jenniferjuniper
Doylestown
Not worth visiting!
had heard that bend is a haven for outdoor adventures. was traveling alone, tired. drove through the place 4 times looking for a little “downtown”. saw a huge factory outlet mall and a freakin golf resort. was too annoyed to keep looking. got an idaho spud and called it a night.
sundogg99
Oregon
The commercial stretch along Highway 97 is as ugly as anything you’ll find anywhere. The actual old downtown area of Bend is located a mile or so west of the main highway, and although it’s considerably less franchised and shrink-wrapped than the outlet mall, it’s still kind of depressing – all cutesy boutiques, wine bars, and t-shirt shops. Not much different than any other tourist trap in the West.
Those Idaho Spuds though… they’s tasty.
tinnie
Bend
i totally get why you missed the downtown area. it is hard strangely hard to find as is the old mill area which is very cool. you were on business 97 which is indeed bleak and in no way a hint about what the town is really like. it is too bad you missed out on the cool stuff. when i first came here it took me quite a while to find out what was great about it but then i did, and i moved here.
