Come for an evening of sharing your adventure stories with others in the outdoor community. Settle in to listen or get prepared to share your adventure stories in 10 minutes or less from 7-9 PM. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
You can’t shred gnar, bomb down trail, climb volcanoes, and run whitewater all the time. But at Boldly Went we know that when you’re not, you want to talk about your adventures with other people who get it – probably over beer. And every thru hiker, trail runner, mountain biker, climber, paddler, sailor, scuba diver, flyer, and Indiana Jones wannabe has at least one story that will inspire, inform, or at least entertain the rest of us, so we’re pulling together crowds of you and randomly selecting you to go on stage to give us your best.
How it works: Event format is casual and starts with a brief review of how to tell a good outdoor adventure story. Anyone interested in telling a story will be encouraged to complete the storyteller sign up sheet throughout the evening. Of those signed up, names are drawn at random. Selected individuals are given 10 minutes to tell their adventure story.
Storytellers are judged by select audience members using criteria described in detail on the Boldly Went website. A winner is announced at the end of the evening. Stories are recorded and may be shared later in the weekly podcast.
Everyone is welcome to attend and no one will be required or pressured to tell a story.
See the Boldly Went website for more details about what to expect at the event and tips for preparing your 10 minute story if you think you have one to share.
Tal Wilkenfeld headlines the 7th Annual Newberry Event Charity Music Festival!
Central Oregon’s 7th Annual Newberry Event Music and Arts Festival to Defeat MS is a three-day outdoor summer multi-genre music festival well-known as a good time for a good cause. July 26, 27, 28, 2019. Main acts Friday are Portland’s Indubious reggae, opening for Pigs on the Wing Pink Floyd tribute band in the beautiful outdoor intimate venue. For over a decade, Indubious brothers Evton and Skip Burton, have shared their instrumental skills, powerful harmonies, and electrifying performances, “raising the positive vibrations of our planet, to help others express the true loving nature within us all.” Pigs on the Wing’s intense live performances are an expansive audio-visual experience.
Saturday night headlines Tal Wilkenfeld, a 32 year old Australian born bass and guitar phenom who has performed alongside artists including Jeff Beck, Prince, Eric Clapton, Herbie Hancock and Mick Jagger. Hosted on rural residential acreage, DiamondStone Guest Lodge is 25 miles south of Bend, between Sunriver and La Pine. With over 20 bands on 2 rotating stages, the lawns, shady aspens & pines of So. Deschutes County create a beautiful outdoor concert setting.
Enjoy awesome music and dancing in the grass 10am-10pm. Tent camping is free and RV sites available. Kids under age 13 are free. With many vendors – great food (breakfast too), Sunriver Brewing Co. beers, Kombucha, ciders and distillery vendors, you’ll find everything you need for the day or weekend. You’ll also enjoy dancers, homemade arts & crafts, and a silent auction plus raffles of incredible fine art and merchandise. See good reviews on Facebook and Google. Don’t miss it!
The festival just received the state’s “Hidden Gem Festival Award” at the annual meeting of the Oregon Festivals and Events Association.The 501c3 charity benefits the Oregon National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Other performers: Dead Horses – Milwaukee, WI, Dodgy Mountain Men – Missoula, MT, Pat Simmons Jr.- Maui, HI , Indubious – Portland, Lounge on Fire – Boise, ID, Petty Thievery, a Tom Petty & Heartbreakers Tribute Band, Pigs On The Wing tribute to Pink Floyd – Portland, OR, The Rad Trads – Brooklyn, N.Y., Pete Kartsounes – La Pine! Eric Leadbetter – Bend, Idle Poets – Scappoose, Sol Seed – Eugene, J Brothers – Jacksonville, Mission Blues – Bend, Natty Red – Bend, Newberry Family Band, Broken Down Guitars – La Pine, The Tortilla Chips – Bend, Vokab Kompany – San Diego, and local belly dancers, the South County Hipsters.
