Five Reasons to Visit the Bend Ale Trail in Oregon
This post is sponsored by Visit Bend, the official guide to Bend, Oregon.
If you're not from the Pacific North West, you may not be familiar with Bend, Oregon, but we are here to tell you that if you enjoy craft beer, you absolutely need to check out the Bend Ale Trail. Here are five reasons we recommend you #DrinkLocal in Bend.
1. There are 30 Breweries on the Bend Ale Trail
For a small mountain town, Bend packs in the breweries. With 30 breweries on the Ale Trail, there is no lack of variety — whether you love sours, IPAs, or just a good beer-flavored beer, there is a craft brewery for everyone here!
2. The Ale Trail is Divided into 7 Territories
The Bend Ale Trail does a phenomenal job breaking up the breweries into seven different territories, making it easy for you to conquer the entire trail! There are between three and six breweries in each territory, and a lot of the breweries are within walking distance to one another.
Check out "The Perfect Weekend in Bend, Oregon for Outdoorsy Craft Beer Lovers" where we break down each Bend Ale Trail territory.
3. You Can Earn Prizes
A fun perk of the Bend Ale Trail is once you complete a territory, you can head over to the Bend Visitor Centerand collect a prize (hint: it may or may not be a souvenir tasting glass). And if you complete all seven territories, you get a BONUS prize! Nothing quite like gamifying your drinking (where you receive real prizes instead of virtual badges).
4. You Can Go Old-School or Digital
Whether you prefer a paper passport or a mobile app, Bend Ale Trail has you covered. Here are our thoughts on both:
The Physical Passport:
Costs $5
You can pick it up at the Bend Visitor Center
High quality — truly a stunning, sturdy passport
There is just something satisfying about the physical stamp
The Mobile App:
Free to use
Web-based (so, you log in via web browser versus downloading a physical app)
Easy to sign up
Check-in via your phone's GPS or by entering a manual code on the Bend Ale Trail poster in the venue
We find that the app is useful for those of us who are particularly forgetful (not us forgetting to bring the physical passport to one of the breweries while we were visiting...)
5. They Have a Designated Driver Program
This is possibly one of the more unique components of the Bend Ale Trail. If you are playing DD for the day, you can use the last page in the paper passport to collect your “Designated Driver” stamps. Collect five stamps from any brewery on the Bend Ale Trail and you can redeem a Designated Driver prize!
There you have it! Five reasons to check out the Bend Ale Trail! Now, what are you waiting for? It's time to book your flight!