Road Trip Pt. 3 - Bend, OR
The third stop of our road trip was a few hours south from White Salmon, and we arrived at our temporary home at LOGE Camps in Bend, OR in the afternoon, about an hour before check-in. We killed some time by visiting a nearby off-leash dog-friendly trail in the Deschutes National Forest (named ‘Good Dog Loop’ on the AllTrails app), and though it was dry and hot, the dogs had a blast cooling off in the river along the trail. The humans, however, were covered in many layers of sweat and dust by the time we got back to the lodge.
One of the reasons we chose LOGE for our time in Bend is because it prides itself on being a dog-friendly hotel and even has a “Treat Your Pup” add-on option which includes Ruffwear dog beds, bowls, leashes, etc. - super helpful if you’re like me and probably forgot to pack a bunch of things you needed. Our room was compact, cozy, and clean, but my absolute favorite part of our room was that we had an indoor hammock!! Such a cool and unique touch - there’s a hook in the ceiling so you can easily tuck it away when not in use, and there was also a super pretty Rumpl blanket that was hung by the door since Rumpl blankets & hammocks basically go hand in hand like campfires & s’mores. Of course, I had actually brought my own Rumpl so we were already good there.
*We received a complimentary stay at LOGE Camps in exchange for social media promotion and a post reviewing our stay. All opinions are honest and completely my own!
Though the cafe at LOGE did have a small food menu, we decided to venture into the downtown Bend area for dinner and drove into town right after we had checked in, thinking 5:30 PM would be pretty early and we wouldn’t face a wait at any restaurants. Ha, we couldn’t have been more wrong! Apparently people in Bend eat super early (especially by NYC standards), because by the time we got to Deschutes Brewery Public House, even before 6 PM, we were quoted a 45+ min wait time. After walking around checking out a few other restaurants, we decided to put our name down at J DUB, which had a cute backyard patio area and a special food menu for dogs. We still waited about 15 minutes for a table, but that was not bad at all, and we were soon seated at a spacious, socially distanced table in the corner of the patio. I got their Santa Fe salad with soft shell crab and ordered Koda a locally sourced pup patty - we were both extremely satisfied with our meals 😁.
We called it a pretty early night, tired out by the heat, our afternoon hike, and all the driving. After a brief battle with two mosquitoes that had snuck their way into our room, we went to bed, setting an early alarm for an early morning hike the next day.
The next morning we woke up around 7 AM, aiming to get to the trailhead while it was still relatively cool outside, and hoping to be able to find parking relatively easily. We got to Soda Creek Trail before 8 AM, but the whole area was PACKED with cars already - mostly people who were hiking or backpacking into Green Lakes nearby. Our trail was much more lightly trafficked and we only came across a few parties the entire 8+ miles out and back. What really impressed us was that many people were running along the trail, something I always wish I had the endurance for but then quickly realize I don’t when I’m huffing and puffing halfway through. Though the trail started off pretty bland, it soon opened up into a narrow creek (the dogs had fun with that one) and a gorgeous meadow that looked straight out of a story book. The further along we hiked, the better the views got, and we ended at the top with beautiful mountains surrounding us.
The weather was starting to warm up pretty quickly and we were relieved that we finished a little after noon, just in time for brunch! We hit up CHOW, which I had actually visited during my previous trip to Bend a few years back - both the food and refreshing beverages were exactly what we needed after our 4+ hour hike.
We got back to LOGE in the early afternoon, which was perfect timing for a quick rest before heading back downtown for our last dinner in Bend. We were determined to try Deschutes Brewery again, so we made a plan to find some ice cream in the meantime if we were quoted another long wait. This turned out to be perfect timing, and we had the most amazing gelato from Bonta Gelato before finally getting seated outside of Deschutes Brewery.
The next morning, we decided we had to check out Sparrow Bakery, as we had gotten a few recommendations to try their famous Ocean Roll while we were in Bend - there was a line out the door by the time we arrived at 9 AM, but so worth it because the roll was HUGE and went really great with our morning coffees!
Leisurely eating our breakfast in front of one of the fire pits at LOGE was the perfect way to end our time in Bend - after that, we checked out and headed onto our next stop: Newport, OR!
