We had such a great multigenerational family vacation at Sunriver, Oregon, last summer that we decided to book another stay there this year. Once again we found a large vacation home to rent that would accommodate my husband and me and our two daughters’ families, including four grandkids. Each couple enjoyed a roomy bedroom with en suite, the older kids had a bunk room together, and the youngest had her own room to cater to her required nap times and earlier bedtime. The large open living spaces provided room to gather, play games, and cook and eat big meals together; and we enjoyed the large outdoor deck (and deer grazing right there while we ate our breakfast) and private hot tub. The pool table in the three-car garage hosted some competitive (and friendly) play, and we certainly enjoyed the passes provided that gained us entrance to the large aquatics center. There we could enjoy green lawns for sunning, a lazy river with inner tubes, two large water slides, and indoor and outdoor pools with spaces friendly to our 20-month-old granddaughter and entertaining enough for our rambunctious grandboys.

Last summer we encountered a few days during our five-day visit when the air quality numbers, impacted by large regional wildfires, shut down the water park and caused us to cancel or limit other outdoor plans. This year we were pleased that no large fires were risking a repeat of that scenario. Instead, at least two afternoons at the pool were cancelled due to prolonged thunderstorms that chased everyone away. There’s always something! Fortunately, this area of Central Oregon offers a wide range of activities to folks of all ages and interests, and it wasn’t hard to pivot to some other options.

The first full day took us to the charming town of Sisters, located about a 30-minute-drive north of the largest town in the area, Bend. Over the last 20 to 30 years it has grown from a sleepy little timber and ranch town to a booming outdoor recreation hub for skiers; fishermen; mountain hikers, bikers and climbers; boaters of every ilk; rock climbers; and those just looking to kick back and breathe. It’s got a lot of cute shops and a very popular rodeo and a quilt show, but we make it a requisite stop whenever we’re in the area for two reasons: Sisters Bakery and Sisters Meat & Smokehouse. The bakery makes some of the best sourdough you could ever hope to encounter, but I also can’t resist a whole list of its cookies and sweet and savory pastries. The Smokehouse makes a great lunch stop, as the sandwiches piled high with house-smoked meats can’t be beat, and the meat counter sets grillers’ hearts aflutter with the most gorgeous cuts of beef, pork, lamb, turkey . . . even elk.

Another day, we made a return visit to another favorite attraction only five miles up the road from Sunriver, the High Desert Museum. We knew after our visit last year that we would want to return again, as kids and grownups alike enjoyed it so much and felt as though we didn’t have time to explore everything we wanted to. This award-winning facility delves into the geology, natural world and cultural history of the high desert region of the American West, encompassing much of eastern Oregon and eastern Washington; all of Idaho; most of Nevada and Utah; and parts of California, Wyoming and Utah. The kids really enjoy getting up close to the wildlife in many of the exhibits here, starting with a stream that flows beside the entrance courtyard teeming with good-sized rainbow trout. River otters, bobcats, porcupines, snakes and raptors also make their homes on the grounds; and larger, more elusive critters such as elk, beaver and deer are represented in life-sized bronze sculptures that youngsters are welcome to climb on and around.

Permanent exhibits offer glimpses of the history and cultures of both indigenous and immigrant dwellers on this land, including Native American dwellings of both canvas and tule reeds and recreations of the storefronts of a 19th-century mining town. We admired the intricate bead- and shellwork of Native dress and the cramped confines of an authentic stagecoach. We also explored some traveling exhibits. One shared the photography of Japanese photographer Frank S. Matsura, who captured the portraits of Columbia River Plateau Native Americans in the early years of the 20th century. Another, Fractals in Nature: Patterns at Play, offered interactive exhibits that revealed the never-ending patterns that repeat the same shapes at bigger and smaller scales everywhere in nature, from ice crystals to brain neurons, sea shells to pine cones. The kids enjoyed creating their own patterns with clear acrylic shapes on a light table and creating moving patterns on a large screen in a darkened room. And when we needed a break from all that learning and discovery, we had a nice lunch on the deck of the on-site Rimrock Café, where the service was quick and the food was healthy, tasty and reasonably priced.

And we did make it to the pool a few times and also explored some of the bike trails that wind through the resort as well as a small nature center. There is still so much more to check out in the area: lava tubes and the Newberry National Volcanic Monument, lots of great hikes and inner tubing on the Deschutes River . . . . I guess it just means we’ll have to come back again!

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor