Bend, OR

While Sunriver is a known hotspot for the wealthy, little known businesses are sometimes hidden and are inexpensive and Sunriver Nature Center, nestled against the Little Deschutes River, is one of these. You will want to go to their webpage for further information on rates and schedules as it does change. The nature center hosts an array of educational exhibits year round and in the summer they incorporate many additional programs. These programs have included National Geographic’s Bill Curtsinger, photographer. They host different programs according to the time of year such as Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas, summer, fall, spring & winter. Snowshoe nature walks, gift making classes for seasonal gifts for those who seem to have it all, science classes from bugs, amphibians, reptiles, birds of prey to astronomy. In the summer there are also field trips to view migratory and non migratory animals.

Inside hosts many different exhibits on birds, reptiles, amphibians, bugs, spiders and more, how they eat, what they eat, identification of different animal bones, wings, feathers, scat, tracks and more. Plus there is a small gift shop. Upon going outside there are two different trail systems one of these show the birds of prey that the nature center houses and this trail walks alongside the Little D river. The other trail is unique in the way the set it up as it shows the varieties of the different ecosystems found throughout Oregon complete with many different kinds of flora and fauna. This 2^nd trail is also a small bird paradise.

Have you visited the Sunriver Nature Center? Would you like to add your thoughts, experiences or stories? We’d love to hear them! Just comment below! If you have a story or a Thing To Do that you would like to add to this site, please email us today.

From the parking lot, if you follow the doe prints, you will find the observatory that is open for night time viewing of the solar system. On almost any given night, different planets and constellations can be seen among the stars and moon. See the shadows of moon craters, look deep into the depth of the night sky. We are fortunate here in Central Oregon that we have this observatory so close as the next nearest one is many miles out on Hwy 20 and is closed in the winter as it is inaccessible.

This whole center has been put together with great love, care and preciseness from staff and volunteers and is well worth the visit. Perfect for a fun and educational field trip of all ages.