It’s no secret that Bend is a great place to be – as evidenced by the tens of thousands of newcomers who have made the city their home in the past several decades. But while Bend is known for its mountains and lakes, and beer and bikes, not every corner of the city is alike. Some neighborhoods boast a more residential feel; others are the hot spots for music, food and more.
With the help of our friends in the housing industry, we’ve compiled this handy guide to the neighborhoods of Bend – the costs, the housing types, the schools and parks and fun stuff to do — to help newcomers and those browsing Bend find some helpful info. Whether you’re here for the skiing, for the abundant sun, or because your sister made you do it, we’re pretty sure you’ll find some corner of Bend you’ll love.
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What’s Up, West Side?: Century & Summit West living is all about the mountains, trails and growth
By Allie Noland
LLiving in Century and Summit West means easy river access, scenic recreational trails, luxury homes, Sparrow Ocean Rolls, mountain traffic and more.
On the west side, there is no shortage of ways to get outside and live the iconic “Bend life.” Sunset View Park, Compass Park, Lewis & Clark Park, Skyline Park, Shevlin Park and the Deschutes River Trail add green space, biking options and nature paths to the west side of Bend. GoodDog!, Discovery Dog Park, Overturf Park and Riverbend Park are four off-leash dog areas that are just a walk away. With a short 20-ish minute drive up to Mt. Bachelor (with no traffic, of course), a little walk to the river and plenty of places for dogs to run free, the west side makes mountain life easy.
Housing options on the west side primarily include large single-family homes. There are some townhomes sprinkled in the denser areas, as well. As Bend grows, smaller corridor living has been expanding more and more — including condos, apartments, lofts and so on.
Northwest Crossing lies in the heart of Summit West, and at the heart of NWX lies the newly added gathering space, The Grove. Serving as an eatery, bar hangout, fish market, coffee stop and gathering space, The Grove has been welcoming new businesses into the market hall. Shimshon was a popular addition that opened up shop in February. The stellar lineup of other local businesses include Sebastian Seafood, Waypoint, Thump Coffee, Greenleaf Juice, Elly’s Ice Cream, Sunny’s Italian Joint and ThAiPAS. Coming soon is egg-based sandwich and salad spot, Good Egg.
Just down the street from the Grove is Bend’s favorite bakery, Sparrow Bakery. Visitors and locals gather in the mornings to get their fix of fresh Ocean Rolls, a cardamom croissant specialty.
Those who live on the west side know that mountain-bound traffic can make things a bit congested – but with the trees, the shops and restaurants and the easy access to recreation, it’s the price to pay for proximity to the highlights of the “Bend life.”
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Awbrey Butte: Homes with a View: Living the mountain lifestyle on the west side
By Nicole Vulcan
Plenty of people come to Bend these days, looking to live that mountain lifestyle that includes a house in the trees and expansive views. That’s what newcomers will find on Awbrey Butte, complete with hilly terrain, and a couple of golf courses, to boot. Named after settler Marshall Clay Awbrey, the Awbrey Butte neighborhood is bounded by Awbrey Glen Golf Club and Central Oregon Community College to the south and west, and the Deschutes River to the east and north. In fact, those looking for a place to enjoy river views – and in some parts, also some amazing views of the Cascades, should explore this portion of the Deschutes River Trail that gets less traffic than some of the parts closer to the Old Mill. The southern portion of the neighborhood has easy access to the shops and services of Newport Avenue and Bend’s west side, while the neighborhood’s east side is adjacent to the grocery stores, shopping and dining of Business 97.
Like many cities, the homes here “on the hill” tend to be more expensive than those in some other parts of the city. It’s an area that allows for plenty of hiking and biking on its various trails and streets – but with the hills also comes the need for a vehicle – and driving skills – that can handle snowy and icy winter roads. But that’s what the mountain lifestyle is all about, isn’t it?
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Orchard District and Mountain View: Close In, with a Residential Feel: Bike to shops and services in this diverse and welcoming neighborhood
By Nicole Vulcan
Here’s a little secret that’s good to know for those looking to buy: the Orchard District enjoys a bit of a “banana belt” status, regularly clocking temperatures that are higher than other parts of Bend. For gardeners, that might mean putting tomatoes in the ground slightly earlier — and enjoying the fruits of your labor a bit earlier than neighbors to the south and west. Orchard is named after a historical fruit orchard that took up much of the area – bounded roughly by the Highway 97 Parkway to the west, Franklin Avenue to the south and just north of Butler Market Road to the north. Just east of Orchard is the Mountain View neighborhood, defined, as you might guess, by the expansive views of the Cascades enjoyed from many east side front porches.
Orchard has a residential feel, with lots of parks and Neighborhood Greenways to allow for bike commuting, but is close in enough to be able to get into downtown Bend relatively quickly.
