The drive from Portland to Bend can be a slog, especially when you hit weekend or holiday traffic. It begs to be broken up, and Madras, about an hour out, is a logical spot. But let’s be real: the city doesn’t have a great reputation. At its worst, it’s seen as a wasteland with high rates of poverty and drug use that puts the “high” in high desert. Dig a little deeper, though, and you’ll find awe-inspiring outdoor adventure, scratch-made pastries, and a one-of-a-kind witchy bookstore that alone is worth a waylay.

Where to Eat

Revive your road-weary self with an espresso or latte sweetened with housemade syrups—cardamom, blackberry, lavender, mint—and scratch-made lemon poppyseed or buttermilk blueberry muffins at Midtown Coffee, opened in 2023 with shelves of books for sale and plenty of tables for two. If you miss Eagle Bakery’s Friday morning maple bars, which usually sell out within an hour, the cinnamon rolls use the same browned butter maple frosting.

For lunch, head to Great Earth Cafe and Market for a Madras Club, a BLT dressed up with avocado, cucumber, and red onion on homemade honey wheat bread. The vegetarian black bean burger is another solid choice. Dessert brings a slice of homemade cheesecake or a strawberry-stuffed croissant.

Nearly 40 percent of Madras’s population is Latinx, and you’ll find a range of south-of-the-border dinner options: try the carnitas, carne asada, or al pastor from the Jimenez Tacos food cart, or puerco enmolado with housemade mole sauce at Rio Distinctive Mexican Cuisine. At the latter, add freshly made guacamole, and perhaps a Cadillac margarita muddled with oranges and limes.

Bring your kids (till 8pm) and pets to tour New Basin Distilling, which makes farm-to-bottle spirits with Culver’s Opal Springs Water, then kick back beneath the string lights in the industrial-style bar or outside by the firepit. Sip on a Madras Mule, made with whiskey instead of vodka, honey ginger mixing vinegar, and fresh local mint and served in a traditional copper cup. Or try Mecca Grade Estate Malt Beer, made by an eighth-generation Oregon farming family, with locally grown and artisanally malted barley that has a nutty, graham-cracker sweetness. On-site food cart Teal Rose Coffee offers brunch and lunch options, while Whiskey Pie serves pizza, salads, and nachos. 

Where to Stay

In the heart of Madras, “rustic luxury” boutique hotel Bunk House at Cross Keys opened in 2023 with decor inspired by Central Oregon cowboys, ranchers, and Native tribes. Savor a hot breakfast beside a fireplace on the third-floor outdoor patio with views of the Ochoco and Grizzly Mountains.

Tiny home rentals at Lake Simtustus Resort & Marina feature private hot tubs with lake views (look for wild horses galloping around the perimeter) and four- foot-by-four-foot skylights for stargazing beneath a Pendleton wool blanket. Swim next to the dock, or rent a kayak, paddleboard, or pontoon to cross the lake’s eight miles, end-capped by the Pelton and Round Butte Dams.

Or stay in a yome—a cross between a yurt and a dome—on the other side of Lake Simtustus at Pelton Park. A two-mile ridgeline hike offers views of Lake Simtustus and the Cascades. 

Where to Play

Downtown Madras is just a few blocks but contains some mighty, locally owned shops, most notably the mother-daughter-owned Black Bird Magical Tea & Tales. The shop specializes in fantasy and magic books, costumes, and rotating locally made gifts—think beaded suncatchers, essential oils, and stained glass. Before you leave, pick up some loose-leaf tea (perhaps High Desert or Book Lovers Brew?), blended by co-owner Holli Papasodora. The duo hosts authors and initiates events, such as the now-annual Halloween Market and the city’s first-ever Renaissance Faire. They also commissioned local artist Mary Stellar for a dragonfly fairy wings mural outside the store.

A few blocks away, at the northeast corner of Highway 97 and SE C Street, a mural by Bend artist Karen Eland commemorates the 2017 total solar eclipse in six phases over Lake Billy Chinook. Keep strolling to 715 SW Fifth Street, where a “Greetings from Madras” mural finds a rabbit, deer, and hawk peeking out from vivid blues and yellows spelling the town’s name. Part of the vintage postcard–inspired Central Oregon Mural Trail, it’s the work of Eland and fellow Bend artist Katie Daisy.

Find homemade soap, bath bombs, and natural hand-poured soy candles at Penelope’s Soaps and Such before adorning yourself in Western chic attire and handmade sterling silver jewelry from White Buffalo Boutique.

From April to August, cheer on dragsters and roadsters sprinting two at a time along the 660-foot paved Madras Dragstrip. From May to September, meanwhile, all variety of vehicles—sportsman, late models, mini trucks, junior class, hornets, and more—burn rubber, strategically maneuvering an average of 80 mph around the turns at Madras Speedway, which claims to be the fastest quarter-mile oval dirt track west of the Mississippi. A pit pass will get you close to the cars and drivers, but even if you’re in the stands, bring ear protection.

August’s annual Airshow of the Cascades finds US Army Golden Knights paratroopers parachuting to the ground, jet planes racing around a course overhead (like Madras Speedway in the sky), and stunt planes flying formations, separations, and rejoins—all with a soundtrack of live music. The Erickson Aircraft Collection, meanwhile, displays WWII warbirds year-round.

Moving from steel wings to feathered, eagles, hawks, and other birds of prey soar into the sky and plummet down the stunning Deschutes and Crooked River canyons to “The Island,” a 200-acre raptor habitat, visible from the Crooked River Rim Trail (two miles round trip) at the Cove Palisades State Park about 10 miles south of Madras. Hike the Tam-a-láu Trail (six to seven miles round trip), which gains 600 feet, for spectacular views of the snow-capped Cascade Range. The quarter-mile Wetland Nature Trail loops through an ongoing restoration project that’s home to red-winged blackbirds, deer, rabbits, bats, and monarch butterflies. Swim along the beaches, rent a boat, or fish Lake Billy Chinook’s sockeye salmon, bass, bull trout, and crawfish. Having too much fun to leave? Pitch a tent, reserve a log cabin located near the marina, or book a houseboat directly on the water.

Plunge Pause: Kah-Nee-Ta’s Return

About 30 miles north of Madras sits the much-loved Kah-Nee-Ta Hot Springs Resort, scheduled to reopen summer 2024 with 30 remodeled motel rooms and 20 new four-person, twin-bunk tribal tepees. Rejuvenate in a mineral-rich hot tub, where temps reach up to 104 degrees, or opt for the 100-degree leisure pool. Before returning to the road, jolt your system with a Wellness Polar Bear Plunge in 37-degree water.