Catherine's Blog

The Wildflowers and Views Are Fabulous at Browder Ridge

Iron Mountain remains one of the favored Central Oregon wildflower hikes that many people on both sides of the Cascades enjoy yearly. However, the lesser known and less traveled Browder Ridge offers even more wildflowers and views unseen from Iron Mountain. The easiest access to Browder Ridge Trail is near the Iron Mountain trailhead a few miles up paved forest service road 15.

In early July 2025, the wildflowers were blooming and the air was clear, providing outstanding views of multiple peaks of the Cascades. The hike from the trailhead off forest service road 15 climbs over 2300 feet to the peak at the top of Browder Ridge at a distance slightly more than six miles one direction. Varied shade loving and sun loving wildflowers can be seen throughout the hike.

What Happened With Bend Luxury Home Sales the First Six Months of 2025?

2025 has been a year so far that has seen a significant increase in real estate inventory across the country. The greatest increase in inventory in Bend has happened in the second quarter, although there was movement in the first as well. For the

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What's in the July 2025 Bend Premier Newsletter?

• Its All About Price for Bend Home Sellers
• Beet Salad With Carrot, Quinoa & Spinach
• Creating a Kid-Friendly Backyard For Summer Fun
• The Bear Grass is Blooming at Patjens Lakes Loop Trail
• Why Your Home's Asking Price Matters More Today

Its All About Price for Bend Home Sellers

In a transitioning real estate market where home buyers all of a sudden have many choices, it comes down to asking price in whether or not home sellers have showings, much less offers. For Bend home sellers who experienced multiple offers with less than a month of supply (sometimes less than two weeks) pushing home prices upwards during the Covid Pandemic, this change to the Bend real estate market can be challenging; adjusting to a more balanced market can lead to frustration and disappointment, but for sellers who are willing to revise their asking price based on

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Patjens Lakes Loop Trail is a Moderate Hike in the Mt. Washington Wilderness

For those who are looking for a Bear grass hike in Central Oregon, Patjens Lakes Loop Trail is hard to beat the end of June 2025. When hikers leave Hwy 20 to drive to the paved trailhead near the end of Big Lake Road, blooming Bear grass can be seen on each side of the road, a great indicator that the hike has a significant amount of it seen during the trek. Patjens Lakes Loop Trail runs adjacent to Big Lake at Santiam Pass before it leaves the lake to run south into the Mt. Washington Wilderness where it skirts the 4 small Patjens Lakes before returning to the starting point next to Big Lake. There are still signs of the B & B complex fire of 2003 which burned over 90,000 acres in the Mt Washington and Mt Jefferson Wildernesses, running along the crest of the Cascades. However devastating the fire was to the area, the burned areas provided more growing areas to sun-loving plants, such as Bear grass.

Areas untouched by the fire retain the lush undergrowth and tall trees of most Western Oregon old growth forests, complete with shade-loving plants and many birds. The last two miles of the hike, however, are in the burned area. Part of the path climbs a ridge from which hikers have amazing views of the Three Sisters, Black Crater, Hoodoo Ski Area, Three Fingered Jack and Mt. Washington. The slope of this ridge is covered with Bear grass and the Cascade views would not be evident had the area remained unburned.

The entire hike is under 7 miles with a little over 700 feet of elevation gain, considered by many a moderate route.