Mountain View also has that residential feel, but with the growth of the city heading east, and the fact that Mountain View is home to the region’s largest hospital, St. Charles, more commerce and activity is happening along Butler Market and 27th Street than ever before. Food cart pods including Midtown Yacht Club in Orchard and On Tap and River’s Place in Mountain View have become neighborhood gathering places where live music, local beer and plenty of good food abounds. While there’s plenty of the “good life” here that people tend to seek when they move to town, the area is a bit less busy than parts west, where visitors tend to congregate. Call that a win for anyone looking for a neighborhood where you’re more likely to have neighbors than visitors.
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Soaking Up Southwest Bend: Combining city living and nature in Southern Crossing and Southwest Bend
By Allie Noland
Southwest Bend is full of life, culture, shopping and nature. With the Deschutes River running through town and the Old Mill District in the heart of Southern Crossing, residents don’t need to go very far to get what they need and enjoy life outdoors.
Many of the housing options in SW Bend include single-family houses, but there is also a considerable number of townhomes, condos, duplexes and triplexes. In the housing areas, parks fill the gaps with green grass and trees. Wildflower Park, River Canyon Park, River Rim Natural Area Park and Hollygrape Park are just a few in southwest Bend, and in Southern Crossing, Riverbend Park and Farewell Park serve as the main green spots of the neighborhood. These neighborhoods are known for their parks.
For food and nightlife, the Box Factory has been expanding in recent years and lights up after the sun goes down. River Pig, Avid Cider, Immersion Brewing and other local drink spots nearby attract locals and visitors. The food truck scene is popping in Southwest Bend with the Podski lot and Warming Hut No. 5’s offerings, people can snag vegan crunch wraps, charcuterie boards, pizza and more.
Whether residents are music fans or not, they get free concerts all summer with the Hayden Homes Amphitheater as their neighbor. Though they may not get a view of the performer on stage from their home, the music fills the neighborhood with energy, life and song.
The Deschutes River runs between the amphitheater and the Old Mill District—the shopping and eating hub of Southern Crossing. With stores like REI, Athleta, Banana Republic, American Eagle and Lululemon, all shoppers are satisfied with a stop at the Mill. It doesn’t get more “Bend” than being able to do everything with a river view.
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Old Bend: Modern Day Mill Town Vibes: You can’t get any closer to the action than this neighborhood
By Nicole Vulcan
The mill workers and founders of Bend might have a hard time comprehending how the town has changed since the sawmill days. The compact homes that many of them cobbled together in order to have a house close to the two mills on the Deschutes might be astounded to know that today, those homes are nearing an average of $1 million, and that the Deschutes is no longer the site of lumber commerce, but instead, the epicenter of a recreation and tourism economy.
Old Bend is the smallest neighborhood – and neighborhood association – in the city, bordered by the curvy Deschutes to the west, the Highway 97 Parkway to the east, and Greenwood and Colorado to the north and south, respectively. Old Bend is the site of downtown commerce, but it’s also home to many of the other shopping and dining amenities residents enjoy most, including the downtown library, the Deschutes-hugging Drake Park and several local music venues. Bend’s Whitewater Park borders the neighborhood, as does the busy shopping, dining and drinking center of the Box Factory. For those who enjoy walking and biking where they need to go, one can’t get any closer to it all than living in Old Bend – though even in this, the oldest part of the city, many of the streets still lack sidewalks that make walking safer. Because of its proximity to downtown and Drake Park, much of this neighborhood is, or will be, subject to a street parking-permit system that limits visitor parking times. Much of the housing stock here consists of historic homes built during the mill days, but infill such as ADUs and some apartments and condos also populate the area.
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Nowhere to Go but North: Boyd Acres isn’t the “cool” neighborhood, but with room to grow it very well could be
By Jack Harvel
Unlike the upscale houses on the west side, the walkability of Old Bend or the swanky restaurants in River West, Boyd Acres is markedly more suburban, more car-dependent and the housing stock is more homogenous with a lot of newer multifamily residences. Though that might be less desirable than some of the other neighborhoods’ characteristics, it’s most importantly cheap — well, cheap for Bend.
That’s probably why the people who live there are often health care workers, families and — ahem — young professionals. The type of people who can’t afford a $1 million home and have to settle for a $545,000 home or a $1,600 one-bedroom apartment. You know, working class people. This has been a hostile write up, mostly because my Boyd Acres apartment is raising my rent this month, so let’s get over the bitterness and talk about the bright spots of the neighborhood.