The authors of the popular book, The Dirtbag’s Guide to Life: Eternal Truths for Hiker Trash, Ski Bums, and Vagabonds” are bringing their traveling show to XXX to collect your adventure stories and share them in their popular Boldly Went podcast. Come for an evening of sharing your outdoor adventure stories and meet like-minded people. Settle in to listen or get prepared to share your adventure stories in 10 minutes or less from 7-9 PM.
You can’t shred gnar, bomb down trail, climb volcanoes, and run whitewater all the time. But at Boldly Went we know that when you’re not, you want to talk about your adventures with other people who get it – probably over beer. And every thru hiker, trail runner, mountain biker, climber, paddler, sailor, scuba diver, flyer, and Indiana Jones wannabe has at least one story that will inspire, inform, or at least entertain the rest of us, so we’re pulling together crowds of you and randomly selecting you to go on stage to give us your best.
Check out the webpage for more details about what to expect at the event and tips for preparing your 10 minute story if you think you have one to share.
From walk-in wilderness to full hook-up RV camping, Central Oregon has a multitude of camping destinations. Here are six must-see sites that suit every style.
written by Eric Flowers
GRAB THE KIDS
Car Camping
Car Camping. It’s still a dirty word in some circles, usually predicated with some dubious claims of laziness. (Hint: there are no lazy people in Bend. And if there are, they aren’t out camping.) Kids are also a convenient excuse. As in, “We used to backpack the (insert amazing, secluded wilderness area), but with the kids…”
The dirty little secret is that car camping is as American as the fastball and cherry pie. So let’s stop making excuses as to why we loaded up the Subaru to overflow, brought two sets of everything and threw in the reclining chairs for good measure. Camping in style doesn’t go out of style.
That isn’t to say there isn’t a time and place for a multiday backpacking trip subsisting on dehydrated food and filtered water, but let’s give car camping its due. With that said, you could probably exhaust back issues of any camping-centric magazine looking for the perfect destination and not find a better basecamp than Bend. Local geography finds us perched on the edge of a mountain range and a desert that stretches to the Great Basin. It’s not an exaggeration to say that you could stand atop Pilot Butte, survey the horizon and find a worthy destination in every direction. With so many options, here are a few recommendations to either add to your bucket list or keep in your regular rotation.
Wild & Scenic Crooked River
Just a short forty-five-minute drive from most parts of Bend, it’s easy to forget just what an amazing resource Central Oregon has in the Crooked River. One of two major tributaries to the Deschutes, including the Metolius, the Crooked River springs to life high in the Ochoco Mountains before turning northwest toward its intersection with the Deschutes at Crooked River Ranch. Before it gets there, it passes through a roughly fifteen-mile stretch below Prineville Reservoir that was designated as a Wild and Scenic waterway by Congress in 1988. Here the river twists through a rugged basalt canyon with soaring rimrock walls. The river dances along in riffles and pools beside the Crooked River highway, offering amazing access to this resource. Beginning at Big Bend, just below Bowman Dam, campgrounds sprout along the highway—tucked in groves of mature Ponderosa and juniper. Thanks to good fishing and great access, spots can be hard to come by in peak season, but those who arrive early are rewarded with a stunningly scenic backdrop for a weekend camping excursion.
“It’s nice when you live in the city to get away from the stress and everything,” said Melissa Byrne, who staked out a perfect spot below the iconic Chimney Rock on an early May weekend.
Byrne, 53, who works as a service contract manager, said she and her partner weren’t headed anywhere in particular when they packed up their station wagon and loaded in their dog, George, an amiable Dachshund mix.
“We try not to go to the same place twice,” she said. “We kind of go where we end up.”
