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Illuminating Dark Skies Around Bend Oregon

Get ready for a cosmic spectacle, 2025 offers a variety of notable astronomical events! 2025 is packed with incredible night sky events, from dazzling meteor showers to breathtaking auroras and dramatic blood moons. Discover the must-see celestial shows of the year, many of which you can enjoy with just your own eyes. Even if you’re new to stargazing, these upcoming wonders are sure to amaze.

March 13, 2025: Total Lunar Eclipse and Blood Moon

The eclipse is viewable anywhere in the Western Hemisphere that has clear skies, including every state in the U.S. The moon will start to look a little different just before midnight EDT on Thursday. The eclipse will start shortly after 10 p.m. PST and totality happens between about 11:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. PST.

March 29, 2025: Partial Solar Eclipse

The next partial solar eclipse will occur on March 29 and will begin around 1:50 a.m. PST, according to timeanddate.com. It’s expected to end just before 5:43 a.m. PST. The peak of the partial eclipse is scheduled to happen around 3:47 a.m. PST.

June 26, 2025: Moon and Mercury Meet Up

Witness a rare celestial rendezvous! On June 26th, tiny Mercury, the sun’s closest planet, emerges from its hiding place to join the slender crescent moon. To see this subtle spectacle, peer low into the western sky shortly after sunset, 20-30 minutes before darkness falls. Mercury, a faint glimmer, will be just three degrees from the moon. A clear western view is essential, and binoculars can cut through the sunset’s glow.

August 12, 2025: Venus and Jupiter’s Close Encounter

Mark your calendars for an early morning planetary conjunction on August 12th. Venus and Jupiter will appear very close together in the eastern dawn sky. Venus will be the brighter of the two, shining with a white light, while Jupiter will appear dimmer and golden. Binoculars will easily show both planets together. A small telescope will reveal Jupiter’s atmospheric bands and the Galilean moons.

September 7, 2025: Total Lunar Eclipse and Blood Moon

Sorry, this total lunar eclipse (“blood moon”) will only be visible in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. But in case you are traveling, a partial eclipse begins at 9:27 a.m. PST, with totality from 10:30 a.m. to 11:52 a.m. PST. This timing is to show when it occurs relative to PST, it will be visible during evening hours in the locations mentioned above. Look east at the moonrise for the red glow. No equipment is needed, but binoculars/telescope will enhance the view.

September 19, 2025: Moon, Venus, and Regulus in Celestial Group Hug

Dawn’s celestial triangle. 45 minutes before sunrise, look east for the crescent moon, dazzling Venus, and blue-white Regulus forming a beautiful trio.

November 8, 2025: Saturn’s Rings Vanish

Prepare for a rare Saturn sighting! In early November, its famous rings will appear edge-on, nearly vanishing. This happens only every 15 years. Use a backyard telescope for the best view, looking south in the evening sky within Aquarius.

December 13 to 14: Geminid Meteor Shower Peaks

Prepare for a dazzling display of shooting stars! The Geminid meteor shower, peaking December 13-14, will deliver up to 120 meteors per hour. Thanks to a dark, moonless sky, this year’s show will be exceptional. Escape light pollution for the best experience, but even backyards can offer a great view.

Shining a light up to the sky at night — Oregon Badlands Wilderness

LOCAL DARK SKY RESOURCES

Sunriver Observatory

Pine Mountain Observatory

Worthy Hopservatory

Grant Tandy

Article Published September 2024

Dawn Nilson spends a lot of time under starry night skies. When she gazes at the cosmos alongside campers and astronomers, she notices a peculiar pattern. Voices get quiet, and tones are softened. A serene stillness blankets the scene. Certain animals come out and specific plants begin to flower. As the sun sets and the stars twinkle, the world transforms, and we transform with it.

In those awe-inspiring moments, Nilson—dark sky preservation director with the Rose City Astronomers and a delegate for DarkSky International—says we’re connecting to something deeper than the brilliant display before us. “The stars have engaged people since we’ve been people,” she said. “They have inspired all the major religions, all the sciences, farm work and poetry. It’s just this big beyond—these really vast places of unknown.”

Todd Lake stars — Todd Lake looking at Mount Bachelor | Photo by Jared Mantzouranis

This is the sentiment at the heart of Nilson’s professional efforts to protect and preserve dark night skies for generations to come. Most recently, she managed and authored an application to create the Oregon Outback International Dark Sky Sanctuary—an area of more than 2 million acres, roughly 90 minutes southeast of Bend, recognized for its bracingly clear night skies.

Those efforts paid off in early 2024 with the establishment of the sanctuary, and organizers across the region aren’t done trying to save our dark skies. Here’s why that matters and what organizers are doing to keep those pristine views intact.

Why Dark Night Skies Matter

According to a 2016 study published in the journal Science Advances, nearly 80% of North Americans can’t see the Milky Way on an otherwise clear evening—a problem caused by what’s known as light pollution.

Light pollution occurs when streetlights and other sources of artificial light brighten and wash out otherwise pristine night skies. According to the National Park Service, that man-made light can travel up to 125 miles from its original source.

But the effects go far beyond what we can or cannot see. The presence of artificial light may attract invasive species that can alter established ecosystems, force native species from their habitats and throw off long-held migration patterns.

