About Central Oregon
Central Oregon. . .Heaven in the High Desert
The Central Oregon area is comprised of a three county area consisting of Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson counties. At the center of this area is Deschutes County and county seat is beautiful Bend. The other major towns in the county are Redmond, Sisters, Sunriver and La Pine.
Bend is located at the foot of the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains and covers 36 square miles with an altitude of 3,628 feet. It is noted for its scenic setting, mild climate, year-round recreational opportunities and a rapidly growing economy. Bend and all of Central Oregon enjoy the predominantly dry climate of the High Desert. Sunny days, low humidity and cool nights provide the most common weather pattern. The average annual precipitaion in the area is about 12 inches.
Mt. Bachelor is easily the most well known spot in the area for winter recreation in Central Oregon and is only 20 minutes from Bend and 30 minutes from Redmond. Snowfall starts early on the mountain, usually open for Thanksgiving skiing and normally closes the 4th of July weekend. There are 24 golf courses in the Central Oregon area.
The Deschutes River provides lots of recreational activities, including boating, whitewater rafting and world-class fly-fishing for trout, steelhead salmon and several other species. All kinds of hunting are also very popular in the local mountains, including: many types of bird hunting, and big game hunting. Cycling has many participants with the mountain trails being a favorite with mountain bikers, and the quiet country roads a favorite of the local road bike crowd. Several major bike races are scheduled every year.
Redmond is about 16 miles north of Bend and is known in the area as the Banana Belt of Central Oregon. It seems to get just a little less rain and snow, and even more sunshine than Bend. The nearly new, state-of-the-art county fairgrounds are in Redmond, and the major airport for all of Central Oregon is also there. Because of the airport and fairgrounds, Redmond has become the fastest growing community in Central Oregon, quickly becoming the commercial-industrial center of the area. Jack Nicklaus has recently purchased a large parcel of land just south of Redmond and is building two championship golf courses and developing some very high-end golf course homes.
In spite of the rapid growth, housing prices are still fairly modest compared to the big cities. The average home prices as of this writing are about $273,000 for Bend and about $225,000 for Redmond. Schools are good, and crime rates are low. Many kids in the area still like to raise 4-H animals, and there are several major PRCA Rodeos during the season at the fairgrounds and at the Sisters Rodeo arena. There are so many outdoor activities that space doesn't allow mentioning them all.
Whatever you like to do, come to Central Oregon and look us over. It's fun in the sun!!
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