East and Paulina Lakes
While sometimes overlooked by locals, this popular destination draws visitors from around the Northwest and beyond—and for good reason. It’s not every campground that’s nested in the belly of a dormant shield volcano, though you wouldn’t really guess Newberry’s cataclysmic history based on the serenity found there today. Thanks to restrictions on motorized recreation, the entire inner rim of the volcano is designated as a National Monument. It’s easy to slip away from the sounds of the campground and escape for a quiet sunset. A year-round destination for some, thanks to extensive snowmobile and backcountry skiing opportunities, Newberry really comes alive in late spring when the road is finally cleared after a winter of accumulated snow. This opens up scores of small and large campsites that ring the two lakes located in the bowels of the volcano, a product of eons of snow and rain melt. In addition to world-class fishing (Paulina Lake yielded the state record brown trout), there are miles of shore hiking trails, as well as a popular trail around the entire crater rim that is a must for experienced mountain bikers. There are also DIY hot springs around the area that make for great soaking pools when dug out with a shovel. A pair of resorts (one on East Lake and one on Paulina) means you’re in luck for last-minute supplies.
Paulina Lake
Photo by Mike Houska
Crane Prairie Reservoir
Photo by Jon Tapper
East Lake
Photo by Sarah Durfee
(NOT) ROUGHING IT
Trailers & RV
Combine the fickle weather of the Northwest with the predictable unpredictability of mountain climates and you have a recipe for snow in July and frost on the ground before October. This can make for, well, challenging conditions to enjoy the great outdoors. Add in a few kids and overworked parents, and you’ve got a recipe for a camping disaster. It’s probably no wonder that so many families have embraced a refined approach with the addition of travel trailers and, in some cases, motorhomes. But let’s get this out of the way: No one wants to saddle up next to a rig with a generator running outside their tent door or wake up with a forty-foot coach parked in what was previously a view of the evening sunset. That being so, there’s a time and place for trailers and motorhomes. Those who thumb their noses should try sleeping in a tent with a crying infant or spending a weekend huddled against an October winter storm with only a vinyl wall for insulation. Trust us. There’s a better way.
Dave Naftalin was so smitten with camping and the outdoors as a kid growing up on the East Coast that he worked for a time as a park ranger as an adult. Like many children of the ’90s his interests tended toward backcountry camping and the exploration of remote places. But like others of his generation he got married, had kids and discovered that unlike his favorite mug, the kids didn’t fit neatly in a backpack. There were other reasons, too, that led Naftalin and a friend to decide five years ago to split the cost of a second-hand motorhome. It was the convenience that finally led them to make the leap.
“The two factors were kids number one and wanting to go to Bachelor and camp every weekend of the winter if we wanted to with the kids,” said Naftalin.
They also found that it came in handy at music festivals where a personal bathroom is a great alternative to porta potties and the attendant conditions.
While he readily admits that he and his wife don’t fit the motorhome stereotype, it’s a contradiction that they relish. These days he loves pulling up to a cavalcade of silver-haired motorhomers and watching the reaction as his kids burst forth like soda from a shaken bottle.
Depending on the weekend, the motorhome can be headed to mountain, coast or desert. Sometimes all three. There’s always one common denominator, said Naftalin: “The family is in its most harmonious state in the camper.”
Cove Palisades State Park
If you’d rather have the convenience of full-electric hook-ups, access to shower facilities and other amenities but don’t want to sacrifice the sunsets, look north to the Cove Palisades State Park where more than 150 full RV slots are split between two campgrounds. You won’t be lacking for creature comforts but there are also opportunities for hiking and bird watching, including the annual Eagle Watch event in February that draws hundreds of birders and raptors alike. There is also ample access to Lake Billy Chinook, the expansive reservoir that lies behind the Pelton Round-Butte Dam complex at the confluence of the Deschutes, Metolius and Crooked rivers. Whether it’s fishing, pleasure boating or wakeboarding and tubing, there are plenty of ways to whittle the day away on the water. Boat rentals are offered at the marina on an hourly and daily basis.
