Our commitment
to Bend

Bend is for all of us.

Paddling the Deschutes River in Bend, OR

At Visit Bend, we believe each trail, cafe table, mountain vista, and lakeside patch of grass should be a welcoming place for everyone.

Our team cares deeply about this place we live, play, raise families, and call home. We’re passionate about caring for the wild places, this community, and sharing them with people from all walks of life.

We honor all voices and experiences, regardless of where your travels take you. No matter who you are or where you’ve roamed, we welcome you.

Commitment to community

When you travel to Bend, we invite you to bring your very best self. At our community’s core is a warm and welcoming spirit, and each of us plays a vital role in keeping that spirit alive.

While tourism is part of a healthy economy, it’s the people who matter to us. That mom-and-pop restaurant you love will flourish with support from visitors and locals alike. Bend-based tour operators aren’t just businesses to us—they’re our friends and neighbors who thrive and can feed their families thanks to guests’ curiosity and currency.

Whether you’re staying with us one night or a lifetime, we thank you for being part of our community.

Downtown Bend, Oregon

Commitment to diversity and inclusion

We are committed to ensuring every person feels valued and accepted, whether you’re a first-time visitor or a lifelong resident of Bend.

At Visit Bend, we believe in welcoming all visitors regardless of age, race, creed, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical ability, or professional standing.

Whatever your journey looks like, no matter how you got here, your experience matters. We welcome you to Bend with open arms.

Wheelchair users on the Deschutes River Trail in Bend, OR

Commitment to acknowledging history

While Bend is breathtakingly beautiful, there’s history that isn’t so pretty. The indigenous tribes of this region fished, hunted, and recreated on these lands for generations before any of us donned skis or dropped a kayak in the Deschutes.

That history is not lost on us, and we recognize we’re inhabiting and recreating on the traditional lands of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Wascoes, and Paiutes. We are working to acknowledge their experiences and their relationship to this land.

High Desert aerial photo from Bend, OR

Commitment to the environment and sustainability

Bend’s outdoor and recreational resources provide endless possibilities for outdoor adventure and it is our collective responsibility to protect these treasures and ensure sustainable and lasting opportunities for all.

The Bend Sustainability Fund reinvests tax revenue generated by visitors into the places and spaces that are important to our community.

Tumalo Falls in Bend, OR

What can you do?

Interested in helping to protect and preserve Bend’s wild places? When you’re ready to take your next trip to bend, boost your commitment to the next level by following our Bend-specific Leave No Trace principles.

Leave no trace in Bend, OR

Strategic partners

Visit Bend is carbon neutral certified
CarbonHero

CarbonHero partners with organizations to find solutions to reach net zero carbon so we can preserve our planet for future generations and help them become carbon-neutral certified. Through a partnership with CarbonHero, Visit Bend has invested in the Zumwalt Prairie Carbon Cooperative, supporting conservation easements on 22,000 acres of three privately owned ranches preventing the conversion to farmland. This investment is one part of a multi-year strategy that includes measuring, evaluating, reducing, and offsetting annually.

Learn more
Central Oregon Landwatch logo
Central Oregon LandWatch

Central Oregon LandWatch has been working to create well-planned cities and protect wild, open spaces across Central Oregon since 1984. LandWatch is at the forefront of defending our region’s waterways, wildlife, farms, and forests and promoting vibrant and sustainable cities and towns. As an environmental watchdog and land use advocate, LandWatch defends what matters most to residents and visitors in Central Oregon.

Learn more
The Conservation Alliance logo
The Conservation Alliance

The Conservation Alliance harnesses the collective power of business and outdoor communities to fund and advocate for the protection of North America’s wild places. This group of like-mind companies disburses its collective annual membership dues to grassroots environmental organizations working to protect threatened wild habitat and outdoor recreation areas.

Learn more
Deschutes Trail Coalition logo
Deschutes Trails Coalition

The Deschutes Trails Coalition is a community coalition of more than 30 organizations and agencies working to sustain and improve Central Oregon’s invaluable trail systems through grants, collaboration, and passion.

Learn more
Leave No Trace logo
Leave No Trace

Using the power of science, education, and stewardship, Leave No Trace (LNT) is on a mission to ensure a sustainable future for the outdoors and the planet. LNT is built upon the belief that small actions can make a big difference when it comes to taking care of our wild places, and is a universal philosophy that can be part of any outdoor experience.

Visit Bend has partnered with LNT to create seven Central-Oregon-specific principles of Leave No Trace.

Learn more
Protect Our Winters logo
Protect Our Winters

Protect Our Winters works with passionate outdoor people to protect the places we live and lifestyles we love from climate change. POW is a community of athletes, scientists, creatives, and business leaders advancing non-partisan policies that protect our world today and for future generations.

Learn more
Warm Springs Community Action Team logo
Warm Springs Community Action Team

Warm Springs Community Action Team (WSCAT) serves 5,000 tribal members with programs supporting individuals, families, artists and entrepreneurs, through tourism, placemaking, design and economic development activities, including small business coaching, direct aid, matched savings, financial education, and design-development projects serving the reservation and the region.

Learn more
Visit Bend is carbon neutral certified
CarbonHero

CarbonHero partners with organizations to find solutions to reach net zero carbon so we can preserve our planet for future generations and help them become carbon-neutral certified. Through a partnership with CarbonHero, Visit Bend has invested in the Zumwalt Prairie Carbon Cooperative, supporting conservation easements on 22,000 acres of three privately owned ranches preventing the conversion to farmland. This investment is one part of a multi-year strategy that includes measuring, evaluating, reducing, and offsetting annually.

Learn more
Central Oregon Landwatch logo
Central Oregon LandWatch

Central Oregon LandWatch has been working to create well-planned cities and protect wild, open spaces across Central Oregon since 1984. LandWatch is at the forefront of defending our region’s waterways, wildlife, farms, and forests and promoting vibrant and sustainable cities and towns. As an environmental watchdog and land use advocate, LandWatch defends what matters most to residents and visitors in Central Oregon.

Learn more
The Conservation Alliance logo
The Conservation Alliance

The Conservation Alliance harnesses the collective power of business and outdoor communities to fund and advocate for the protection of North America’s wild places. This group of like-mind companies disburses its collective annual membership dues to grassroots environmental organizations working to protect threatened wild habitat and outdoor recreation areas.

Learn more
Deschutes Trail Coalition logo
Deschutes Trails Coalition

The Deschutes Trails Coalition is a community coalition of more than 30 organizations and agencies working to sustain and improve Central Oregon’s invaluable trail systems through grants, collaboration, and passion.

Learn more
Leave No Trace logo
Leave No Trace

Using the power of science, education, and stewardship, Leave No Trace (LNT) is on a mission to ensure a sustainable future for the outdoors and the planet. LNT is built upon the belief that small actions can make a big difference when it comes to taking care of our wild places, and is a universal philosophy that can be part of any outdoor experience.

Visit Bend has partnered with LNT to create seven Central-Oregon-specific principles of Leave No Trace.

Learn more
Protect Our Winters logo
Protect Our Winters

Protect Our Winters works with passionate outdoor people to protect the places we live and lifestyles we love from climate change. POW is a community of athletes, scientists, creatives, and business leaders advancing non-partisan policies that protect our world today and for future generations.

Learn more
Warm Springs Community Action Team logo
Warm Springs Community Action Team

Warm Springs Community Action Team (WSCAT) serves 5,000 tribal members with programs supporting individuals, families, artists and entrepreneurs, through tourism, placemaking, design and economic development activities, including small business coaching, direct aid, matched savings, financial education, and design-development projects serving the reservation and the region.

Learn more