Milky way over hot springs — Summer Lake Hot Springs | Photo by Joey Hamilton

How Skies Are Being Protected

Fortunately, organizations around the world are working to reduce light pollution and protect clear night skies. Chief among them is the nonprofit organization DarkSky International, whose International Dark Sky Places program strives to curtail light pollution, collaborate with local communities to implement responsible lighting practices and educate the public on the importance of clear skies.

The first location in Central Oregon to receive a DarkSky designation was the community of Sunriver—which in 2020 was dubbed a Dark Sky Friendly Development of Distinction.

The recognition came after collaboration between Bob Grossfeld, who led the effort as observatory manager of Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory, and local stakeholders. Efforts included minimizing the number of streetlights and reworking lights on homes and community buildings—typically by installing shields and focusing beams of light away from the sky and toward the ground. The following year, Prineville Reservoir was dubbed an International Dark Sky Park after staff members installed soft yellow and red lighting that reduced light pollution.

Most recently, in March 2024, the 2.5-million-acre Oregon Outback International Dark Sky Sanctuary was established in southeastern Oregon. Within those boundaries, and under the region’s clear night skies, sits Summer Lake Hot Springs, the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge and other popular attractions.

Stargazer through telescope — Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory | Photo by Grant Tandy

Todd Forbes, the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Lakeview district manager, said the effort started after being approached in 2019 by community stakeholders, including Nilson.

Forbes has worked in Lakeview for more than two decades and says that travelers have been visiting the Oregon Outback the entire time to admire its starry skies. So when Nilson and others asked the BLM to support their efforts to establish the sanctuary, Forbes said it was a no-brainer to take part. “We saw this as a way to validate some of that recreation use that was already happening—and maybe draw some additional attention to the area,” he said.

The sanctuary largely sits on existing BLM land, much of which is unlit—reducing the need to mitigate light pollution. “There are usually a lot of conflicting uses out there,” Forbes said. “And this is one that really doesn’t conflict much with uses that are already going on.”

That solitude gets at why so many have visited the region for decades—a trend that Forbes doesn’t think will slow anytime soon. “What makes the Oregon Outback so special is the ability to find solitude pretty easily,” he said. And now there are two million acres of dark sky to make it even more remarkable.

Chasing Aurora

Written by Christian Murillo

When people think of chasing the northern lights, arctic destinations such as Alaska, Iceland or Norway typically come to mind. While auroras may not occur often in Central Oregon, the year ahead could be special.

The aurora borealis occurs when charged particles from the sun collide with Earth’s atmosphere, resulting in a dazzling display of light and color. The solar flares that cause these energetic spikes follow a roughly 25-year cycle. We are currently reaching the solar maximum, a period typically associated with more frequent and stronger auroras. This period is expected to last through 2025 and may not appear for another 11 years.

To View and Enjoy the Aurora in Central Oregon

First, keep an eye on the planetary K-index of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center. The planetary K-index, or Kp, predicts the strength of an aurora. For reference, the aurora on May 10 hit Kp levels of 9, the upper limit of the scale. I have photographed an aurora in Oregon with a Kp as low as 6, but have found that it isn’t really visible to the naked eye until it gets above 7. Even at this strength, the aurora is more visible to most cameras (even smartphone cameras) than to the naked eye. Since night vision in humans is poor, we need to do everything possible to see the night sky in its full glory.

One of the best ways to see the aurora with your naked eyes is to avoid light pollution. The northern lights typically display on the northern horizon so it is worth noting light pollution to the north. The moon should also be considered when making aurora plans. Its brightness can easily wash out even the strongest auroras; instead check for aurora activity around a new moon, before moonrise or after moonset.

As with any night sky viewing, it is important to look for a place with clear skies. Central Oregon is blessed with frequently clear skies, but weather patterns may be different in the mountains. Always check the latest forecast before heading out.

Lastly, it is important to let your eyes adjust to true darkness when trying to view an aurora. It takes our eyes about 30 minutes to adjust and see as much detail in the night sky as possible. That means no headlamps, phones or flashlights, except in red mode. Red light wavelengths do not spoil night vision, so this mode is recommended when viewing the night sky. With that said, part of the reason catching an aurora is so special is because it is so rare. Aurora forecasts are even less accurate than weather forecasts. Worst case scenario, you get to spend an incredible night out under a blanket of endless stars. See murillophoto.com.

Northern lights — Santiam Pass | Photo by Christian Murillo

What Can You Do?

Eager to help reduce light pollution and brighten the night skies across Central Oregon? It’s easier than you think. Here’s how to get started:

Unused lights: One of the easiest ways to make a difference is to turn off lights when not in use or aren’t a necessity after dark.

Household lighting: Install shields that prevent porch lighting from pointing upward and toward the atmosphere and use lighting that focuses its beam toward the ground.

Camp lighting: Traditional headlamps, lanterns and flashlights can impair night vision and wash out the sky, so consider using red lighting, which provides illumination without ruining the views overhead.

Make a donation: Nilson says one of the easiest ways to get involved is through a tax-deductible donation to DarkSky International, which funds the group’s advocacy work and supports the growth of its Dark Sky Places program.

Where can you go?

In Central Oregon, we’re some of the lucky ones who can actually see the Milky Way on a clear night. If you’d like to take a closer look, appreciate and celebrate the wonders of the universe, here are a few places around the region where you can do just that:

Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory has the largest collection of telescopes accessible to the public in the United States and offers year-round nighttime viewing by reservation. See snco.org.