Walton Lake
While most National Forest campgrounds are suited to accommodate RV’s and travel trailers, some are better equipped to accommodate larger vehicles. Walton Lake is one of those destinations. Several years ago the campground received a makeover to make it more accommodating for these visitors. Today the cozy campground in the Ochocos has twenty-one sites set up for RV’s and trailers. The campground offers easy access to its namesake waterbody, a small lake that is stocked with trout and includes a beach for summertime frolicking. There are also nearby hiking trails, including a loop at Walton Lake and the multi-use Round Mountain Trail.
Belknap Hot Springs
Photo by Jon Tapper
Four Peaks Music Fest
Photo by Jon Tapper
Crooked River
Photo by Mike Houska
PACK IT IN
Backcountry
We may not have the peaks of Yosemite or the grizzlies of Glacier, but Central Oregon is a perfect launching point for countless backcountry camping adventures. From subalpine lakes ringing the Three Sisters to the novelty of paddle-in camping at Sparks Lake, there is a backcountry itinerary for anyone who has a passion for exploration. Here is a short list of overnight backcountry trips that offer a taste of what the region offers.
Mt. Jefferson Wilderness
Just beyond the faux-Western storefronts of Sisters lie more than 100,000 acres of federally designated wilderness with the majestic Mt. Jefferson at its heart. More than 100 alpine lakes, many of them stocked with trout, dot the landscape. Almost 200 miles of trails offer untold opportunities for exploration. Depending on the time of year, don’t be surprised if you encounter hikers passing through on an epic quest to complete the 1,000-mile Pacific Crest Trail. Some forty miles of it wind through the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness. In terms of breathtaking terrain and diversity, it’s hard to beat the area. However, it’s also heavily trafficked. So much so that the Forest Service has moved to a limited entry permit system at many of the most popular areas, including Jefferson Park and the Pamelia Lake areas.
“Because Mt. Jefferson is located between major populations in the valley and Bend, Redmond and Sisters, it is very highly used. You will see a lot of people. If solitude is what you’re looking for, it’s probably not the place to go,” said Brad Peterson, wilderness manager for the Willamette National Forest. “That being said, it does have some amazingly unique characteristics that you won’t see a lot of in other places.”
Two such characteristics include the park’s eponymous peak, the second highest in the state of Oregon, and areas that are recovering from recent wildfires and offer a glimpse into how healthy ecosystems rejuvenate.
Three Sisters Wilderness & Cascade Lakes
Myriad options greet explorers of this expansive wilderness area just minutes from Bend. This is also the place where many families choose to embark on their first tentative steps into the backcountry with younger children. (It’s easier to be ambitious when your safety is a home or hotel less than an hour away.) Chad Lowe and wife Sarah Durfee made their first foray about four years ago, on an overnight trip to Todd Lake with son Ethan, then 5 and daughter Zoe, then 3.
“They carried in their stuffed animals,” recalled Lowe, an assistant principal at Redmond High School.
Since then it’s become an annual outing, usually involving other families.
“We try to pick a new spot every year and we go with two other families. They have kids around the same age. So our range expands a little every year (as the kids grow older),” said Lowe.
While the Cascade Lakes Highway opens beyond Mt. Bachelor around Memorial Day, it can be weeks before some of the area’s high country is accessible. Once the snow recedes, it opens hundreds of miles of trails and backcountry exploration options. Hikes through dense stands of hemlock and Doug fir lead to hidden waterfalls and shimmering alpine lakes tucked in the shoulders of the surrounding hillsides. Similar to Jefferson, this is a highly-trafficked area and is particularly vulnerable to human impacts. Respect the leave no trace ethos and familiarize yourself with all local regulations, including fire regulations and camping restrictions.
A Guide To Ditching The Screens, Building Family Traditions and Developing A Lifelong Love Of The Outdoors In One Of The World’s Premier Natural Playgrounds.
