The colder months are often the best times to hang out on the East side of Bend!

Start your day grabbing a coffee at Wild Roots, a contemporary, neighborhood coffee shop and head for Pilot Butte State Park. You can start your day with a nice hike, and since the road is closed you won’t have to worry about sharing too much of the view at the top. Also, make sure to check out the geographical marker at the very top!

For brunch head to Jackson’s Corner – Eastside location for some artisan meals. Whether you are ready for a sandwich or still want to enjoy your breakfast you can’t go wrong! I highly recommend their biscuits and gravy but all of their food is fresh and locally sourced.

For the afternoon, you should check out the Badlands Wilderness. It’s on BLM land so you won’t have to worry about parking fees. The biggest plus to the Badlands is that not many people head that way for hikes so you won’t be fighting a crowd as you head down the trail. My recommendation would be to do the Dry River Canyon trail. It is only open during the winter months so made sure to verify that it is open before you head out.

Enjoy the outdoor atmosphere of On Tap, the Eastside food cart lot offering a large variety of beers, ciders and kombucha on tap. This is a fun place to grab dinner! Don’t worry too much if it’s cold, the benches are heated and their are quite a few fire pits. At this point it’ll be pretty dark and if the stars are out, you should check Worthy Brewing to see if their “Hopservatory” is open for viewing!