Photo: Cacophony, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
A 500-foot-tall cinder cone in the center of Bend that offers an excellent view of the city and surroundings. Pilot Butte makes Bend one of the few cities in the U.S. to have a volcano within its boundaries. Drive or hike to the top.
Pilot Butte is a cinder cone that was created from an extinct volcano located in Bend, Oregon. It is a cinder cone butte which rises nearly 500 feet (150 m) above the surrounding plains. Bend is one of six cities in the United States to have a volcano within its boundaries. The other examples are Mount Tabor in Portland, Oregon, Jackson Volcano in Jackson, Mississippi, Diamond Head in Honolulu, Glassford Hill in Prescott Valley, Arizona and Pilot Knob in Austin, Texas.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
formerly Les Schwab Amphitheater
In the summer time Bend offers many Sunday concerts that are performed at the Les Schwab Amphitheater. In the past artists such as Cold Play, Keith Urban, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top and Jack Johnson have performed there. Buy tickets at The Ticket Mill store in the Old Mill District, or online. The Amphitheater also hosts the Bend Brewfest each May, with many local and West Coast beers, ciders, and seltzers.
The High Desert Museum is just south of Bend on Highway 97. The High Desert Museum is a great way to gain educational experience about some of the animals and habitat that go along with Central Oregon.