Hey everyone...I'll be vacationing in Sunriver, OR in early July, but won't be bringing my Deluxe. This gives me the perfect opportunity to rent a touring bike and take my wife for a ride (she'll be sold!). For those of you familiar with the Bend/Sunriver area of Oregon, I'm hoping to get some input on scenic day trips...maybe even one that ends at a brewery! Thanks in advance for all the input. If I have any shot at upgrading to a touring bike, my wife really has to like this ride!

 

Crater Lake is about 80 miles from Sunriver. There is a wonderful 33 mile ride around the rim that would be an easy day ride. This ancient volcano crater is filled with pure snow melt, it may be the clearest, deepest, darkest blue water I have ever seen, and I have seen visibilities exceeding 100 feet at Lake Tahoe, Cozumel, and Gulf of Mexico 150 miles offshore. This is a view of the "Phantom Ship" island in Crater Lake taken from the Rim Drive.

 

Sisters, Oregon to Florence, Oregon for dinner and then return. The Crater Lake is kind of a must see.

 

Bend is dead center of the state. You can easily go in any direction and find one, two, four hour loops or longer in any direction you take. You can also pick nearly any type of scenery from volcanos, desert, thick cedar forests, etc. My favorite rides would include the Cascade Lake Hiway, circling Crater Lake, Sisters to McKenzie Pass then north to Sanitiam Pass. For longer rides consider US 97 to Klamath Falls, east to Lakeview and back home on OR 31. It takes you to the VERY unpopulated Oregon Outback. For me, once I am on the east side of the Cascades, I tend to stay there. If you venture to the wetter Westside (okay, in August everything is dry) I have found that there are few fun roads that go north and south aside from I 5.

 

Also a great short trip is the road up to East and Paulina lakes. Gorgeous and an easy trip from Fun River.
Cascade Lakes hwy is an easy one and fits in the "must-do" category as well.
Micro-brews are plentiful all over the Bend area.

I lived in LaPine for several years so PM me if you have further questions!
Dean

 

By all means, ride to Crater Lake. It's amazing.

The John Day highway to the east of Bend is quite nice too. But not as nice.

 

Thanks for the input everyone...I think we're gonna do the Cascade Lakes Highway...supposed to be around 100-degrees when we arrive!

 

Check the weather forecast before heading out to any particular destination. There is a high pressure system that is going to sit over the Pacific Northwest for the next week or so. I am planning on heading north from San Francisco on Tuesday to Seattle and passing through Oregon. I had originally planned on riding up on I5, but the temperature in Redding, CA (along my route) is suppose to be 112 on Tuesday and 116 on Thursday. So I'm going to head up along the coast, which is slower but cooler. It won't be that hot in Oregon but it will still be very hot in places. Be careful with regard to heat and stay hydrated.

 

Good choice!! I live in Redding and it was 112 yesterday. Rode the bike to work
and on the way home I could hardly breath it was so hot! Besides the coast has so much nice view.