Twenty-six miles southeast of Bend, Pine Mountain Observatory welcomes visitors on weekends from May through late September. The observatory is operated by University of Oregon Department of Physics under a special use permit from the Deschutes National Forest. See pmo.uoregon.edu.

The Asterisk Observatory at Smith Rock features a 17-inch PlaneWave telescope to offer a 360-degree view of the night sky and surrounding skyline. Visitors are welcome nightly through October or by appointment. See asteriskobservatory.org.

Overnight guests in Tetherow’s Ridge Homes can view galaxies, star clusters and other celestial wonders alongside Bend-based astronomer Grant Tandy. The experience even includes celestial-themed drinks and dessert. See tetherow.com.

Let’s Go Camping in Central Oregon

Here’s Everything You Need for an Epic Outdoor Adventure

Summer is in full force, which means it’s time to throw a few craft brews in the cooler, pitch a tent or park your van and spend the night in one of the roughly 100 campgrounds across Central Oregon.

Setting up the tent camping — Photo by Whitney Whitehouse

If you’re excited to sleep under the stars during the coming months, we’ve put together a guide that breaks down the basics for an epic camping adventure—from finding a site and pampering your pooch to telling spooky stories and keeping warm around a (safe) fire. Here’s everything you need to know for a memorable trip into nature.

Find Your Next Favorite Campsite

Most campgrounds across the Deschutes National Forest and at Oregon State Parks offer reservations on a six-month rolling basis—meaning you can book a site as early as February 1 if planning a trip for August 1. While most choice sites have likely been booked since Valentine’s Day, hope for a more spontaneous camping trip is not lost.

Camping Central Oregon — Photo by Whitney Whitehouse

Even if your favorite campground looks full all summer long, be on call for an opening by setting up availability alerts (via ReserveAmerica.com for Oregon State Parks campgrounds or Recreation.gov for Deschutes National Forest campgrounds) that automatically email you when sites become available at your desired destination. For better odds, set your sights on the region’s larger campgrounds (such as Tumalo State Park, which hosts more than 75 sites near Bend)—where the chance of a last-minute cancellation is higher.

As your trip date approaches, look into tighter reservation windows. Some campgrounds within the Deschutes National Forest open a limited number of sites for booking on a 14-day rolling basis; Paulina Lake Campground, within the Newberry National Volcanic Monument, makes five of its 68 sites available two weeks in advance.

If your camp time inches even closer and you haven’t received one of those coveted alerts, see if your preferred campgrounds have set aside some sites on a first-come, first-served basis—and if so, try arriving early on Thursday for your best possible chance at scoring a site. (For example: Four of the nearly four-dozen sites at Lava Lake Campground along the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway are set aside for last-minute arrivals.)

If you’re a fastidious planner who’d rather have a reservation before packing the car, check some of the region’s rare campgrounds that are not managed by the Deschutes National Forest or Oregon State Parks—they tend to have more availability than you might expect. It’s not unheard of, for instance, to find week-of availability at Creekside Campground near downtown Sisters (which is managed by the city)—assuming you’re not trying to reserve a site during a big event such as Sisters Rodeo. Private campgrounds—including The Camp, an RV park in Bend—tend to fly under the radar and have last-minute availability, as well.

Being a Good Neighbor

If you have campsite neighbors, follow a few simple guidelines to keep everyone happy.

Respect a campground’s “quiet” hours (usually from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.) by keeping your conversation volume low, turning off the Bluetooth speaker and putting away the guitar. Just before bed, take care to put a campfire all the way out; it should be cool to the touch. And if camping with four-legged friends, respect all leash rules.

Sharing a tent with someone? Practice good tent-iquette by ensuring your headlamp is nearby in case you have to get up in the middle of the night, storing all your gear and clothing on your side of the tent, and trying to limit the amount of noise you make.

Bringing Pups to Camp

Camping is a family-friendly activity—and, in Central Oregon, that means the whole family, including fur babies.

When planning, look for a campground that offers pet-friendly amenities; for instance, The Cove Palisades State Park offers a fenced-in, off-leash dog exercise area. LaPine State Park hosts five dog-friendly log cabins.

As the trip approaches, be sure to pack dog food and a food bowl, a separate bowl for water, at least one towel, a leash, plenty of waste bags, identification tags, bedding, extra water and a pet-specific first-aid kit.

Once at the campsite, note that dogs must typically be leashed at all times, other than in your vehicle, tents, pet-friendly cabins or yurts, bodies of water and in designated off-leash areas. Note leashes should be no more than six feet long.

portable camp stoves and fire pits — Photo courtesy of Live Outdoor

Gathering Together

When the sun sets and it’s time to gather, it helps to have a few ways to kickstart the storytelling.

Not sure where to start? Take a cue from Campfire Stories Card Deck, where 50 cards offer prompts that ask about national park visits, favorite experiences, animal encounters and other revealing topics.

All three books in the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series make frightfully good camping companions. In each piece, author Alvin Schwartz draws on urban legends, folklore and other genres to craft stories guaranteed to spook children of all ages.

Get a hootenanny going after packing a copy of Campfire Songs from Hal Leonard’s Strum Together series; the book includes the melody, lyrics and chord diagrams of 70 classic songs for five instruments (such as guitars, ukuleles and banjos). Sing along to notable songs including “You Are My Sunshine,” “Sweet Caroline” and “Hey Jude.”

How to Have Fun Without a Campfire

What happens when you can’t gather around a campfire or cook over an open flame? (Don’t worry, s’mores are still on the menu.)

