Let’s get one thing straight: Bend is amazing. The high-alpine lakes are stunning, the hikes are top-tier, and floating the river on a hot July afternoon is unbeatable. But driving there in the summer? It’s a special kind of chaos.
Nobody warns you that between the city’s roundabout obsession, trailhead gridlock, and driving habits that defy logic, simply getting across town can test your sanity. Don’t get me wrong, I’d go back in a heartbeat, but you need to know what you’re rolling into.
The Roundabout Invasion
Look, I know roundabouts are supposed to keep traffic moving, but Bend took that concept and ran with it to an absurd degree. They have spawned en masse across the entire city, especially in the Old Mill District.
I will give them credit for one thing: the decorations in the middle of these things are incredible. The landscaping, the sculptures, the art, it’s top-tier, and makes driving through them surprisingly scenic.
…BUT the driving dynamics inside them is chaos:
- The Mystery Exit: Half the battle of getting into the circle is figuring out if the car flying toward you is actually turning. So I looked it up, you are legally required to signal your exit out of roundabout. Does anyone in Bend actually do it? Maybe, but not when I was there. Every time you enter one, you just have to guess what the car coming at you is about to do.
- The Phantom Cyclist Chain Reaction: Roundabouts force you to stare hard to your left, hunting for an opening. The car ahead of you finally moves, you see your gap, and you step on the gas, only to instantly slam on your brakes because the lead car just locked theirs up inside the circle for a cyclist flying across the crosswalk. Nothing wakes you up faster than almost rear-ending someone in a roundabout you haven’t even fully entered yet.
- The Infinite Entry Line: Squeezing into a busy roundabout from a heavily trafficked entry point is the ultimate test of patience. All it takes is a steady stream of circle traffic, or one extra-cautious driver at the front of your line, and suddenly you are stuck in a 15-car backup, engine idling, praying for a single gap.
The Highway 20 to Highway 97 Gauntlet
If you leave town to go hiking toward Sisters, you eventually have to come back. And coming back into north Bend is where traffic planning logic goes to die.
You’re cruising back on Highway 20, you take the exit, and you are immediately forced into a high-stakes, multi-lane drag race just to merge left into the turning lane. Why? Because the backup to turn left onto Empire Avenue is so ridiculously long that cars are literally spilling off the pavement and onto the dirt shoulder. Ask me how I know.
You sit in this eternal left-turn line, staring directly at the local Dairy Queen. This is a Dairy Queen I will likely never visit, simply because I’m terrified if I pull into that parking lot, I’ll be trapped there for the rest of my natural life (which, to be fair, given access to soft serve, might not be the worst way to go).
Once you finally make that left onto Empire, you wrap around the corner to hit the right-hand ramp onto 97 South. And as you do, you can only offer a silent prayer for the poor souls coming westbound on Empire trying to turn left onto the freeway. No traffic light, just pure hope and desperation as they pray someone feels merciful enough to let them across.
Highway 97’s Identity Crisis
Speaking of Highway 97, can we talk about what is happening on the highway through town? Because this road is having a full-blown identity crisis. Is it an expressway where traffic naturally wants to do 60 mph, or is it a local city street?
- Pedestrian Crosswalks on a Highway?! Why in the world are there crosswalks across a multi-lane highway? Half the time the posted speed limit is 45 mph, but almost nobody actually drives 45. Traffic flows like a freeway, and then suddenly everyone is slamming on their brakes because a pedestrian needs to cross four lanes of high-speed traffic. It’s terrifying for drivers and downright heroic for the pedestrians.
- Merging Lanes – “Good Luck Everybody!”: If you’re trying to get onto 97 South from places like NE Scott Street/Colorado Avenue, prepare to test your vehicle’s 0-to-60 time. The on-ramps are shockingly short. You turn onto the ramp, glance left, and realize you have about fifty feet of pavement to match the speed of highway traffic before the lane just ends. No runway, no warning, just floor it and hope someone gives you room.
The Old Mill 5 PM Gridlock
If you are planning to visit the Old Mill District, hit a restaurant, or catch a concert on a summer evening, here is the best advice you will get: avoid driving here around 5:00 PM.
Between sunny Fridays, concert crowds, and general peak-hour traffic, the roads around the river turn into a total standstill. The combination of endless roundabouts, pedestrians darting across crosswalks, and drivers hunting for nonexistent parking creates a special kind of gridlock.
There are no secret backroads or clever shortcuts through this area when it gets backed up. Your only real options are to bring an extra dose of patience, or do what the locals do: head over early, snag a spot, and grab an extra snack while you wait out the rush.
Trailhead Rule #1: Go Early (Then Go Earlier)
If you plan to hike anywhere around Bend, your alarm clock is your best friend. Whether a trail requires a permit or not, the parking situation is relentless. And for non-permit hikes? You need to go even earlier.
Case in point: Tumalo Falls.
We pulled into the parking lot on a random Tuesday morning at 8:40 AM and snagged basically the last official spot in the lot. It wasn’t even 9:00 AM on a weekday, and it was already full.
When we finished our hike two hours later, the situation had devolved into absolute chaos. Cars were parked precariously along the gravel road for what felt like a mile back. Trying to actually exit the trailhead turned into a slow, dusty, bumper-to-bumper crawl while weaving past oncoming cars searching desperately for a gap. We literally had to take a video because of how nuts it was.
If you don’t want your peaceful mountain waterfall hike to end with a high-stress driving test on a gravel road, arrive early, get your spot, and get out before the mid-morning wave hits.
The Saving Grace (and Final Survival Rules)
Look, as chaotic as the driving can be, there is a reason everyone tolerates it: where these roads actually take you.
In thirty minutes flat, you can drive from the middle of the Old Mill District all the way up to Mt. Bachelor. You go from idling in traffic to standing in stunning, high-alpine forests that feel like a completely different world. The access to nature here is unbeatable, and once you get past the bumper-to-bumper spots, the scenery makes up for a lot.
If you want to enjoy Central Oregon without letting the traffic ruin your trip, just stick to these final rules of the road:
- Beat the Clock: Leave before dawn and plan to head back before noon, or at least before 3:00 PM. If it’s a Friday afternoon? Good luck. And if it’s the weekend, just prepare yourself.
- Watch for Cyclists: Bikes are absolutely everywhere in this town, from city streets to roundabout crosswalks. Keep your head on a swivel.
- Drive Strictly Defensive: Drivers entering 97, cutting into roundabouts, or making left turns can be shockingly aggressive. Do not assume anyone is going to yield or signal, defensive driving is your only real hope.
Pack your snacks, set an early alarm, stay alert, and you’ll most likely have an incredible trip.