Weekend Wanderer: Vancouver, British Columbia to Bend, Oregon

No trail is too tough to master for professional mountain biker, Geoff Gulevich. Residing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Geoff is an outdoors enthusiast who always has his fiancé, Brianna, and Go-Pro traveling by his side. He just returned from an Instagram takeover in Bend, Oregon as part of Alaska Airlines’ Weekend Wanderer series. For more Weekend Wanderer posts, make sure you’re following Alaska Airlines on Instagram.

When Alaska Airlines reached out about a weekend adventure to Bend, Oregon, my fiancée Brianna and I leapt at the opportunity to explore. I have many friends in town who tell me constantly that I have to visit and see what Central Oregon has to offer.

We wanted to make the most of our weekend, and caught the first flight out of Vancouver, British Columbia at 6 a.m., arriving in Bend at about 9:30 a.m.

Our only real hurdle was booking accommodations – many places were booked up due to a number of events going on in town the same weekend. An international lacrosse tournament, a road cycling race and a knitting festival brought in an additional 8,000-10,000 visitors while we were in town.

We ended up at a bed and breakfast down the highway in the unique little town of Sisters. When we arrived in Sisters, we immediately loved it. It was a little more rural and right up our alley. Sisters was a lovely town full of interesting little antique and outdoor shops, with some of the best coffee there is to offer.

We started with a quick hike in Tumalo State Park to loosen up our legs from the flight and see this beautiful waterfall we had heard about. It did not disappoint. Later we had some great Mexican food and settled in for the night, to rest up for the big weekend ahead.

Friday we got up early to make a game plan over breakfast at Sisters Coffee.

We had read that the Broken Top Trail was a quick 3.4 mile hike with some amazing vistas. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the hike was absolutely worth every step to the glacier lake at the summit. Water so cold and still, you could mistaken it for a mirror.

That evening we decided to venture to the summit of Smith Rock to enjoy one of Bend’s many local beers and the sunset.

Breathtaking.

Saturday we felt the need to continue the adventure. What better than river rafting “The Big Eddie” with Sun Country Tours? The rafting wasn’t anything to be nervous about but it had enough screams and splashes to wake anyone up first thing in the morning.

We finished rafting before noon and caught the last serving of breakfast at Jackson’s Corner – a breakfast that was second to none.

Next, we made our way to Mt. Bachelor to play some disc golf and check out the mountain bike park. It’s easy to see what made that bike park difficult. Trying to focus on the trail while the stunning view grabbed at your attention.

Sunday we went to Sagebrush Cycles to get geared up with cruiser bikes and made our way around Bend on our own little brewery tour.

If you wanted to, you could spend the entire weekend doing this. There are so many breweries in town, making each beer taste better than the last.

Later we met up with friends to watch them surf the standing wave on the river that runs through town, then watch the road race go through the city streets.

Bend was running on young energy and we couldn’t get enough of it!

Brianna and I wrapped up our journey with a flavor-filled dinner at 900 Wall, an upbeat restaurant in the heart of town.

We had an amazing weekend full of great food, craft beer and adventure. It was time to head home. Thanks Bend! We’ll be back soon.