Bend is undeniably connected to outdoor adventure—but there’s much to love about the city and broader Central Oregon away from our alpine lakes, powdery slopes, forested campsites, and high-desert trailheads.
So to help inspire a memorable trip, we’ve put together a wide-ranging list of some of the top indoor activities around the region. Those family-friendly activities range from busy days indoors at local gyms and yoga studios to a fun night out where you can enjoy the community’s performing arts scene—perfect for whether you’ve caught us on a rare rainy day or are simply looking for fun beyond the outdoors.
Here’s a look at the top indoor activities in Bend, Oregon:
1. Attend Indoor Events
Venues new and old host a variety of live shows just about every night of the week around Bend.
One of the top destinations is the old-school Tower Theatre, which dates back to 1940 and today showcases a mix of live musicals, orchestral performances, theatrical productions, concerts from local and touring musicians, and more.
A few blocks away, Midtown Ballroom & Domino Room routinely welcomes an eclectic mix of local, regional, and national touring acts to three venues within the broader ballroom complex.
For a cozier experience, see what’s new at Volcanic Theatre Pub—which sits on the city’s west side and routinely hosts touring musicians, local performers, film screenings, and other creative live events.
Looking for film screenings and live performances on your next visit? See the latest with our Bend calendar of events.
2. Family-Friendly Entertainment
There’s never a bad time for playtime in Bend, where a number of indoor spaces encourage little ones to run loose, interact, and have a ball.
The family-friendly Free Spirit is a great place to start. Housed in the Old Mill District, Free Spirit offers kid-friendly yoga classes, a “ninja skills” gym, open-play sessions, and other fun activities. Elsewhere around town, Bend Trampoline Zone hosts more than 50 trampoline beds, six climbing walls, a laser maze, and an exciting ninja maze.
For a slightly more structured family outing, lace up your bowling shoes for a few rounds at Lava Lanes Bend. The bowling alley is home to well-maintained lanes, bumper bowling for children of all ages, an on-site sports bar, enticing arcade games, and more.
3. Discover Local Museums
A number of museums around Bend offer a captivating glimpse of the region’s history, wildlife, and modern-day cultures.
The award-winning High Desert Museum is a great place to start. The indoor-outdoor attraction hosts immersive exhibits dedicated to Central Oregon’s Native American tribes, the region’s first European-American settlers, and local wildlife—with live river otters, raptors, and even a bobcat and porcupine on display.
In downtown Bend, meanwhile, the Deschutes Historical Museum takes a wide-ranging approach to the community’s rich history. Exhibits look at how tourism in the 20th century shaped the region, another recreates a 1914 classroom, and several artifacts demonstrate what life was like for Bend’s first European-American residents.
If you’re excited to learn more, check out our guide to the top museums in and near Bend.
4. Explore Art Galleries
The art scene in Bend and Central Oregon is a vibrant one, bolstered and buoyed by passionate creatives who display and sell their works in galleries across the region.
The Stacks Art Studios & Gallery, housed in the Old Mill District, offers a glimpse at what makes the scene so special; there, visitors can peer into studios of working artists, browse exhibits of their work, and purchase art for back home. Nearby, the artist-owned-and-operated Tumalo Art Co. hosts monthly exhibits—usually either a themed group show or an entire show dedicated to the work of one artist. Learn more about Bend art galleries in the Old Mill District.
In downtown, Red Chair Gallery displays works from nearly three-dozen regional artists—with a wide variety of media that includes paintings, jewelry, glasswork, and more.
5. Brewery Tours & Tastings
Central Oregon breweries are known the world over for producing a palate-pleasing mix of classic styles, innovative brews, and cutting-edge ales and lagers—and for welcoming curious visitors in taprooms and brewpubs around the region.
If you’d like a behind-the-scenes look at how it all happens, consider booking a brewery tour for the inside scoop. Some breweries offer their own tours; Deschutes Brewery, for instance, takes visitors through its brewhouse and into its barrel-aging warehouse on a pair of tours.
In other instances, you can let a local outfitter do all the planning and take care of logistics; Bend-based Wanderlust Tours offers a guided Local Pour trip that includes door-to-door transportation and sips at three creative stops. For more ideas, check out our guide to Bend brewery and distillery tours.
6. Catch a Movie
When you visit Bend, Oregon, you’ll have the chance to dive into the community’s robust cinema scene—where you can watch art-house fare and blockbusters alike at theaters around town.
