Bend Premier Real Estate Blog

Today in our never ending quest to find Bend's Best Bites, we came across an absolute gem of a lunch stop. Located in an Old Bend Neighborhood off the beaten path, we found a wonderful small batch vegan restaurant called Root Down Kitchen. This entirely plant based restaurant really packed in the flavors we love and made us forget there was no meat. Root Down Kitchen calls themselves "Vegan comfort food" and we absolutely agree.

We began our flavor journey with the Red Lentil Fritters. This dish offered two large fritters topped with pickled onions, cilantro, pesto, spicy aioli, and avocado crema over a bed of spicy slaw. Not only was this dish packed with such a myriad of flavors, it was also so gorgeous to look at that we hardly wanted to dig in... but we are so glad we did.

After leaving no trace behind of the fritters, we started in on our mouth watering sandwi...

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Probably one of the most popular hikes in Central Oregon is the trail from Century Drive via Fall Creek up to Green Lakes in the Three Sisters Wilderness.  This nine mile round trip gains 1500 feet elevation, crossing the creek three times, but is relatively easy to moderate for most hikers.  Hundreds of people will take this hike on sunny summer days and the enjoyment of the beauty of Green Lakes is one of the "must dos" for many Central Oregon visitors.  During our years in Central Oregon, we have taken this hike often and have enjoyed the experience every time, despite the increased traffic on the trail.

Last Saturday we decided to hike the alternative trail to Green Lakes.  This trail starts at the same parking lot as the Fall Creek trail, but instead travels via Soda Springs up the south side of Broken Top.  We had never hiked this trail before and really enjoyed the unexpected views and relatively few people we saw in the early part of the hike.  We started the hike at 7:40 am and for the first few miles, we believe we were the first and only people on the trail that morning. The trail joins with one coming from Todd Lake which eventually splits from the Green Lakes trail to the trail to hike Broken Top to No Name Lake. We saw a number of people taking this trek and debated whether or not Broken Top should be our destination, but decided to stay with our original plan and traveled to Green Lakes. In this stretch of the trail we saw a number of people hiking from Green Lakes, either with Broken Top as their destination or the Soda Springs trailhead we had started from. 

Once we reached Green Lakes, we enjoyed the views for a while before returning to our car via the traditional Fall Creek trail. We passed hundreds of people coming up this trail as we hiked down. Next year Green Lakes will be accessible by permit only which should limit the numbers visiting this beautiful location. Hiking to Green Lakes via Soda Springs increased our trek by roughly three very enjoyable miles and we look forward to taking this hike again - but this next time to Broken Top.

Is Your Bend Oregon Home Ready for Winter?

For those of us who lived through the winter of 2017 in Central Oregon, we remember how winter weather can be hazardous to your home. When the temperature drops and snow accumulates, having prepared your home can ensure you and your property remain safe and warm throughout the winter.

Here are some of the best tips to get your home ready for winter:

1. Blow out sprinklers and turn the system off.
2. Store hoses in the garage and install covers over your outdoor faucets.
3. Store patio furniture in dry location.
4. Seal cracks around doors and windows.
5. Clean your rain gutters and ensure they are working well.
6. Have your roof and chimney inspected by a professional and the chimney cleaned.
7. Make sure your attic space is sufficiently insulated to help avoid heat loss and ice dams.
8. Have your furnace serviced.
9. Prune your bushes and trees and clean up any yard debris.
10. Drain and refill your hot water heater.
11. Install foundation vent covers and keep them on throughout the winter.
12. Lube your garage door moving parts.
13. Tune up your electrical panel.
14. Clean your dryer vents.
15. If your property has been prone to ice dams in the past, consider installing heating strips on the roof eaves.
16. Line up snow shovels and snow blowers early.
17. Have window scrapers, gloves and snow boots ready to go.
18. Make sure you have sufficient batteries, flashlights and lanterns in the event of a prolonged power outage.
19. When the snow starts falling, keep your roof from accumulating too much snow which can result in ice dams. 

Although heavy snow accumulation in Bend is not a normal occurrence, we have had a couple of exceptional winters in the last few years. Heavy snow can happen again. But by preparing for it ahead of time, the need to mitigate its impact on your home can be greatly diminished and your enjoyment of winter significantly increased.

Lack of Inventory a Big Issue in Bend Luxury Home Sales

As is the case in all of Bend real estate, Bend luxury homes are also suffering from a lack of inventory. Since our last post in July, 2020 exclusively looking at the high end market, Bend homes sales over $1,000,000 on less than an acre have continued to be strong with 106 closed third quarter 2020.  This compares with 40 in 2019 and 31 in 2018. For 2020, the price per square foot on closed sales averaged around $400 with the high just under $800. These prices should rise as more and more demand is made on Bend housing, driving the price of some smaller homes above $1,000,000.

As the chart above shows, Bend home sal...

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Smith Rock is One of Oregon's Most Popular State Parks

If you are planning on seeing one of Oregon's most popular state parks, be sure to get there early.  Smith Rock, located north of Redmond and just east of Terrebonne, is an extremely popular destination for most visitors to Central Oregon as well as those locals just looking to recreate, hike, or rock climb.  The iconic rock formation is credited as being the birthplace of modern American sport climbing and is popular with traditional, multi-pitched and bouldering as well with over 1800 rock climbing routes within the park. Most visitors who are not climbers, will hike on many of the trails scattered around the park, some along the Crooked River and others over the rocks - the most popular being Misery Ridge.

Last Sunday we took a longer hiking route we had never done before - the full 7.5 mile loop around the park which included the Canyon Trail to Wolf Tree to Homestead to Burma Road to Summit Trail to River Trail. The total elevation gain was 1200 feet and we did the hike counter clockwise in order to climb the steep, but not difficult Burma Road which brings you to the high point of the hike early in the day. We arrived at the park before 8 am and already there were many cars parked in the limited parking lot. We paid our $5 park fee and enjoyed the morning hiking. The views after the rain the night before were wonderful and the clean air after the wildfire haze most welcome. The Cascades were hidden behind clouds, but every now and then we could catch a view of one of the peaks scattered with fresh snow.