Written by Eric Flowers
With mountains and rivers in its backyard, Central Oregon breeds the best kind of wild child. In a town where “going to the park” can easily mean going to a state park to scale a cliff, local kids grow up with a healthy appreciation for the nature (and dirt) right outside their front door. Kids by nature want to run, play and climb—and the opportunities to play here abound—from casting flies and running rapids to rock climbing and camping. While raising kids to be rugged may present some challenges, outdoorsy children learn from an early age to push through, be fearless and most importantly to havefun. When kids tire of casting, start skipping rocks. When they get bored of rafting, find a rope swing. We unpack regional spring activities that kids (and their big-kid parents) can do as a family to discover the joy of being outside. How do you raise a mountain kid? Play outside together.
On the Fly
A love of the outdoors brought Scott Cook’s family to Central Oregon when he was 15 years old. In fact, it has been a guiding principle in his life ever since. It led him to open the Fly and Field Outfitters in Bend more than a decade ago, and it has grown and thrived through the ups and downs of Bend’s tourism economy. Today it’s the bedrock of a lifestyle that allows him to share his love of the outdoors with his children, Ellie, 11, and Henry, 4. Whether it’s launching a boat on a windless morning at Crane Prairie Reservoir or standing knee-deep in the Crooked River with a fly rod in hand, there’s more to being on the water than just catching fish.
“Fishing with your family and kids is a unique part of what Central Oregon has to offer. Most of these locations are within an hour of city limits and some are just right in town. The key is just getting away from the phones, tablets and video games and spending time together,” Cook said.
Other places in the world offer the chance to catch more, bigger fish, but Central Oregon is nearly unparalleled with so many choices within easy reach. In Bend, fishing holes await on the Deschutes River above the Bill Healy Bridge. The same river trail affords access to Sawyer Park on the Middle Deschutes where the river slips into a canyon defined by obsidian bedrock channels and pools, an urban gem by any measure.
Beyond Bend’s borders, world-class fishing is seemingly limitless. The high lakes near Mt. Bachelor, Crane Prairie and Lava Lake are wellsprings of the mighty Deschutes, offering great scenery and highly productive fishing. A boat is helpful, but a canoe, kayak, inner tube, or even paddleboard lend access to these spots and countless more.
“We have a saying in the fly shop: ‘Trout don’t live in ugly places.’ To me this means if you are on the water looking for trout, it is going to be a memorable experience,” Cook said.
Family Friendly Guide Services
If you don’t have the gear or expertise, but want to get the full experience while maximizing the chance of getting kids hooked on the sport, grab a guide.
“It’s a really good outing when we have kids involved,” said John Garrison, owner of Garrison’s Fishing Guide Service. He has been guiding on Central Oregon lakes for three decades and specializes in group and family outings. He recommends half-day trips for families with kids. They head to consistently productive spots on destinations such as Lava Lake where kids are virtually guaranteed opportunities to catch rainbow trout and lots of them.
On the Rocks
Jules and Sean Reinhart arrived in Central Oregon as self-described “dirt bag” climbers, living for six months in what was little more than a shed in the long shadow of Smith Rock near Terrebonne. It was back in 1998 when the real estate and relocation boom was a dot on the horizon too far to see.
Eighteen years later they are still climbing. But these days it’s more of a family affair. Their 11-year-old son Hamish is quickly becoming an accomplished climber.
This kind of dynamic is becoming more and more common as Generations X and Y move grudgingly into middle age, not ready to give up on their passions, but needing to find a way to integrate pursuits like mountain biking and rock climbing into their family dynamic. For Jules and Sean it was a matter of making their passion for the outdoors a part of their family, rather than an escape from it.
The Reinharts, who work for the school district, brought Hamish on his first expedition at three months when they traveled to Bishop, California to climb. Pretty much every extended break from work is spent on the road in pursuit of new lines, be it on rock walls, powder bowls or ocean breaks.
But it was the climbing in Central Oregon that drew them here and keeps them grounded.