See the biggest new releases at Regal Old Mill Movie Theater in the Old Mill District. The well-appointed theater shows a mix of movies on 10 screens and offers an extensive selection of concessions that includes all the classics (popcorn, candy, and soda), as well as a few taps of local craft beer and cider.
In downtown, the brick-lined Tin Pan Theater specializes in independent films, under-the-radar new releases, beloved movies, and cult classics—all in a cozy setting. Keep an eye out for ongoing series dedicated to one genre (such as spaghetti western films) or unique moviegoing experiences (including outdoor movies in Tin Pan Alley and nearby parks).
And at the eastern edge of Sisters, the four-screen Sisters Movie House & Café resides in a creative, barn-shaped building and shows a wide range of movies whose lineup may include family-friendly films, underground releases, and the latest hits. An on-site café dishes flatbreads, paninis, deli sandwiches, wraps, and other light bites, as well.
7. Indoor Rock Climbing
Climbing is a top activity in Central Oregon—and no matter the weather, you can find a place to hone your skills.
Bend Rock Gym is among the city’s most popular climbing gyms—with a handful of walls at varying heights, more than 90 boulder problems that are set weekly, hundreds of routes that change often, artificial cracks, and other challenges for climbers of all skill levels.
Also in town, The Circuit Bouldering Gym promises more than 200 routes for climbers of all experience levels, a full training area, a section exclusively for young climbers, and yoga rooms. And the adults-only, 24-hour Boardworks climbing gym caters to new and experienced board climbers with thousands of routes, holds that are designed to improve disparate skills (such as power and technique), and an app-based approach that challenges climbers on thousands of boulder problems.
credit to @bendrockgym
8. Yoga & Wellness
Need to unwind after a busy day outdoors? Or did you come to Central Oregon specifically to recharge? Either way, you’ll find plenty of yoga studios and day spas to help decompress.
Just south of downtown Bend, Spa W is a long-running day spa that provides a calming backdrop for a wide range of services—including body and face treatments, massages, and comprehensive spa packages.
For another, more active path to relaxation, stop by one of the city’s many yoga studios. Yoga Shala Bend offers a wide range of classes, breathwork exercises, guided meditation, and other activities to improve your practice.
If you’re staying at a luxury resort around the region, chances are good you’ll enjoy access to an on-site spa with a suite of services—including massages, treatments, and yoga classes. Juniper Spa at Juniper Preserve, in particular, is beloved for seasonal wellness packages, yoga sessions, and more.
Ready to rest, relax, and get centered? Learn more about wellness in Central Oregon.
9. Local Shopping and Dining
Shop ’til you drop at cozy stores, chic boutiques, and mom-and-pop outposts all over Bend.
Brick-lined shops in downtown Bend welcome shoppers with a mix of apparel, souvenirs, books, and other choice finds; EVRGREEN Clothing, in particular, prides itself on selling all manner of women’s apparel at competitive prices—with friendly team members eager to help you find the perfect piece.
Along the Deschutes River, the Old Mill District hosts roughly 40 shops that range from storefronts run by local entrepreneurs to outposts from international brands. Area anglers, for instance, love the selection at Confluence Fly Shop & Craft Beer Bar—which pairs its fly-fishing gear with an on-site craft beer, cider, and kombucha bar.
And the Box Factory—so named because the building originally opened in 1916 as (surprise!) a box factory for a local timber company—is today home to roughly three-dozen local businesses. See what treasures you can find, and get ready for your next outdoor adventure at The Gear Fix—which specializes in used clothing, bikes, skis, camping equipment, and other items.
Get inspired for your next trip with our round-up of shopping in Central Oregon—and find your next favorite meal at one of the best restaurants in Bend.
10. Axe Throwing & Unique Experiences
credit to @walkaboutjoewillie
If you’d like to enjoy a unique experience that showcases the curiosity and quirks of Central Oregon, you’ll find plenty of fun ideas around Bend.
At the northern edge of downtown, Unofficial Logging Co. invites visitors 12 and older to try their hand at axe throwing with six private lanes. An on-site coach will show you how to throw and help you get started, and you can pair the trip with bites from a full food menu and 18 taps of local craft beer and cider.
Whether you’re a movie buff or a child of the ‘90s, you’ll find plenty of fun at Blockbuster—the last such store on Earth. The store’s yellow-and-blue color scheme remains intact and provides the perfect backdrop for browsing a selection of more than 21,000 titles. Yes, you can even rent a movie to watch back in your room. And if you’re curious about how the store survived so long, check out our deep dive into the Last Blockbuster Video Store.
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