Wildfires have grown more common in recent years, as have fire bans at campgrounds across the region. These regulations are put in place to keep campers safe and ensure that firefighters are being deployed where the need is greatest. But bans don’t need to spell the end of a memorable night.

If you encounter a campfire ban on your next trip, consider cooking meals with a butane- or propane-powered stove—which is prohibited in only the most extreme circumstances. Look for Coleman’s lineup of two-burner, propane-powered stoves that provide reliable cooktops for most car campers.

You’ll have plenty of options for gathering around a portable, propane-powered firepit after dinner; the small firepit may not keep you quite as warm as a traditional fire—but isn’t typically banned at the lowest levels of fire restrictions, won’t force you to dodge smoke all night, holds up better in damp conditions and requires almost no clean-up before bed. Outland Living is a popular producer of propane-powered firepits, with offerings in a variety of sizes and colors to match your needs and style. Whichever brand or model you go with, take heart: Propane firepits are still warm enough to roast a perfectly gooey s’more.

Gear for a Fun, Cozy Stay

You don’t need to fill your vehicle with gear and gadgets before heading out, but a few helpful items can take your camping trip to the next level.

Poler Napsack

Part puffy jacket, part sleeping bag, the Poler Napsack is a vibe, whether you’re warming up with camp coffee on early mornings or sharing tall tales at the end of a day.

Stanley Adventure Happy Hour Cocktail Shaker Set

Embrace your inner mixologist with the shaker set that’s designed specifically for outdoor use. The all-in-one set comes with a twist-to-lock cap that prevents spills, and stainless steel cups offer a camp-friendly alternative to glass.

Luno Air Mattress

After a full day of adventures, happy campers sleep deeply without interference of rocks and roots emerging from the ground beneath them. With headquarters in Bend, Luno offers comfy car-camping mattresses for a range of vehicles, from truck beds and vans, to Subarus Jeeps and Teslas. Their upcycled gear line, Project ReRoam, uses fabrics from returned mattresses to make new camping gear.

Portable, Re-Chargeable Lanterns

After stargazing, want to read a book before bed? Portable LED lanterns hook to the top of a tent’s interior, provide plenty of light and won’t blind neighbors. Black Diamond’s Moji R+ Lantern comes with a micro-USB charging port plus a full spectrum of fun colors to accompany impromptu dance parties or howling at the moon.

Car camping under the stars — Photo by Austin White

Everything to Know About Central Oregon’s Fresh-Hop Beer Season

It was September 2014 when a UPS truck arrived at Sunriver Brewing Company with 200 pounds of fresh Mosaic hops from the Yakima Valley in Washington. The shipment took Brett Thomas, then one of Sunriver’s two brewers, by surprise; he’d been expecting the hops, but not for at least another day or two. Thomas wasn’t sure whether the delivery was due to a miscommunication, missed phone call, or lost voicemail—but when the shipment arrived at the brewhouse, he knew he needed to do something with the hops—and fast. Thomas immediately ruled out storing the hops overnight in the brewery’s cooler, lest they wilt and degrade. Setting them aside in the humid brewhouse seemed just as fraught. “It’s like, ‘Crap, what do we do?’” Thomas, now Sunriver’s director of brewery operations, recalls thinking. “I had to start making some decisions at that point.”

Brett Thomas, Sunriver's director of brewing operations — Brett Thomas, Sunriver’s director of brewing operations

Locked in a race against time, Thomas had his fellow brewer transfer another beer-in-progress to a different tank a day early, freeing it up to make use of the freshly delivered hops. From there, he cleaned the tank, started brewing, tossed in the hops, mainlined cups of coffee and—at age 40—pulled an all-nighter like an overworked college student. Thomas didn’t head home until 10 a.m. the following morning. “That was the longest day of my brewing career,” he said. “It was about a twenty-seven-hour day for me. It was exhausting but invigorating; I was going to make that beer regardless of what it took.”

The race to do it, and do it right, was partly because Thomas wasn’t just brewing any ordinary beer; he was brewing a fresh-hop beer—a style which, in recent years, has become the heartbeat of regional festivals, a mainstay at bars and breweries alike, and one of the most fun, if challenging, styles for brewers to craft. So as summer turns to fall in Central Oregon, here’s what the fuss is about—and why anyone would work all night to make such a beer—along with background on the phenomenon and how to enjoy the once-a-year fun that is fresh-hop season.

Fresh-Hop Beers, Explained

Most of the beers you’ve ever enjoyed—from Natural Lights in college-town dive bars to high-end sour ales and hazy IPAs from Central Oregon’s best breweries—have used dried hops as one of their main ingredients. The plant, with a cone-shaped flower, acts as a preservative that keeps beer fresh longer—and gives beer its aromas and flavors. So, if you’ve ever enjoyed a vanilla-tinged porter or picked out the pineapple flavor in your favorite IPA, you have the humble hop plant to thank.

Josh Yoker of Sunriver Brewing — Josh Yoker, one of Sunriver Brewing’s talented production brewers

These hops, actually a cousin of the cannabis plant, are generally picked and processed on farms, turned into small pellets (resembling rabbit food), placed into vacuum-sealed bags and stored for weeks or months in refrigerators. Hop farms can be found all over the United States, but the vast majority are in Washington, Idaho and Oregon—where hops have grown in the Willamette Valley for more than 150 years.

