Family Summer Vacation in Sunriver

We had an amazing time at our family vacation this past summer in Central Oregon at a place with boundless natural beauty. It is called Sunriver which is just miles from Bend, OR. Sunriver is an ideal spot for the family who is interested in spending loads of time outdoors even in the summer heat.

Mind you, this is a bit of a journey from the North Bay. If you have very young children and are encumbered by two bikes and plenty of gear on the car's rooftop, be prepared to make lots of pitt stops and visits to rest areas. For some this journey would take 8 or 9 hours from the Bay Area. However, it took us upwards of 12-13 hours to arrive in Sunriver and another couple of hours to get our children to bed after a very long road trip. But, it was worth it. Our daughter, Lorelei, still talks about Sunriver. During the first days of school, Lorelei asked me when we could go back to Sunriver as we sat watching two black crows gaze at each other in the trees behind the school.

For the family whose interests are in spending as much time in fresh clean air as possible, there is an enormous bike path which runs along a river and dips into valley surrounded in so much natural grandeur it is hard to believe. We biked just about everywhere we could with two small children sitting inside of the Chariot. They were remarkably quiet on these biking excursions; maybe it was all the trees and the river or perhaps, they were just subdued by the summer heat.

We also went canoeing and spotted a very spirited osprey who we tried to catch a closer glimpse, but never were able to get close enough. My husband, an avid mountain biker, took a full day to go on "one of the best mountain biking trips to be had" on the West Coast. Also, there are yin yoga classes for those of us interested in taking it to the mat. In this self-contained "compound"of sorts , there are lots of peaceful moments to be had in a wonderfully private place.

There are also several outdoor pools, kid friendly eateries and unlimited activities. On a visit to the Nature Center one day, we got very close to a 6-week old baby falcon who was being nursed back to health. We also met 4 different owls, including a white barn owl. We were informed that one of these owls can actually hear a human heartbeat even before the human gets close enough to look at the owl!

For those who love horses, there are stables with ponyrides for the 2-and-up crowd and horseback riding for adults. Finally, no Sunriver is complete without a trip to the old-fashioned candy store which would make even Willy Wonka proud. I can now see why my husband and his family went to Sunriver quite often growing up. I am sure we will be back for more outdoors fun and a vanilla malt in our future days...

All the Best,

Loren