Local Dogs’ Favorite Trail

Some trails belong to runners. Some belong to bikers. But Good Dog Trail? That one belongs to the pups.

It’s a quick drive on the way up the mountain, which means it picks up a bit more snow than in town. Three miles out and back, though you can add or shave off distance depending on your ambition (or your dog’s). The payoff is at the middle point: the Deschutes River. Cold, slowly flowing, and somehow irresistible to dogs who will plunge in no matter the season.

Even in February, when your coffee is freezing in your hand, there they are—labs, shepherds, huskies—launching into the water like it’s a pool party. The name isn’t a gimmick. Good Dog is quite literally a dog’s dream hike.

Bring a towel. You’ll need it to clean them for the car ride home.

Good Dog Trail, last winter.

Skies Over Bend

Let’s talk rain and smoke. Two things Bend struggles with in different ways.

First, the rain. By the end of September, Bend collected about 7.5 inches of precipitation in 2025. Normally, we’d expect closer to 9.2 inches by now. For a high desert city that is already labeled “semi-arid,” the missing rain is noticeable. But some is coming this week.

Then there’s the smoke. In 2024, Bend endured 16 days of air quality in the “unhealthy” zone. Windows shut, eyes stinging, dogs looking at you like, “really, you want me to go outside in this?” This year, so far, has been kinder. The average air quality index (AQI) is trending around 25 in 2025, compared to 31 in 2024. That’s a nearly 15% improvement. Not perfect, but better. Fewer of those days where you wake up and wonder if the haze is morning fog or a reminder that somewhere, something’s burning.

And when it’s not raining or smoky, Bend is still Bend: mostly blue skies. Sunshine is the default here, which is why the rain feels like a big event and the smoke feels like an intrusion. It’s the contrast that defines our year. Dry stretches that make a single thunderstorm feel like a headline, and clear mornings that make a week of haze feel twice as long.