With the weather making a quick turn toward winter, it’s the perfect time to start thinking about creative ways to get cozy with your significant other.
And there might not be any better way to stop, take a breath and get away from it all than with an easy, romantic getaway where you two can cuddle up next to the fire, have a glass of wine and recharge the batteries for the long winter ahead. Here’s our picks for the best places to get cozy together in Central Oregon.
Pine Ridge Inn – Bend
Located on top of the canyon overlooking the Deschutes River, Pine Ridge Inn offers an escape to tranquil settings right in the heart of Bend. With highly-appointed rooms that include cozy gas fireplaces, it’s a perfect spot for a quick retreat. The lodge offers a few different room options and a special “romance package.” There’s also some great stay and ski packages if you want to add a little adrenaline to your quiet weekend away.
FivePine Lodge – Sisters
Once you check in at the FivePine Lodge and enjoy a complimentary craft beer or glass of wine, the Romance Cabin (that’s actually what it’s called) is waiting for you. These cabins are super private – out on the back of the property nestled against the Deschutes National Forest. Enjoy some time in the soaking tub next to a stone fireplace before venturing out across campus for dinner at Three Creeks Brewing Co. or into town for classic comfort fare at Cottonwood Cafe.
Elk Lake Resort
There’s getting away from it all, then there’s getting away from all the people trying to get away from it all. At Elk Lake Resort, you’re bypassing the luxuries of, oh, being able to drive to the front door of the hotel to check in, take a dip in the heated pool and walking to the nearest restaurant for some food.
BUT, in return you get an extremely up close and personal look at Central Oregon’s beautiful backcountry in a crazy romantic cabin with access to a rustic lodge accessible only by snowmobile, Nordic skis or the very convenient Elk Lake Resort snowcats, which will pick you up at Mt. Bachelor or the Dutchman Flat sno-park parking lot. Once you’re there you can rent a snowmobile for some winter adventure, or just hang out at the lodge or in your cabin. Surprise your wife with a romantic cabin in the woods? You’re set for a while, man.
McMenamins Old St. Francis School – Bend
At McMenamins, you can relax together in a historic old Catholic school turned hotel and movie theater that also houses three separate pubs. Fire pits can be found on a couple of different spots around the campus, including outide the O’Kane’s pub in the back of the building. The rooms are some of the quaintest in Bend, with king suites featuring two separate clawfoot tubs for a unique romantic experience.
After a couple of drinks by the fire, hit up a movie on site or take a stroll around downtown and grab a bite at one of the great restaurants on Wall, Bond, Minnesota or Oregon avenues. (While we’re on the fire theme, we’d suggest 900 Wall – not because’s a fireplace, but because it’s one of the warmest, most welcoming spots down there.)
Backcountry Warming Huts
For another backcountry adventure sure to light a fire in your relationship this winter, check out one of the primitive warming huts in the backcountry. The huts include fireplaces that make for a perfect spot to thaw out in after a cold snowshoe excursion from the Virginia Meissner Sno-Park, just a short drive from Bend on the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway. The huts might be yours alone, or it might be a chance to meet some locals and find out their favorite spots to eat and drink.
There’s just something about a fire that warms the heart, and luckily finding one to cozy up to in Central Oregon is not hard to do. Many of the lodging opportunities here include rooms with fireplaces including Sunriver Resort, the new Tetherow Lodges and The Riverhouse.
You can see how some breweries are keeping folks toasty in this video of local breweries taking their parties outside. And fireplaces at spots like Deschutes Brewery, Cascade Lakes Brewing Co. help give off a warm, comforting vibe.
Other stories
More inspiring stories, adventures, and tips & tricks for planning and experiencing the best Central Oregon has to offer.
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Central Oregon Sled Dog Rides: Four-Legged Friends Power All Day Smiles
You can hear them before you see them. About 30 four-legged endurance athletes chomping at the bit for another chance to prove their worth and provide you with an ear-to-ear grin that will last an entire day.
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Girls’ Getaway in Bend: Retail & Spa Therapy Included
With fall right around the corner, it’s a good time to grab a few friends and escape for a girls’ getaway. On such trips, my girlfriends and I like to splurge a little with a day of shopping and spa treatments. And what better location to do so than downtown Bend?
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Great Getaway: Sisters, Oregon
When pulling into Sisters from the West you’re greeted by a main-street cowboy town filled with local shops, western storefronts and lots of charm. But as you reach the far end of that main street (it’s actually U.S. Hwy. 20,) something different emerges. There’s some upscale lodging, a brewpub, movie theater, and spa that gives Sisters a whole new attitude.
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Central Oregon Golf: Best Par 3s
Play a good golf course and chances are that when you’re back at the 19th hole, you’re talking about the Par 3s. The short one you made double on. The bear where you snaked in a 20-footer for your only birdie all month. They’re the “short” holes that can make or break a round. Some of the signature holes on the Central Oregon Golf Trail are Par 3s. Here’s a look at some of the best.
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Central Oregon Mountain Bike Trail Guide
The Central Oregon mountain bike scene is 300 miles of diverse singletrack through high alpine forests and sagebrush dotted deserts from Madras to La Pine, Sisters to Prineville. Bulletin newspaper reporter Mark Morical has ridden just about every one of the trails you’ll find on any mountain bike trail map – and he’s written about his experience.
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Hiking Black Butte – Central Oregon’s Iconic & Majestic Cinder Cone
From a distance, Black Butte looks like it doesn’t quite match the picturesque alpine mountains that surround it. The volcanic rock that emerges above the tree line gives the impression of a hill constructed with loose stones that was carelessly dropped in the middle of the woods. Unlike the Cascades that puncture the horizon to the west and north, Black Butte can be hiked and enjoyed in under four hours.
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Why I love Mt. Bachelor – Olympic Skier Laurenne Ross
Mt. Bachelor is one of the most family-friendly mountains in the West. But it has also long been a training ground for some of the best skiers in the United States with the terrain helping produce local Olmpians Tommy Ford, Kiki Cutter, Mike Lafferty and most recently, Laurenne Ross.
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Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show Brings Fabric Artists to Central Oregon
Blankets keep you warm. Quilts tell a story. So imagine all the tales to be told at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show on the second Saturday of July, when the streets of this small Central Oregon town are blanketed (pun intended) with the creative tapestries woven by thousands of quilters from around the world.