WANDERLUST TOURS: Special Events in Bend, Oregon

Did you know we run outdoor and brewery tours every day, all year-round? It’s the BEST, but we also enjoy cooking up some special event tours in the Bend, Oregon area… and beyond! That’s why we’re always thinking about the next thing, and fondly reminiscing about our past special event activities.

Here are some of our favorite special events that have happened over the past year:

Black Rock Desert & Steens Mountain Guided Tour

This was an awesome experience in one of Oregon’s most gorgeous, remote locations! We traveled through the Alvord Desert and Black Rock Desert along where the Oregon Trail originally traveled, It was a trip through time, and our guests left with more insight into the story of Oregon today.

OUR SUMMER & WINTER ART IN NATURE EVENTS WITH BEND CAMERATA

Did you know we have an ongoing outdoor performance series called Art in Nature? We love these events! Bend Oregon outdoor concerts are the best, because we have the most beautiful wild spaces for these talented performers to show their stuff!

HIKING TOURS OF SMITH ROCK, THE BLUE POOL, & MORE!

There is nothing like hiking at Smith Rock! It never gets old! We love to talk all about the special geological features here, and how they came to exist.

The Blue Pool is an incredible, naturally-super-blue pool deep in the woods! We lead a hiking group out here to take a gander and learn all about the local plants and animals.

The list could go on, because as cheesy as it sounds, every tour we lead feels special! However, we do love putting our creative minds to the test to come up with cool tour ideas in the Bend, Oregon area. We love leading Bend family reunions tours, business outings, wedding activities in Bend, and planning birthday celebrations in the beautiful Central Oregon outdoors!

(Psst.. need an awesome special event tour in Bend, Oregon? Talk to our Custom Tour Coordinator!)

STAY TUNED TO HEAR ABOUT OUR UPCOMING SPECIAL EVENTS… WE HAVE QUITE A FEW PLANNED!

Here's to 2020!

- 2020 -

Happy New Year, everyone! We had a fantastic New Year’s Eve with our annual Bonfire on the Snow celebration. We enjoyed hot drinks made with delicious Crater Lakes Spirits, live music, and a roaring bonfire out in the snowy forest! It was pretty epic with all of the snow, the sparking stars, and the snow amphitheater our dedicated naturalist guides sculpted for this event.

We snowshoed out into a beautiful night forest!for New Year’s Eve!

Live music!

A magical New Year’s Eve!

As if that’s not enough to make a magical evening, we were privileged to witness a proposal! This gentleman got down on one knee out in the beautiful, snowy forest underneath the stars. And, to nobody’s surprise: she said YES!

Taking a knee!

The happy couple!

Engagement ideas in Bend Oregon!

We love Central Oregon engagements! There’s something special about them.

Winter activities Bend Oregon

On of the best winter things to do Bend Oregon!

This is truly one of our favorite activities in Bend Oregon. We already can’t wait for December 31, 2021! Want to join us next year? You can sign up to be notified when tickets go on sale!

The most wonderful time of year: holiday activities in Bend Oregon!

Snowshoeing Bend Oregon

Happy holidays from all of us at Wanderlust Tours! How will you be spending this special time, with family and friends, eating delicious food, baking things, watching Christmas movies…? Well, if you’re looking for the perfect Bend Oregon holiday activities or Bend Oregon family activities, we’ve got a great selection of suggestions to offer:

1. DRINK BEER! (OR CIDER!)

Bend Brewery Tours

Have you taken full advantage of the great craft beverage scene in Bend? There are 20+ breweries in our little town, and we’re home to the inestimable Avid Cider! Spend some time taking it in with the family, sipping on delicious suds, and bonding over special holiday-time brews, like the Jubelale from Deschutes Brewery! This festive winter ale has cocoa, dried fruit, and toffee notes, and is available for a limited time! Join us on a Bend Brew Bus tour to learn all about local seasonal beers, and to cross off some stops on your Bend Ale Trail Atlas!

2. PLAY IN THE SNOW!

Winter activities Bend Oregon

You can’t go wrong with snow! Downhill and Nordic skiing at Mt. Bachelor are obvious, must-do activities for everyone visiting Bend. Or, you can check out some of the snow parks in Bend if you want to venture off on your own!

Snowshoeing Bend Oregon

Snowshoeing with us on one of our daily tours is another great way to play around in the snow! This is one of the best ways to get up close and personal with Bend’s amazing wilderness. Our naturalist guides will show you all the beautiful sights, and share their extensive knowledge of the trees, animals, and history of Bend’s old-growth forests. You could even…

3. PLAY IN THE SNOW AND DRINK BEER (OR CIDER)!

Bend beer tours, snowshoeing Bend Oregon

That’s right— get the best of what winter in Bend has to offer with our Shoes, Brews, & Views Snowshoe Tour! There’s no better way to spend the holidays with family than snowshoeing through a gorgeous landscape, learning all about the nature and history of Bend, and sipping on the best local wares Bend has to offer. (Psst: we have rootbeer for those under 21!)

NEED KID-FRIENDLY ACTIVITIES IN BEND OREGON? SAY NO MORE!

4. ICE SKATING AT THE PAVILION

Kid-friendly activities Bend Oregon

This is a great option for the whole family! Strap on some skates and hit the ice for a night of fun! The Pavilion is Oregon’s only NHL-sized ice rink, with hockey, curling, free-skating, rentals, and lockers available right on-site. There’s even a viewing room, fire pit, and concession stand with hot drinks for those who might just want to watch!

5. EXPLORE AN UNDERGROUND CAVE!

Bend Lava Caves

There’s nothing cooler than strapping on a helmet and headlamp and heading into the earth to explore! For those little ones in your life that want to grow up to be an explorer or scientist, this is the best tour ever. They’ll get the chance to learn all about the ancient volcanic landscape of Central Oregon, crawl through small spaces (this is optional), and learn about bats and other creatures that depend on the unique ecosystems within our cave systems. Bend lava caves are absolutely a must-see for anyone visiting Central Oregon!

Looking for specific holiday events? We’ve got suggestions for those, too!

NEW YEAR’S IN BEND OREGON

Snowshoeing Bend Oregon

This is THE BEST WAY TO KICK OFF THE NEW YEAR! While we have unfortunately sold out of our special New Year’s Eve Bonfire on the Snow Tour, but we’ll be running this amazing tour every night for the last week of December, and the first week of January! We have all of the dates for this tour listed on the Bonfire Snowshoe Tours page, and if you have any questions about other dates, you can always give us a call at (541) 389-8359.

VALENTINE’S DAY IN BEND OREGON

If you’re one of those people that plans far in advance, we’ve got a couple of great things to throw on your radar for the BEST Valentine’s Day Bend Oregon activities! We’ll post more about these later, but for now, keep in mind that we’ll be running our ROMANCE ON THE SNOW BONFIRE TOUR on the nights of February 14, 15, 16, and 17! This is the perfect date night activity. We’ll also be running our special event: ART IN NATURE WITH BEND CAMERATA on Sunday, February 10, 2019! This will be a fantastic experience, and an excellent way to celebrate Valentine’s with that special someone.

Snowshoeing Bend Oregon