But when hops for fresh-hop beers are picked between mid-August and mid-September, they aren’t pelletized and stored for later use. Rather, the freshly picked hops are cleaned and immediately sent to craft breweries for inclusion in a brewing batch over the following 24 hours or so—a tight timeframe that ensures the hops retain their freshness and distinct flavor profiles before degrading over the following days.

The resulting beers boast intense flavors and stark aromas made possible by the specific hop variety used in that beer; maybe it’s a juiciness that lingers on the palate, hard-hitting notes of citrus or pine, or lasting resinous flavors that stand out. “The essence of the hop ends up in the beer,” explained Wade Underwood, co-founder and general manager of Three Creeks Brewing in Sisters. “They’re really unique in that we can only make them a few days each year when they’re physically harvested, and they make incredible beers with more delicate notes than most bigger IPAs.”

The beers generally start showing up around Oregon in early September, a few weeks after their hops are picked from the bine (not vine!), and can remain relevant well into October. And while IPAs and pale ales account for most fresh-hop beer styles, several breweries routinely churn out fresh-hop lagers, most commonly Oktoberfest-style beers, as the season unfolds.

Trever Hawman walking with Gary Wyatt — Trever Hawman, owner of Bridge 99 Brewery, walking through rows of hops with Gary Wyatt, owner of Tumalo Hops Company

Fresh-Hop Fever

The first fresh-hop beers showed up in the Pacific Northwest in the early 2000s and have been growing in popularity over the past decade. Early on, brewers saw it as a fun and pressure-packed challenge, along with a way to show off the fresh flavors of the hop. Our region’s collective love of hoppy IPAs made it easy for those brewers to find a receptive audience, and fresh-hop beers have become seasonal mainstays ever since.

Wade Underwood, co-founder and general manager of Three Creeks Brewing in Sisters

Today, fresh-hop beers are ubiquitous at breweries, taprooms, and festivals around the Pacific Northwest. Thomas says Sunriver expects to brew seven or eight fresh-hop beers in 2021, for instance, and Bend’s Deschutes Brewery routinely churns out upwards of a dozen or more fresh-hop beers each year. But just why are fresh-hop beers the most sought-after seasonal release each fall?

Central Oregon hop growers and brewers alike teased out a few common themes in trying to explain the allure of the beers. First, there is the one-and-done nature of fresh-hop season, which is matched by the style’s short shelf life. These beers begin to lose their pungent, fresh flavors soon after getting brewed. Most beers rely on ingredients that aren’t nearly as fresh, but fresh-hop beers degrade a lot quicker once they get brewed and into kegs/cans. All of this, along with regional IPA-lust, increases the urgency to sample these unique ales and lagers.

Trever Hawman, owner of Bridge 99 Brewing — Trever Hawman, Bridge 99 Brewing owner and managing member

But for many, the appeal gets beyond those explanations—and into what they say about our region’s roots in agriculture. “As an agricultural product, hops are so ingrained into Oregon’s culture,” Thomas said. “It is something that brewers specifically come to Oregon for. People come to Oregon for craft beer, and a lot of it is the connection to hops and that agricultural component.”

As a brewer, Bridge 99 Brewery owner and managing member Trever Hawman enjoys the season for the rare opportunities it provides—and the self-imposed pressure to get a beer right. After all, most brewers must wait a whole year for a second chance if their first fresh-hop beer misses the mark. “You’re using a whole bunch more hops than usual, and then you’re like, ‘I hope this works, that’s a lot of hops going in there,’” Hawman said. “That makes it a little more scary and a little more sketchy, but it’s super gratifying when it comes out, and it’s good.”

Fresh-Hop Close to Home

The Willamette Valley may produce the vast majority of Oregon’s hops each year, but Central Oregon is no stranger to fresh-hop season. At least one local farm produces hops for a Bend-based brewery, and several breweries throughout the region have put their own stamp on the style in recent years.

Tumalo Hops Company, for instance, was launched in 2006 and has been growing four varieties of hops just outside the community of Tumalo ever since. Husband-and-wife team Gary and Sue Wyatt run the small farm and process each year’s yield for local homebrewers, along with the Bend-based Bridge 99 Brewery.

For several years, the Wyatts have supplied Hawman with 100 pounds of hops for Bridge 99’s annual fresh-hop beer. Whenever the hops reach peak ripeness each September, after four to five months of steady growth, the Wyatts generally wake up around 4 a.m. to pick fifty bines and bring them into their shed for processing; by 8 a.m., the duo generally has 100 pounds of fresh hops sorted and ready for Hawman.

Gary Wyatt of Tumalo Hops Company — Gary Wyatt, Tumalo Hops Company

Meanwhile, Hawman and his crew start their fresh-hop brew day as early as 7 or 8 a.m. so they can be ready when the Wyatts arrive with the hops roughly three hours later. Most years, Gary Wyatt said the hops are poured into Hawman’s tanks just twenty minutes after they leave his farm. In a state beloved for its farm-to-table ethos, it doesn’t get much fresher.

Farther west, Underwood and his team at Three Creeks Brewing have earned acclaim in recent years for their annual Conelick’r Fresh Hop IPA. The beer earned a bronze medal for fresh-hop pale ales and IPAs at the 2021 Oregon Beer Awards—as well as a gold medal for fresh-hop beers at the 2020 Great American Beer Festival (the country’s largest beer festival). Fans will be able to pick up four-packs of the beer beginning in mid-September—and can likely try it at the tenth annual Sisters Fresh Hop Festival, returning on September 25, 2021, after a COVID-19-induced hiatus in 2020.

