Posted inOutside

New Meissner Bus to Shuttle Skiers & Snowshoers

The pilot program is a stress-free way to enjoy the snow (once itโ€™s here!)

Avoid the stress of jockeying for parking spots at the ever-popular Meissner Sno Park this winter by taking a new shuttle. The Meissner bus is scheduled to make three trips every Saturday and Sunday through March. The best part? Itโ€™s a bargain at $5 roundtrip! Visit Bend, Deschutes Trails Coalition and an anonymous donor contributed […]

Posted inOutside Features

All Wags at Wanoga Sno-Parkย 

Thanks to Dogpac, Nordic skiers and off-leash dogs can shred the groomed trails together

Jeff Johnston has a ritual during Central Oregonโ€™s winter months. Several times a week, he finds himself, along with Kundi, his Australian Shepherd, standing in the pre-dawn light at Wanoga Sno-Park. As he unlocks a shipping container that houses a utilitarian Ski-Doo Skandic snowmobile, Kundi tears around in the snow, marking his favorite spots. After […]

Posted inOutside Features

Three Sisters Backcountry is Making Cascades Magic

โ€œCome on baby, make it [yurt] so goodโ€ โ€“ John Mellencamp

Put down that beat-up Harry Potter paperback. With the right guidance, the forests of Central Oregon can put a spell on you, no wands or wizard hats required. Just ask Three Sisters Backcountry about the โ€œmagic that existsโ€ at their two mountain yurts. Theyโ€™re located at the base of what the outdoor recreation company calls […]

Posted inOutside

Shooting for the Snow Zone

Photographer Pete Alport goes to extremes to capture a special moment

Pete Alport arrived at the young snowboarderโ€™s home at 11pm on a winterโ€™s night in late 2022. The pair bid a cheerful goodbye to Kai Hugginโ€™s parents and drove south from Bend into the night. Where Highway 138 intersects the north access for Crater Lake, they ditched the truck and fired up the snowmobiles. During […]

Posted inOutside

Return of the Snow Dragon at Virginia Meissner Sno-Park

An annual tradition that takes weeks to create needs volunteers

What originated as construction on a quinzhee (a snow shelter made by hardened show and hollowed out) at Meissner Sno-Park and evolved into an annual tradition, artist Joshua Cook and a team of volunteers are once again inviting participants to experience the “Snow Dragon” art installation on one of the most magical nights on the […]

Posted inOutside

Phase II of Santiam Pass Ski Lodge Restoration

Restoration project has come a long way since its inception

When Susan and Dwight Sheets toured the defunct Santiam Pass Ski Lodge on a rainy October day in 2016 with Willamette National Forest Ranger Terry Baker, they were saddened with the condition of the historic lodge that had been unoccupied since 1986. โ€œThe archaeologist wouldnโ€™t come in because it was horrible,โ€ said Dwight. โ€œWe were […]

Posted inGo Here

Time to Shine with a Freak Holiday Salad

The Deschutes Historical Museum is celebrating gelatin sides

 Jello salad was created in 1904 by Mrs. John E. Cook of Pennsylvania. She called it the “Perfection Salad.” The colorful item became especially popular after World War II as a convenient, inexpensive dish for busy housewives. It became overshadowed in the 1960s and 70s with the rise of other cooking trends. Nonetheless, many families […]

Posted inOutside

Species Spotlight: Burrowing Owl

A funny little owl

Pronghorn are perhaps the most graceful animal native to the high desert country of central and eastern Oregon. Golden eagles are the most majestic, greater sage-grouse the most emblematic. And burrowing owls? Theyโ€™re the funniest. For starters, burrowing owls have the peculiar habit of living in underground burrows โ€” not the trees that most birds […]

Posted inOutside

Volunteers Needed at Bunny Rescue

Emberโ€™s Wildflower has rescued nearly 400 domestic bunnies

Most pet owners will reminisce about their favorite pet, one that deeply touched their heart, was a bonafide family member and by which each future pet is compared. Lindsey Provost took that sentiment to extremes after falling in love with her first pet bunny, Ember, in 2015. When Ember passed away in 2019, Provost started […]

Posted inNatural World

Rats! Central Oregon Hosts an Autumn Uptick in Cohabitating Vermin

Thereโ€™s a rat in my kitchen, whaโ€™ am I gonnaโ€™ do! โ€“ UB40

With UB40โ€™s classic reggae hit echoing in my mind, I pondered this question for the first time since moving to Central Oregon three decades ago. Tipped off by my dogsโ€™ unusual curiosity around the furnace vents from the cellar, sniffing the blowing air, I set a few small snap traps in anticipation of an errant […]

Sign up for newsletters

Get the best of The Source - Bend, Oregon directly in your email inbox.

Sending to:

Gift this article