“Tons of people”: Downtown Bend sees holiday rush despite delayed ski season

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Holiday decorations line the streets of downtown Bend as shoppers move in and out of stores during the final days of the season.

Liz Boisineau Odell, the manager at Lark, said despite the delayed start to the winter season, both tourists and locals were still flooding through the doors. “This year we were steadily busy. Tons of people, happy people. It was really good", she said.

Many of the shoppers visiting downtown were from out of state, and nearly all of them said Mount Bachelor brought them to Bend.

Mikey, visiting from San Francisco, California said, “We’re staying here to go skiing and sledding.”

Justin and Carlos, visiting from Olympia, WA told me, “We’re skiers, yeah."

“This is my first year," said Carlos.

With the lack of snow, Boisineau Odell said people actually seemed to be spending more time exploring downtown, and in turn, spending more money at local businesses.

“With the mountain not having a ton of snow, we're still getting a ton of people in. We had a couple people commenting that there wasn't snow, but they also were commenting that they were making the best of it downtown; going to the restaurants, going to different pubs and then coming in and shopping.”

Lexi, a tourist from Portland, OR agreed, "We've been like out and about more because of that. Rather than being at Bachelor and skiing and spending money up there, we've been in town, like over at the Safeway in southeast, and bee bopping around town."

So just how little snow has Mount Bachelor seen this season?

2024 brought record-breaking snowfall. The resort opened in mid-November — one of its earliest and deepest openings in decades. This year, the resort didn’t open until December 23 after weeks of dry conditions, marking its latest opening since January 2 in the 1970s.

Still, snow lovers managed to make the most of it.

Carlos, from Washington, said “I still had fun.”

Justin added, “We got four days of skiing in. Didn't stop us....We've been shopping. My wife's in the shops now. She's spending all my money!”

As the holidays wrap up, downtown shops are reminding locals their doors are open year-round.

"Come on, downtown. We love you. It's always fun to see our local people come and hang out. Come see us!" said Boisineau Odell.

Visit Bend said final December tourism numbers will be available next week. Early data shows hotel stays and room prices were about the same as last year.

Officials added that tourists make up about 41 percent of visits to downtown Bend throughout the year — underscoring their importance to the local economy.

Visit Bend also told me December and January are typically the most affordable months for getting a place to stay, at about $105 a night.

You can find more data about Bend tourism at Visit Bend's website.