“Smith Rock is an absolute anchor, but so are the other recreational opportunities,” said Sean Reinhart. “Most important is that Bend has the best schools in the state, and this is a great place to raise a family.”
Climbing Monkey Face isn’t for the inexperienced climber, but there are plenty of ways for families to gain entrée to the sport, including the Bend Rock Gym, which offers ever-changing routes, from sport bouldering to dizzying technical routes. It’s also a great off-season option that offers monthly individual and family memberships as well as instruction. The gym also offers programs and summer camps for kids who can’t get enough carabiner time.
The gym is a great place to build basic skills, but also a base to make connections within the climbing community, including with other families that share an interest in doing outings. It’s helped to make rock climbing truly a family friendly four-season sport in Central Oregon.
Postcards from Wall: Three Climbing Spots
Widgi Creek: An easily accessible area near the namesake golf course off Century Drive in Bend offers a range of climbing opportunities from bouldering to belay routes.
Badlands: The subject of a successful wilderness designation campaign, this roadless area just east of Bend is a geological looking glass that offers a glimpse into Central Oregon’s cataclysmic beginnings. Explore several climbing areas among the volcanic formations, including the South Wall and the “Walk In” area.
Smith Rock: This is the granddaddy of them all. The birthplace of sport climbing in the Northwest, Smith Rock features more than 1,000 distinct routes. A globally renowned destination, it offers picturesque basalt walls that soar high above the Crooked River and a range of difficulties that challenge the best climbers in the world.
On the Water
When Joyce and Mike Stahly decided to leave Salt Lake City a decade ago in search of a smaller town to raise their then young son, proximity to paddling was at the top of their list. Bend quickly surfaced as a relocation destination.
“The fact that we have two runs in town, a winter and a summer run for kayaking, helped,” said Joyce Stahly. “We were looking for a place that was close enough to the ocean where we could go for a long weekend, and boating nearby. Bend hit the mark.”
Their son Kai, now 13, has been raised on or near the water most of his life. That includes annual trips to the Rogue River in southern Oregon and the legendary Salmon River in Central Idaho during the summer.
Bend may not rival Maupin as a Central Oregon rafting destination, but it’s basecamp for many families such as the Stahlys which make rivers an integral part of their summer. The new Bend Whitewater Park is another sign that river culture is thriving here.
Thankfully, you don’t need to know how to barrel roll a kayak to enjoy what Bend has to offer on the water for families. Saunter down to Farewell Bend Park on any summer afternoon and pick up a rental inner tube and launch it just a few feet away on the lazy currents of the Deschutes as it meanders through the Old Mill District toward downtown and Mirror Pond. There, for a few bucks, you can grab a shuttle courtesy of the Bend Parks District that will ferry you back to Farewell Bend Park.
For a little more adventure, you need not look far. Several rafting outfitters offer guided trips on an upstream stretch of the Deschutes that plunges through an ancient lava bed. Here the river drops through a series of class-3 and class-4 rapids created by the deposits from the last eruption of Newberry Volcano. The whole trip can be done in less than a few hours and will surely become part of your family lore.
Try Me A River: Water Three Ways
While most rafting tours in the region accommodate children accompanied by a parent, some companies, such as Tumalo Creek Kayak and Canoe offer youth programs to get kids comfortable with currents:
Paddlesports Camp Stand up paddleboarding, kayaking, rafting and sailing. June – August $395 for 4 days
Whitewater Kayaking Camp Kids practice in a pool, alpine lakes and run class II rapids by the end of the week. July – August, $395 for 4 days
Afterschool Paddling Let kids study kayaking or standup paddleboarding with five of their friends. Months vary. $75 for 3 days
Happy Campers
For kids in many places, “camp” is a four-letter word. But in Central Oregon, it’s cut from a different cloth–such as Gore Tex. These programs take their cue from the region’s outdoor recreational community, particularly the lifestyles of parents who moved to Bend to raise their families with the outdoors at their backdoor.
