Sunriver Resort facts for kids
Resort
Sunriver Resort is a special place in central Oregon, United States. It's a fancy resort and a community where people live. The resort is located where the high desert meets the Cascade Range mountains. It's about 15 miles south of Bend.
Sunriver Resort is managed by a company called Hyatt. The areas that everyone in the Sunriver community shares, like parks and roads, are looked after by the Sunriver Owner's Association. The resort is quite high up, about 4,190 feet above sea level.
Contents
History of Sunriver Resort
From Ancient Lake to Modern Resort
The land where Sunriver Resort now stands was once a large lake bed. Over time, the lake dried up, leaving behind a wide, grassy meadow. This meadow became an important meeting place for Native American tribes who lived in the area.
Later, in the 1800s, explorers and fur trappers also visited this meadow. Famous people like Peter Skene Ogden and Kit Carson explored along the Deschutes River, which runs nearby.
Camp Abbot: A Training Ground
In 1943, during World War II, the U.S. Army took over the meadow. They built a training camp there called Camp Abbot. This camp was used to train soldiers in building and construction for combat.
Camp Abbot officially opened in May 1943. However, it closed just over a year later, in July 1944, after D-Day in Europe. Most of the buildings at the camp were torn down. But one important building, the officers' club, was saved. It was built from local logs and stones. Today, this building is known as the "Great Hall" and is used for meetings and special events like weddings. After the war, the land was used as a cattle ranch for many years.
Building a Dream Resort
In 1965, two men from Portland, Donald V. McCallum and John D. Gray, bought the land. They had a big idea: to build a luxury resort and a community where people could live. They wanted to make sure the resort protected the natural environment. They also decided to limit the number of homes that could be built there.
The very first home site at Sunriver was sold in June 1968. Construction on the resort's main lodge began soon after, and it opened in September 1969. The resort that McCallum and Gray created was later bought by a new company in 1993. This company then made many improvements to the resort.
What Sunriver Resort Offers
Sunriver Resort has many different places to stay. You can find fancy guest rooms and suites. There are also about 400 vacation rental homes available.
The resort has five different places to eat. It also offers three tennis courts and lots of fun activities for families. You can relax at the Sage Springs Club and Spa. The resort has over 44,600 square feet of space for meetings and parties.
Golf Courses at Sunriver
Sunriver Resort is famous for its three golf courses: Meadows, Woodlands, and Crosswater. The Crosswater course is very well-known. It was even named one of "America's 100 Greatest Courses" by a magazine called Golf Digest. From 2007 to 2010, Crosswater hosted a major golf championship called the JELD-WEN Tradition.
The Meadows golf course was designed by a famous architect named John Fought. The Woodlands golf course was designed by another well-known architect, Robert Trent Jones Jr..
Winter Fun Nearby
If you love winter sports, Mount Bachelor ski area is a great place to visit. It's only about 20 minutes away from Sunriver Resort by car. It's a popular spot for skiing and snowboarding in the region.