There are a lot of things to do in northeast Bend. For drinkers there’s 10 Barrel Brewing east side, Bridge 99 Brewery, the Cross-Eyed Cricket and more. Cyclists and skaters can test their mettle at the skate park and mountain bike training course at Rockridge Park. Pine Nursery Park is 159 acres with soccer, football and baseball fields, plus a disc golf course, dog park, pickleball courts and a fishing pond. You can find pretty much anything you’d need at the Cascade Village Shopping Center and the Bend River Mall on US-97. Chi, Bend’s favorite Chinese restaurant according to our Best Of issue, is one of my favorite eateries in town. And I’ve yet to find better wings in town than Hardy’s Hotwings, Burgers & Ice Cream.
Boyd Acres is a great place for families, and the amenities prove that. There’s a massive indoor trampoline complex, pickleball courts, go-carts and a family fun center with miniature golf and an arcade. And at the corner of Bend, the neighborhood has opportunity to grow unlike other neighborhoods. The City-owned Juniper Ridge property is planned to include a town center with a performing arts center, shops and residential areas — all connected by paths, trails and parks. Plus, there are great views of Three Sisters and Mount Jefferson. The potential for the neighborhood is off the charts, even if it’s not the “coolest” part of town. . . yet.
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Eastbound and Down: Southeast Bend and the Old Farm District
By Jack Harvel
Southeast Bend and its northern neighbor, the Old Farm District, look a little different than other Bend neighborhoods. Many of the homes predate its annexation in Bend and have larger lots. Small developments trickled into the area and it’s grown steadily, and is expected to grow even more with the addition of Stevens Ranch and the Stevens Road Tract.
Just in the past year Alpenglow Park opened in southeast Bend, complete with a dog agility course, rock climbing walls and an event pavilion. Just a year before that Larkspur Community Center brought some awesome amenities to the community, like its 5,000-square-foot heated pool with an accessibility feature allowing people in wheelchairs to independently use the pool.
The Larkspur Trail, Central Oregon Historic Canal Trail and the Coyner Trail all connect or are close enough to each other that residents can get around without a car. And there’s a lot to go see; some of the best food carts in town are at Bevel Craft Brewing, plus Spider City Brewing makes a fantastic hazy beer. If you need groceries you can probably get it at The Forum, where there’s a Costco, a Safeway and a Whole Foods.
Plus, there’s the projected future growth. The City annexed the Stevens Road Tract under a state bill that requires it to have recreational open spaces, jobs and mixed-use developments with commercial and residential areas. It also will have to have a good amount of “middle housing,” which is affordable to the median Bend earner, as well as infrastructure for non-car transportation.
Just west of that is Stevens Ranch, where a developer has an approved master plan to create 237 acres of residences, 46 acres of commercial land and 93 acres for an industrial zone. It’ll also be home of the Stevens Ranch Library, a 100,000-square-foot facility with community meeting rooms, co-working spaces and sections for children’s and teenager’s literature. It may take time, but the east side is due a lot of growth over the next couple of years.
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River West: Center of the Action: A bustling area for commerce and recreation
By Nicole Vulcan
While downtown Bend and the Old Mill are certainly hot spots for activity in Bend, River West is also a desirable area for many, with hip cottages, historic homes and plenty of fun places to shop and eat. One good way to remember if you’re in River West: the streets are largely named after other cities around the U.S. — starting with Albany on the southern side of the neighborhood, and running north, roughly in alphabetical order, til you get to Vicksburg and Wilmington on the north end.
Home to the bustling streets of Newport and Galveston, this is where one might find a hip local coffee shop or a hot breakfast joint. Newport Avenue Market is a big draw for grocery items and even fun gifts, and is also in close proximity to beloved eateries such as Spork, Ariana and the Victorian Café, to name a few. The original 10 Barrel Brewing and the Bend location for Sunriver Brewing bring some of the beer-town vibe to the area, with plenty of other breweries, coffee shops and shopping places lining the bustling Century Drive. In other words, date night is just as likely to happen here as it does downtown.
Cute homes, plenty of big trees and charming gardens are among the attractions for people looking to live in River West. With the cool vibe and the proximity to the Deschutes River on the east side of the neighborhood, it’s not shocking that this neighborhood has become a hot spot for short-term rentals that accommodate tourists. Those buying in the neighborhood can prepare to pay a premium for the close-in amenities, and, of course, the competition from the tourism sector.
This article appears in Source Weekly March 30, 2023.
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This neighborhood recap is just so sad. If you have lived here for any amount of time, this just totally shows you how Bend has changed. It just proves Bend is gone. Not saying anything about all the newbies. But Bend has changed not a cool place and it is sad. Use to be such a cool town. Now a place where nobody can afford to live. Just having to describe the neighborhoods is sad.
I once had a dream of returning home after I retired. No longer. Even with the equity in my house, I’ll never be able to return. All y’all ruined it.