In 1950, the two major logging companies were consolidated due to depleted timber, causing an economic drop.

Economically, it is a tourist destination, featuring recreational attractions (e.g. breweries, an amphitheater, and the last Blockbuster video-rental store) as well as outdoor sports, including mountain biking, fishing, hiking, camping, rock climbing, white-water rafting, skiing, paragliding, and golf.

In late 1824, members of a fur-trapping party led by Peter Skene Ogden visited the area.

[8] Constructed in May 1901, the Pilot Butte Development Company's little plant was the first commercial sawmill in Bend, also providing the town's first irrigation.

In 1904, a city was incorporated by a general vote of the community's 300 residents; it was platted by Pilot Butte Development Company on May 28, 1904.

[7] On January 4, 1905, the city held its first official meeting as an incorporated municipality, appointing A. H. Goodwillie as its first mayor.

The dam has been owned by Pacific Power since 1926 and still produces electricity that supplies approximately 200 Bend households.

The 1950 closure of Shevlin-Hixon Lumber Company (which was sold to Brooks-Scanlon), due to a lack of significant timber, caused the largest economic drop in the region since the Great Depression.

Two senior citizens, one of whom was an employee at the store, were killed, and two others were wounded before the gunman committed suicide.

[1] Inside the city limits is Pilot Butte State Scenic Viewpoint, an old cinder cone.

A lesser known characteristic of Bend, the Horse Lava Tube System enters and borders the eastern edge of the city.

Bend's growing season is short; according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Resources Conservation Service, in half of the years between 1971 and 2000, the USDA weather station in Bend recorded the last below-freezing temperatures after July 3 and the first below-freezing temperatures before August 31.

Recreational activities include downhill and cross country skiing, hiking, biking, rafting, golfing, camping, fishing, picnicking, rock climbing, and general sightseeing.

Bend, Oregon depends on $7 million in the room tax income that essentially funds services for Streets, Fire, and Police.

[35] Each year the city hosts many events celebrating its brewing culture, including the Bend Oktoberfest, the Little Woody Barrel Aged Brew and Whiskey Fest, Bend Brewfest, and Central Oregon Beer Week.

[44][45] In 2005 construction and real estate accounted for 17.3 percent of all jobs in the Bend metropolitan statistical area (MSA), which constitutes all of Deschutes County.

[46] This figure is about 70 percent more than the proportion of construction and real estate jobs in the Oregon and national economies.

[50] In June 2006, Money magazine named the Bend MSA the fifth most overpriced real estate market in the United States.

Bend is the home of the professional cross-country skiing team XC Oregon, which competes in races locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.

[60] In 2019 and 2020, Bend hosted USA Climbing's pro and youth National Bouldering Championships.

February of each year Coach Miller hosts the Oregon State Golden Gloves Boxing Championship at Eagle Crest resort, a two-day event that highlights the best Olympic-bound boxers in the Northwest while bringing hundreds of boxing fans to the area.

The nearest commercial airport is Roberts Field (RDM) in Redmond, 18 mi (29 km) north of Bend.

Bend Municipal Airport (KBDN) is located 5 mi (8 km) northeast of the city and serves general aviation.

Several significant general aviation companies are based at Bend Airport, including Precise Flight, which develops oxygen systems, speed brakes, landing lights and other modifications for general aviation aircraft, and Epic Aircraft.

[67] Bend was previously the only metropolitan area west of the Mississippi River without a public bus system.

[68] During summer 2007, not a single bus purchased was in operation (though several were due to weak A/C systems) and litigation was underway.

The Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway ran passenger service six days a week on a mixed train along that line from Bend to Wishram, Washington until some point between 1968 and 1970.

[74][75] The closest Amtrak station is in Chemult, approximately 65 mi (105 km) to the south; it is served by the Seattle–Los Angeles Coast Starlight.

[77] An estimated 40,000 people have moved to Bend since the Transportation System Plan was written, and most of them brought cars with them.

Tires can be processed and reused, batteries and oil can be treated so no toxic waste gets put into the surface runoff in the streets and landfill.