Hi -
I am hoping to pick your brains about the perfect spot in Oregon for an extended visit. We are a family with 3 kids who will be, 9,7, and 3 looking for a good spot to be our home for the month of June. To give you a little background, this will be our second summer of taking an extended vacation in a new place. Last year we went to Telluride and loved it. Especially walking everywhere (even to trail heads) and riding the gondola. Some people say that there isn't much to do there but there was enough for us. We havn't been to Oregon yet but love Northern Calif and Washington.

We hope to find someplace that:
Is small enough that we could walk to a lot of places or with good public transportation.
Has lots of outdoor activities there or nearby(kid level rafting is a plus)
Has a relatively close regional airport (hubby will have to travel back home once)
We could rent a 3 BR house for the month for less than about $7,500.
Has some good camps or structured activities for the older kids for part of the time.

I was thinking about Bend or Sunriver but am open to suggestions (please!). Also, if it makes a difference, let me know which parts of the towns may be better to rent in for us.

Thank you so much for your advice.

Bend or Sunriver would be perfect. Sunriver fits everything you are looking for, including structured activities for the kids at Fort Funigun. There are many places to rent homes though. Sunriver resort itself does, but we prefer Sunray mostly due to their policies. There are other companies as well. One thing though for pretty much anywhere in Oregon in June...don't count on great weather. Bend/Sunriver is usually ok, but the best weather doesn't begin til July.

http://www.traveloregon.com
southernoregon.org
Hood River
Ashland & the Rogue Valley
Bend & Sunriver
You could find a Nice rental for the summer in Ashland.


Lots of Rafting & hiking down here in the Rogue Valley.
Mountains, Rivers, and Shakespeare.
Lots to do in the summer.
http://www.osfashland.org/index.aspx
Regional Airport at Medford.

Sunriver. Bike trails, family oriented, rafting, canoeing and restaurants, but...to really have a great time a car is a must. The Redmond airport north of Bend is very good. The city of Bend has everything for tourists.

Sunriver ... I think I need to make a visit to Oregon..mms, get our room ready

Sunriver is great during the summer. Miles of bike and walking paths. Sunriver has a full program of activities during the summer for kids and families. The High Desert Museum is nearby also.

As for weather, I have been there in April and it was warm enough for short sleeves. Last July 4th it was HOT..about 100 degrees. I have also been there in June when it rained. It's a crap shoot.

Johnthedorf is correct, you need a car. Within a hours drive are beautiful lakes, Mt. Bachelor, lava buttes and much more.

My husband has flown in/out of Redmond/Bend airport. Small easy airport to use.

We have a vacation home in Sunriver and I could easily spend a month there (We live in California). In fact, we have had it for three years and there are still a lot of things/areas we have not visited.

Sunriver is the best!! However weather could really be sketchy in June. If you are into snow skiing you might even be able to do that in June-
There are endless number of adventures in that area and Bend is a great city also!

It would be my first choice

Hard to argue with Bend and central Oregon, but you do have options there, ya know! Black Butte Ranch, near the small town of Sisters is one of them: http://www.blackbutteranch.com/. It's smaller than Sunriver, and to me, has a more serene feel. It wouldn't be a bad idea to split your time between the two resorts.

Nor would it be a bad idea to split your time between central Oregon and a coastal town like Cannon Beach. It's only 90 minutes from PDX, and if you haven't seen its coast, you haven't seen Oregon.

Be aware east of the Cascades is Desert,
West is Verdant Green. I'm not sure how funky vs. antiseptic you want either. Sunriver is no Telluride.