Hi,

Planning a trip to Bend at Thanksgiving. Would love to know of a good area to hike (that's open) whether that is with hiking shoes or snowshoes with the dog off leash. Three sisters area? We live in Truckee, CA so used to the cold. Thanks for any suggestions.

Hiking or snowshoeing from Virginia Meissner snow park depending on the conditions, is one of my favorites. The Cascade Lakes Highway may be gated just past Mt. Bachelor if we get snow early.
Mt. Bachelor has plenty of downhill and X Country skiing and a tubing hill. Their is bus service up to Mt. Bachelor if you don't want to drive up the hill from Bend.
IN Bend you can hike up to the top of Pilot Butte but you will have to have the dog leashed.

I can't speak to weather for your dates. We have gone to Bend at Thanksgiving with snow and also totally dry.

Having the dog off lead means you you are closing off possibilities of the most well known hikes. That may be worth it if your dog needs to burn some energy. This June we did a hike with a friend who really wanted his young dog to be able to go off lead. We chose Fall River. It was good-- but not extraordinary--scenery. One thing is sure, absolutely do NOT do the lava bed hikes as those have very sharp rocks for dogs' feet.

I would recommend you call the city's visitor bureau or chamber of commerce to get more details on both weather and options.

About 8 of the parks in and near Bend (Bend Parks & Rec) have off leash areas for dogs. The best for the large dogs IMO is Big Sky Park east of Bend off Neff Road. For the smaller dogs use Ponderosa Park off 15th St. SE. Small dogs are 15" and shorter at the shoulder.

Tom, I get the impression they want to hike with their dog off leash. Are the off leash areas in Bend actually trails?

The 12 acre fenced off leash area in the NE part of Big Sky Park has a few trails. I found a couple of geocaches in the area. There are some volcanic pressure ridges in that area so your dog can get out of sight quickly.
For lots of great information about Bend check out visitbend dot com

Thanks to all! Everyone hikes with dogs off leash in Truckee. Guess it is very different in Bend.

Bend is a destination. Instagram and top 10 lists can translate into a lot of people on the trails. People will have their little kids. Other people will have dogs. Some trails have dropoffs.

I suggested a lesser known trail that would be a good choice.

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