Whether it’s sharpening mountain biking skills or learning to build a wildland shelter, there is a program for every personality and ability. But program offerings go beyond trail adventures. There are also arts-based activities designed to introduce kids to creative and performing arts, such as the Tower Theatre’s Youth Summer Film Camp.
Parents looking for more long-term engagements focused on athlete development also have options, most notably the Mount Bachelor Sports Education Foundation and the Bend Endurance Academy, two programs designed to take athletes from the earliest stages to the highest level of competition. With graduates that include recent X-Games silver-medalist Ben Ferguson and U.S. Ski Team World Cup racers Tommy Ford and Laurenne Ross, the results are evident.
Bend Endurance Academy Founder and Executive Director Ben Husaby said his nonprofit focusing on three disciplines, skiing, biking and climbing, has gone from a few dozen participants in its inaugural 2009 season to more than 600 today. It thrives because of its ability to help kids become better athletes, but more importantly because it instills a lasting love of the outdoors and activities that get kids and parents off the couch and outside. It also replaces solitary screen time with shared time in the outdoors, an experience that transcends competition and translates into quality family time.
“I think what we’re really about is to teach kids the joy of being outside.”
Summer Camp: Spring Sign-Up
A tip for Central Oregon families: don’t wait for summer to book popular camps.
Bend Rock Gym An easily accessible area near indoor and outdoor camps, including girls-only camps, for climbers as young as age 4. bendrockgym.com
High Desert Museum Week-long camps for kids. Rotating cultural and natural history themes, many of which include interacting with the museum’s collection of live raptors, reptiles and other animals. highdesertmuseum.org
RAD Camps The “no child left inside” motto includes adventures in the Deschutes National Forest and more than fifty stellar outdoor destinations. Think of it as therapy for Gen Wireless. radcamps.com.
Bend Endurance Academy Cross-Country Mountain Biking Ride one to three days per week for ten weeks. Skill progression is the goal, with options for more training or race preparation. bendenduranceacademy.org
Camp Tamarack One of the few true overnight camps, kids ages 8 to 13 do five-day stays at the rustic camp on Dark Lake near Sisters. Days are filled with outdoor activities as well as creative projects designed to help develop skills and bonds that last beyond the final day. In partnership with the Bend Park and Recreation District. camptamarack.com
Wild & Scenic Crooked River
Combine the fickle weather of the Northwest with the predictable unpredictability of mountain climates and you have a recipe for snow in July and frost on the ground before October. This can make for, well, challenging conditions to enjoy the great outdoors. Add in a few kids and overworked parents, and you’ve got a recipe for a camping disaster. It’s probably no wonder that so many families have embraced a refined approach with the addition of travel trailers and, in some cases, motorhomes. But let’s get this out of the way: No one wants to saddle up next to a rig with a generator running outside their tent door or wake up with a forty-foot coach parked in what was previously a view of the evening sunset. That being so, there’s a time and place for trailers and motorhomes. Those who thumb their noses should try sleeping in a tent with a crying infant or spending a weekend huddled against an October winter storm with only a vinyl wall for insulation. Trust us. There’s a better way. 
We may not have the peaks of Yosemite or the grizzlies of Glacier, but Central Oregon is a perfect launching point for countless backcountry camping adventures. From subalpine lakes ringing the Three Sisters to the novelty of paddle-in camping at Sparks Lake, there is a backcountry itinerary for anyone who has a passion for exploration. Here is a short list of overnight backcountry trips that offer a taste of what the region offers. 
With mountains and rivers in its backyard, Central Oregon breeds the best kind of wild child. In a town where “going to the park” can easily mean going to a state park to scale a cliff, local kids grow up with a healthy appreciation for the nature (and dirt) right outside their front door. Kids by nature want to run, play and climb—and the opportunities to play here abound—from casting flies and running rapids to rock climbing and camping. While raising kids to be rugged may present some challenges, outdoorsy children learn from an early age to push through, be fearless and most importantly to have