As for Thomas and that beer he stayed up all night to brew in 2014? That became D’Kine, Sunriver Brewing’s original fresh-hop IPA and, today, one of its best-loved releases every fall. The beer uses Mosaic hops from Coleman Agriculture in the Willamette Valley, giving it flavors of mango, blueberry, citrus and pine. Nearly a decade later, D’Kine remains a signature beer that invigorates Thomas each year—especially now that he’s not working overnight to make it happen. “Fresh-hop beers are a labor of love,” he said. “The entire process, from the guys picking the hops all the way to the brewers pulling the hops out of the [container], it’s a very labor-intensive style of brewing—but we wouldn’t have it any other way.”

With fresh-hop season upon us, the sheer volume of beers can feel overwhelming—so here’s what to know about the style, what to watch for and how to enjoy the beers all season long.

Your Guide to Fresh-Hop Season in Central Oregon

The Season Itself

The region’s first hops are generally harvested in mid-August, and the first fresh-hop beers begin showing up on store shelves, as well as in brewpubs and taprooms, by early September. Different hop varieties are harvested at different times through mid-September, however, so you might see fresh-hop beers on tap around Central Oregon well into October.

Not Just for Hop Heads

Even if you don’t love IPAs, you’ll find plenty to love about fresh-hop season. The bitterness most commonly associated with IPAs tends to get distilled in fresh-hop offerings, with those sharp notes replaced by a wide range of easier-drinking flavors. Brewers have also taken to brewing fresh-hop lagers, as well, that boast milder, more well-rounded flavors.

Where to Enjoy Fresh-Hop Beers

Most Central Oregon breweries either source fresh hops from local farmers or make the marathon trip to the Willamette Valley each fall to source their hops—so you’ll find fresh-hop beers at breweries and taprooms all over the region. For a sample of the season, though, the Sisters Fresh Hop Festival (in late September every year: sistersfreshhopfest.com) brings together roughly twenty-five breweries pouring their own fresh-hop creations.

Click here to read more about our local food and restaurant scene.

How to Explore Steens Mountain in Southeast Oregon

It’s a popular saying around town that Bend enjoys two seasons: winter and construction season. And while it’s a sentiment typically played for laughs, there’s some truth to it: nearby Cascade peaks enjoy a light dusting of snow as early as October, lines form at Mt. Bachelor by December and overnight snow showers linger well into March.

With such a long winter, it’s easy to lose sight of spring—which is why an early-season outing to Southeast Oregon offers a welcome respite. Signs of the changing seasons abound with chattering bird calls, lemon-scented sagebrush blooms and clear night skies throughout the region.

The vaguely brick-shaped Steens Mountain may be the sun around which the rest of the region orbits—with Malheur National Wildlife Refuge at its northern edge, the historic Frenchglen Hotel at the base of its gentle western face and the Alvord Desert at the foot of its sheer eastern face—but snow keeps the higher reaches of Steens Mountain closed until midsummer. The peak is the largest fault block mountain in the northern great basin, after all. So in spring, the comparatively low-elevation attractions around the mountain get top billing.

And a long weekend is just the right amount of time to soak up that first dose of spring when it hits the region in May and June. Here’s how to make the most of a trip with a counterclockwise loop around Steens Mountain.

Spot Migrating Birds at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

Driving the 42-mile Blitzen Valley Auto Tour Route south from Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, it’s easy to forget that—as recently as the 1880s—the North American bird population was in freefall. By the dawn of the 20th century, most of the long-necked egrets at Malheur Lake, for instance, had been killed by hunters who wanted their feathers for decorating high-priced headwear and growing the United States’ nascent hat industry.

photo George Ostertag / Alamy Stock Photo

To save what remained of the declining egret population, President Theodore Roosevelt established the refuge in 1908. More than a century later, thousands of egrets frolic and feed in the wetlands around Malheur Lake (the first stop on the Blitzen Valley Auto Tour Route) each spring—one of more than 340 species of birds that have been spotted around the 187,000-acre refuge.

On a recent springtime outing, I spied a few sandhill cranes soaring over the placid lake and Canada geese lounging in its waters. Farther south, at an overlook above the Blitzen Valley, a peaceful violet-green swallow relaxed on a sagebrush branch; the bird’s colorful coat makes it easy to see in the dusty landscape.

Slow Down in Frenchglen

There’s never a bad time to visit the no-stoplight hamlet of Frenchglen, just 45 minutes south of Malheur via Highway 205, but spring brings its own rewards. Summertime crowds passing through town and fanning out to the rest of the region haven’t arrived yet—so it feels as if the community takes a deep breath before road-trip season hits its stride.

It’s only fitting that the town’s main attraction, the Frenchglen Hotel, is the kind of place that forces overnight guests to slow down and take a deep breath along with the locals. Built in the 1920s, the eight-room inn originally served as an overnight stop for stagecoach travelers. Today, the Frenchglen experience doesn’t feel as if it’s changed much in the century since opening: On a recent stay, wooden floorboards creaked under my feet, landscape photography in my room recalled the region’s ranching heyday and a wooden rocking chair on the screened-in patio offered the right kind of comfort for watching the sunset as darkness descended on the sagebrush steppe below Steens Mountain.

