Bend Travel

10 Best Breweries in Bend, Oregon + A Central Oregon Beer Map

October 20, 2022
Breweries in Bend Oregon

Bend, Oregon has 30 breweries now. And with 40+ total breweries in the greater Central Oregon area – including Sisters, Redmond, Prineville, and Sunriver – checking them all off your list is quite a task! So move over Portland – Oregon’s biggest beer city is now Bend. With more breweries per capita now than almost any other city in North America. So whether you have time for just…

Gear Kayaking + SUP

What to Wear Paddle Boarding: Outfit Ideas & Checklist

September 30, 2022
What to Wear Paddle Boarding - sup clothing ideas for women and men

What to wear paddle boarding depends on the weather and your preferences. But there are some key clothing and safety items that will make your experience more enjoyable. Typically, most paddleboarding happens in warmer weather – the summer months and shoulder seasons, in the Northern Hemisphere. Paddleboarding in winter just requires more preparation and bit more gear. So here’s everything you need to know about what to wear…

Biking Gear

10 Best Fat Tire Bikes for Women & Smaller Riders in 2024

September 27, 2022
best women's fat bikes

Very few bike brands make women’s fat bikes. While many mountain bike and road bike manufactures make women-specific bicycles, it’s more rare to find fat tire bikes for women – that is specifically marketed as such, for a few reasons. First, fat bikes are still a newer bike category. Second, for fat bikes it’s more about geometry of the bike, weight, and size. While many of the first…

Portland Things to Do

16 Stunning Portland Viewpoints + Best Mountain & City Views

September 13, 2022
Cathedral Park St Johns Bridge view

There are so many amazing viewpoints in Portland to catch surprise mountain views and stunning city skylines. From Portland’s highest lookout points to parks with city views, sunsets, and scenic overlooks, here are the best views in Portland, Oregon. There are nice Portland viewpoints that require very little work, and then there are a few more challenging ones, that are worth the reward! Best Portland skyline view: Pittock…

Backpacking How Tos + DIY

Backpacking Meal Planner: Ideas for Easy Packable Food

April 20, 2022
backpacking meal planner

Planning out backpacking meals often starts as a simple process. “What do I want to eat?!” But by the time you’re packing up, suddenly you’re looking for extra space to stuff food and wondering if you’re bringing too much or too little. I keep a backpacking meal planner spreadsheet with ideas of what I’ve brought in the past. It’s part of my Backpacking Gear List spreadsheet, and it…

Biking Mt Hood & Gorge

Bikepacking Frog Lake, Little Crater Lake, & Timothy Lake Loop

April 16, 2022
bikepacking little crater lake

Last summer, I did a weekend bikepacking trip with a friend to four Mt Hood Forest lakes. There is a very thorough run down of the route on Bikepacking.com and RidewithGPS, designed by Molly Sugar. So here’s how we rode the route, some changes we made, where we stayed, and of course pictures! Our route ended up being 46 miles total with 3290′ elevation gain. (32 miles the…

Home + Gardening Portland Restaurants + Shops

15 Best Garden Centers & Nurseries in Portland, Oregon

April 7, 2022
Portland nursery garden cart

Portland is home to many amazing nurseries and garden centers. And it’s no wonder we have so many plant-filled retailers, being located in the lush valley. All that rain has some reward! From larger nurseries and farms to small garden nurseries to hole in the wall plant shops. So here are our favorite nurseries in Portland, Oregon. The best spots to fill out that new container gardener. Give…

Oregon Coast Travel

21 Fun Things to Do in Manzanita, Oregon – Hikes, Restaurants, & more

March 23, 2022
Neahkanie mountain hike

Manzanita and Oswald West State Park will forever have my heart. This extra scenic portion of the North Oregon Coast is gorgeous in any season. From summer to winter, here are 21 fun things to do in Manzanita, Oregon. Oswald West is an hour and a half drive from Portland. With Manzanita another 15 minutes south of Oswald West State Park. Manzanita has that low-key beach town vibe,…

Portland Things to Do

Portland in Spring: 35 Fresh Things to Do {& 2024 Events}

March 18, 2022
cherry blossoms in portland oregon

Portland spring brings blossoms, outdoor events like the Rose Festival, beer festivals and relief from winter’s cold rainy weather. By mid-spring, Portland experiences high temperatures in the mid-60s and average lows in the mid 40s. Ah Portland in spring – the worst is almost over! Every year, it’s the same feeling as the grey and rain of winter starts to lift and the city starts to bloom. Warmer…

Portland Things to Do

Rose Gardens in Portland, Oregon: 8 Best Places to See Roses!

March 9, 2022
roses

Portland is known as the City of Roses. One of the best things about May, is that all throughout the city roses are starting to bloom. The International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park is flooded with roses, and my local favorite is the Peninsula Park rose garden in North Portland. So here are the best rose gardens in Portland, Oregon – from the biggest The International Rose…

Backpacking Hiking

17 Easy Hiking & Backpacking Lunch Ideas: No Cooking Required!

March 6, 2022
Backpacking lunch ideas

When it comes to backpacking food and meal planning – lunch is one of the most challenging to plan, yet surprisingly simple. Camping breakfast is always the easiest to plan. And dinners can be simpler just from having more time, cooking with a camp stove and using backpacker meals etc. That leaves us with lunch. This post is all about ideas for hiking and backpacking lunch when you’re…