Delta Connection and

United Express United Express is the brand name for the regional branch of United Airlines, under which six individually owned regional airlines operate short- and medium-haul feeder flights. On October 1, 2010, UAL Corporation and Continental Airlines merged t ...

) provide direct service to Burbank,

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

, Phoenix,

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

. The

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...

operates an air base and training center for firefighting. Bend Municipal Airport (KBDN) is located northeast of the city and serves

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

. Several significant general aviation companies are based at Bend Airport, including Precise Flight, which develops

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements ...

systems,

speed brake In aeronautics, air brakes or speed brakes are a type of flight control surface used on an aircraft to increase the drag on the aircraft. Air brakes differ from spoilers in that air brakes are designed to increase drag while making litt ...

s, landing lights and other modifications for general aviation aircraft, and Epic Aircraft.

Bus

The Bend Hawthorne Transit Center is a hub for the Cascades East Transit center with connections to intercity bus services including Pacific Crest Bus Lines, POINT Intercity Bus Service, the People Mover, and the Central Oregon Breeze. Bend was previously the only metropolitan area west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

without a public bus system. A measure that would have created a transit district was on the November 2004 ballot, but was defeated 53 to 41 percent. As of August 2006, however, funding was acquired and the B.A.T. (Bend Area Transit) bus service began on a limited basis. Buses have been running since September 27, 2006. During summer 2007, not a single bus purchased was in operation (though several were due to weak A/C systems) and litigation was underway. There are currently nine fixed bus routes offered by Cascades East Transit in Bend. The city is also started experimenting with a shared-ride van in 2019. The project was initially designed to find a replacement for a cancelled route that had limited riders.

Roads and highways

Bend lies at the intersection of U.S. Route 20 and

. The latter runs on an expressway alignment through the city known as the Bend Parkway; a business route for US 97 runs along 3rd Street. The city is also served by the Century Drive Highway No. 372 which provides access to

. In an effort to improve the safety of the city's non-driving residents, Bend has been implementing roundabouts within the city.

Rail

A BNSF main line runs north–south through the city; there are numerous spurs off of the main line which serve industrial rail customers. The Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway ran passenger service six days a week on a mixed train along that line from Bend to Wishram, Washington until some point between 1968 and 1970. The closest

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...

station is in Chemult, approximately to the south; it is served by the Seattle–Los Angeles '' Coast Starlight''.

Sustainable practices

In 2016, Bend adopted the Transportation System Plan, which is a 20-year plan that strives to achieve a healthy, equitable future for the entire community. The city is using community input to help this plan move forward, using experiments and data to drive their decisions on how people move within the city while incorporating

land use Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as settlements and semi-natural habitats such as arable fields, pastures, and managed woods. Land use by humans has a long ...

throughout. In July 2019, Oregon State University Cascade launched a ride share program as part of a study called Ride Bend, which was active until March 2020. Ride Bend hired the transit company Downtowner to help set up and implement an on demand, app based, electric van service in Bend's west side. Part of Ride Bend's study was to see whether people prefer sharing rides to get to their destination over fixed bus routes. Ride Bend noticed that few people were using public transportation within the city, and many bus systems, such as Cascades East Transit, had to cancel their services because not enough people were taking the bus. Ride Bend not only succeeded in getting people to use public transportation again, effectively helping with

traffic calming Traffic calming uses physical design and other measures to improve safety for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists. It has become a tool to combat speeding and other unsafe behaviours of drivers in the neighbourhoods. It aims to encourage safe ...

, but they also brought people to broader areas within the city. An estimated 40,000 people have moved to Bend since the Transportation System Plan was written, and most of them brought cars with them. While Ride Bend is directly addressing carbon emissions, plenty of other businesses surrounding Bend are reducing the amount of impact a car has on the environment after its use. Tires can be processed and reused, batteries and oil can be treated so no toxic waste gets put into the

surface runoff Surface runoff (also known as overland flow) is the flow of water occurring on the ground surface when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other sources, can no longer sufficiently rapidly infiltrate in the soil. This can occur when t ...

in the streets and landfill. While the Transportation System Plan just began in 2016, the city looks towards a 20-year investment in creating a brighter future in transportation use and waste management.

Notable people

* Brian Malarkey - celebrity chef *

George P. Putnam George Palmer Putnam (September 7, 1887 – January 4, 1950) was an American publisher, writer and explorer. Known for his marriage to (and being the widower of) Amelia Earhart, he had also achieved fame as one of the most successful promoters in ...

– publisher, mayor (1912–1913), husband of Amelia Earhart *

Laurenne Ross Laurenne Ross (born August 17, 1988) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from the United States. She specialized in the speed events of downhill and super G. Born in Edmonton, Alberta in Canada, Ross was on skis at age two at the Snow Vall ...

– skier, Olympian

Sister cities

Bend has multiple sister cities: * Fujioka Town ( Toyota City), Aichi

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

Condega Condega () is a municipality in the Estelí department of Nicaragua. It was officially incorporated on June 9, 1962. Condega is situated on the Pan-American Highway (Route One) at a distance of 185 kilometers north of Managua, and at an altitu ...

, Nicaragua * Muzaffarabad, Pakistan * Belluno, Veneto, Italy

References

External links

City of Bend, Oregon

Entry for Bend
in the '' Oregon Blue Book'' * *
Bend's Old Mill District
{{Authority control 1901 establishments in Oregon Populated places established in 1901 Cities in Deschutes County, Oregon Cities in Oregon County seats in Oregon Logging communities in the United States