Soak up the Sun in the Alvord Desert

The Alvord Desert sits less than 90 minutes southeast of the Frenchglen Hotel—but after hitting the southernmost point of your loop at the tip of Steens Mountain and then heading north along the gravel Fields-Denio Road, it feels a world away.

Heading north, the first breathtaking view of the Alvord Desert comes from atop a nondescript hillside, the desert’s khaki-colored surface almost blinding on a sunny afternoon. The dry lakebed is among the driest places in Oregon, receiving barely enough precipitation each year to fill a bathtub and extending twelve-by-seven miles to the east.

Even base-model sedans can drive onto the Alvord, at least if it hasn’t rained recently—but the area’s most magical experience comes on the desert’s western shore, at the Alvord Hot Springs.

The hot springs can be accessed as a day trip or as part of an overnight outing, because Alvord Hot Springs offers campsites and bunkhouses. Daytime trips mean an opportunity to unwind en route to your next destination—but the magic of the Alvord Hot Springs really reveals itself on a clear night, when a quiet fog of steam rises from the pool and some of the darkest night skies in the contiguous United States give way to some of the brightest night sky displays in Oregon. On a moonless night, the entire Milky Way rises above the Alvord, and millions of stars seem to dance against the pitch-black sky.

Everything about the experience—the warmth of the pool, the clear night sky, the refreshing anticipation of what else the region hides—feels like a long exhale. It feels like spring.

3 Oregon State Parks Worthy of a Day Trip this Spring

Jordan Fox / Alamy Stock Photo

Over One hundred years ago, the Oregon State Parks Commission was formed. In 1921, road trips as recreation were taking off, and the state commission was tasked with creating state parks for drivers on Oregon’s brand-new highway system to visit for rest, relaxation and exploration.

Today, Oregon State Parks number more than 250. Nearly a dozen of these are in Central Oregon, where the likes of Smith Rock State Park draws visitors from around the world and Pilot Butte State Scenic Viewpoint delivers 360-degree views in the heart of Bend. But the region’s parks go far beyond those frequently visited favorites. Here are three state parks ripe for exploration—all within an easy day’s drive of Bend and all worth exploring.

La Pine State Park

Just a fifteen-minute drive northwest of La Pine, LaPine State Park teems with outdoor opportunities all year long, but it’s in spring that visitors can quietly explore the park’s ponderosa pine forest ahead of the summer crowds.

A stitched-together network of multi-use trails, totaling roughly 15 miles in all, links together the park’s fun attractions, including “Big Tree”—at about 500 years old and 162 feet tall, the state’s largest ponderosa pine.

The mostly flat paths flank both sides of the Deschutes River, generally remain in the park’s shady forest, and give visitors plenty to see without demanding much effort. “The trail system at LaPine is underappreciated,” said Chris Havel, associate director of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. “For people who have generally looked no farther south than Bachelor for outdoor fun, give LaPine a serious look.”

Fort Rock State Natural Area

Fort Rock is a towering near-circle of rock—technically, a tuff ring—roughly a one-hour fifteen-minute drive southeast of Bend in the Fort Rock Basin. In prehistoric times, it sat in the middle of what was once an expansive sea; today, the citadel-like rock formation sits surrounded by a vast, arid region and hosts several easy hiking trails begging for further exploration.

For his part, Havel said Fort Rock sees far fewer visitors than most of the region’s other parks, but that it also hosts colorful springtime wildflower displays and makes a fine gateway to the nearby Christmas Valley region.

White River Falls State Park

In a sense, one could see all there is to see at White River Falls State Park in just five minutes: White River Falls tumbles ninety feet over a basalt shelf, its plume especially rich in spring, the result of winter runoff.

But Havel said a quick, in-and-out visit doesn’t do the scene justice. “I think you’ll have a hard time leaving the park after you get there,” he said. “It’s so mesmerizing—and the thunderous experience of a fully engaged waterfall coming off the Cascades, you just can’t look away.” The park sits in the Tygh Valley, an hour drive north of Madras, at the site of a decommissioned hydroelectric power plant. Today, a small overlook offers impressive views of White River Falls, and a short hiking trail heads to its base.

Add These to Your Future Road Trip Planner

Here are a few more regional state parks, and why you should visit soon.

Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint: Just a half-hour drive north of Bend, the viewpoint honoring the early fur trader and explorer makes a worthy stop on your way to or from some of the region’s other state parks. The rest area includes a stunning overlook that peers into the Crooked River canyon.

Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site: The one-time Chinese apothecary dates back to 1865 and offers a fascinating look at life in the late 1800s and early 1900s for Chinese immigrants in the community of John Day. “Put it on your ‘life list’ of experiences,” Havel recommends.

The Cove Palisades State Park: Roughly twenty minutes southwest of Madras, the park hosts two seasonal campgrounds, two swimming areas and boat ramps, and several miles of hiking trails, all centered around the manmade Lake Billy Chinook, where the Metolius, Crooked and Deschutes rivers meet.

Newberry is a Volcanic Treasure

Photo Visit Central Oregon/Steve Heinrichs

From the summit of Paulina Peak, nearly 8,000 feet above sea level, you can peer into the heart of the Newberry Caldera, home to the Big Obsidian Flow, East Lake and Paulina Lake. On a clear day, you can see iconic Cascade peaks, like Mount Bachelor and Mount Jefferson, in the distance. And if you squint, you can spy the sagebrush sea of the Fort Rock Basin to the south.

It’s one of the most remarkable views in all of Central Oregon. And in a region literally shaped by its volcanic past, the rocky peak atop Newberry Volcano offers a glimpse, not just of that surrounding beauty, but at a half-million years of explosive history.

The broader Newberry National Volcanic Monument celebrates its thirtieth anniversary this fall, so there’s never been a better time to get acquainted with its formation, evolution and geology—all of which continue to awe and inspire in equal measure.

The view from the top of Paulina Peak takes in the enormity of the crater, including East and Paulina lakes and the Big Obsidian Flow, with the Cascades in the distance. | Photo Kelly vanDellen / Alamy Stock Photo

It’s Bigger Than you Think

When most of us imagine Newberry Volcano, we instinctively see that rounded, shield-like shape rising above Bend to the south. (That shape is why it’s officially dubbed a shield volcano.) Maybe we picture the glistening Big Obsidian Flow in our mind’s eye. Or we focus on Paulina or East lakes, shimmering in the heart of the 4-by-5-mile-wide caldera at Newberry’s summit.

But as impressive as these features are, each is just one small part of a vast complex that unfolds across Central Oregon like a wrinkled blanket. In all, Newberry Volcano comprises 1,200 square miles—roughly the size of Rhode Island—making it the largest volcano, by volume, in the Cascade Range. Roughly 400 cinder cone volcanoes and vents cover Newberry’s pockmarked surface, and its lava flows have rerouted the Deschutes River, reached Lake Billy Chinook, and run under downtown Bend. Scott McBride, monument manager and recreation team leader for the Deschutes National Forest’s Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District, said, “Newberry tends to be so large, you can’t see it—because you’re on it.”

One good place for seeing that expanse comes from atop Lava Butte at the Lava Lands Visitor Center‚ a quick, 15-minute drive south of Bend. The cinder cone rises 500 feet above the visitor center, and a locator inside the working fire lookout atop Lava Butte helps identify the many peaks and natural features throughout the monument. Take a look around and see how Newberry sits at a peculiar place in the broader landscape of Central Oregon volcanoes. For another similar view, drive to the top of Paulina Peak, and peer into and around the caldera itself.

Paulina Falls, Newberry’s most magnificent water feature, is easily accessed. | photo alex jordan

Eruptions Shape Newberry’s History

Newberry is at the intersection of two volcanic features, according to Scott Burns, professor emeritus of engineering geology at Portland State University. The first, and most obvious, of the volcanic features is the Cascade Range. The second, and less well-known, is the High Lava Plains—a chain of volcanoes running east-west between Bend and Burns. At nearly 10 million years old, the oldest volcanic features along the High Lava Plains are in the Burns area—while the youngest, at less than a half-million years old, are what we know today as Newberry Volcano.

Roughly 400,000 years ago, a series of magma flows sent molten material miles in every direction and gave Newberry a rounded shape. That’s about when the first of Newberry’s many lava flows started oozing down its slopes, setting in motion a chain of events that, in a sense, continues even now.

Over the next 325,000 years, lava flows seeped toward Smith Rock, onto the modern-day Oregon Badlands Wilderness, as far west as Sunriver, and almost as far south as Fort Rock. And then about 75,000 years ago, a series of more violent eruptions started more or less hollowing out the onetime summit of Newberry. As lava flowed into the surrounding region, Newberry’s highest walls collapsed, leaving behind the bowl-shaped caldera visible from Paulina Peak.

Even as Newberry evolved into the volcano we recognize today, it remained active. Between the end of the last Ice Age (some 12,000 years ago) and the eruption of Mount Mazama (roughly 7,700 years ago), Newberry erupted a dozen or so times. Those events deposited lava flows both inside and outside the caldera—and the most recent of Newberry’s eruptions, which occurred 1,300 years ago, created the Big Obsidian Flow.

Today, a one-mile interpretive trail cuts through the pumice plain and piles of volcanic rock in the heart of the Big Obsidian Flow. The rocky path delivers wide-open views of the jagged, yet shimmering obsidian flow, along with background information on how it all happened. At Lava Lands Visitor Center, walk the paved trail through a jagged flow and see the lava close up. At the underground Lava River Cave, walk into the belly of a mile-long lava tube. At the 60-foot Paulina Falls, watch water tumble down the flanks of the volcano.

Photo Greg Vaughn / VWPics / Alamy Stock Photo

An Active Volcano Remains

Newberry remains a literal hotbed of geothermal activity; both Paulina and East lakes are home to bubbling hot springs, for instance. McBride said a push for Newberry to be recognized as a national monument or national park started as far back as the early 1900s; those calls went unheeded, and talk of possible development around that geothermal activity persisted into the 1980s. Faced with the threat of development, locals came together to advocate for protection—and Congress responded in November 1990, formally establishing the Newberry National Volcanic Monument.

Thirty years later, there are few better ways to understand the sheer size of the volcano than from on (or around) Paulina Lake and East Lake—both residing in the heart of the caldera. A seven-mile hiking trail forms a loop around the Paulina Lake shore, six campgrounds offer lakeside camping and both lakes are popular with boaters, kayakers, stand-up paddlers and anglers fishing for rainbow and brown trout.

And Paulina Peak, the highest point in the monument, stands over it all. Burns said the exhibition of natural features visible from Paulina Peak collide here like almost nowhere else on Earth. “It’s beautiful,” he said. “The diverse geological history, it just doesn’t happen, except in Oregon and a few places around the world.”