Have you spent the last few months (or even years) working from home and find yourself craving a change of scenery, a change in your routine or just feel cramped in your home? If so, then it may be time for you to take a workcation. What is a workcation? It’s an opportunity to travel somewhere while keeping up with your work projects.
You may have already experienced something like a workcation in the past. Have you ever brought along your laptop when visiting family over the holidays or wrapped up a project while on the road? These situations are like a workcation but with one huge difference, you’ll be working. In the past when you’ve brought along your laptop or work phone you were not certain whether you’d have to work while you are away. Simply having your work devices with you creates anxiety that can loom over your vacation and essentially negate the positive benefit of taking time off.
When you take a workcation, you already know that you’ll be working during your normal work hours and anything that ‘comes up’ can be addressed in the same manner you normally would while working from home. However, the big difference is that your downtime or off work hours is spent exploring a destination of your choice with the convenience of already being in that location at the end of the workday.
It’s no secret that a change of scenery is likely to increase your productivity, creativity, and motivation. In a recent Nature Neuroscience paper (mentioned in this NYU article) subjects reported that “on days when people had more variability in their physical location—visiting more locations in a day and spending proportionately equitable time across these locations—they reported feeling more positive: ‘happy,’ ‘excited,’ ‘strong,’ ‘relaxed,’ and/or ‘attentive.’”
Benefits of taking a workcation
Increased productivity, creativity, and motivation.
Return home feeling refreshed and full of energy.
See places you’ve dreamed of going to.
Easily take advantage of downtime to relax or explore.
Imagine having a Zoom meeting from your vacation rental’s deck that overlooks the mighty Deschutes River. Have a conference call while wildlife frolic in the woods in your peripheral vision. Simply taking a walk or bike ride on your break could be what you need to inspire your next great idea. After work, you’ll be able to switch from work to play with ease because you are already physically located in the destination of your choice! Whether you’re craving an evening of mountain biking, stargazing, hot tubing, tubing, hiking or simply letting the day take you, your workcation destination doesn’t get any better than Sunriver, Oregon.
Reasons why Sunriver, Oregon is the perfect destination for your workcation!
It’s easy to get here. For many major cities in the Pacific Northwest such as: Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, and Boise you can drive to Sunriver within 7 hours, making it the perfect drive-to workcation destination.
No plane ticket necessary. You don’t need to buy a plane ticket to get here! Conveniently located in Central Oregon, Sunriver is easily reached by car all over the pacific northwest. However, if you do want to fly in the Redmond Airport (RDM) is just a short drive away!
There’s so much to do! Central Oregon and Sunriver is widely considered “Oregon’s Outdoor Playground” and offers many family-friendly and pet-friendly outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, swimming, spelunking, skiing/boarding, and a local waterpark with lazy river!
Sunriver is perfect for families and pets! Bring the whole family along (including your furry family members) and enjoy the most kid/pet friendly town you’ve experienced! Many of our vacation rental homes are pet-friendly so no one has to be left behind!
Don’t sweat it if you forgot to bring something. We have a local grocery store. If you forget to pack an essential ingredient for your meal or you’d rather not eat out for every meal, we’ve got two grocery stores in town to grab what you need.
Sunriver is the only Dark Sky Friendly city in Oregon. Visit the Nature Center and Observatory. Sunriver was recently named Oregon’s only Dark Sky Place in Oregon (see the report). Our observatory also has the most outdoor telescopes accessible to the public and a retractable ceiling for an experience you’re sure to remember for a lifetime.
Shop & Dine! Go shopping or dine at The Village Mall in the heart of Sunriver.
Love golf? We’ve got 3 golf courses right in Sunriver and many more in the surrounding area for you to enjoy!
Once you’ve decided on the dates for your Sunriver workcation, you’ll need to consider homes that have workspaces in them to seamlessly allow you to work and play. We’ve curated a list of all our workcation ready homes here. You’ll also need to ensure that the home you choose to stay in during your workcation includes excellent Wi-Fi which is offered for FREE at all of our homes. Below are the workcation essentials you can expect when you book a vacation rental home with Village Properties at Sunriver:
Benefits of booking your workcation with
Village Properties at Sunriver
ALL our vacation homes come with FREE Wi-Fi. We’re not going to nickel and dime you while you’re on your workcation like most hotels will. Any home you book with us will give you access to FREE WIFI, so you don’t have to worry about your video freezing or losing your work due to sketchy internet service.
Choose your view. Are you interested in a mountain, golf course, or river view? Click on the links to the view you prefer, and you’ll get a curated list of homes that speak to you.
Room to roam. When you rent a vacation home the entire home is at your disposal to work from. Start your morning on the deck while you answer your emails. Mid-morning switch to the livingroom where the cozy fireplace eases you into the busiest part of your day. At lunch, grab a bike and ride to one of our local restaurants. Mid-afternoon, finish your workday strong while seated at the desk in your rental and get excited for what the evening holds in store for you.
You get FREE SHARC passes when you book any of our homes. SHARC is the Sunriver Homes Owner’s Aquatic and Recreation Center which boasts, a lazy river, outdoor waterslide, indoor pools, kiddie pools, music on the lawn (summer only), and a winter tubing hill!
Need a list of homes that have built in workspaces just for workcations? You’ll find it here!
Now that you’re ready to take your workcation, be sure to use this handy list of items you’ll need to bring with you to have a productive and fun time!
Your laptop
Charging cables for your phone and laptop
Headphones
Foldable laptop table if you have one
External hard drive if you don’t use cloud storage
Power bank
Documents or other papers that are essential for your current projects (and maybe even upcoming projects).
Your phone
Credit cards/cash
Masks and hand sanitizer
Your toys! Bikes, skis, boards, paddle boards, kayak, tennis racquets, etc.
Sunscreen to protect you from those 300 days of sunshine!
Sunglasses because your future is bright and sunny!
In Bend, November is considered Bend Ale Trail month! If you get all 16 stamps and bring your completed passport to the Bend Visitor Center within the month of November, you’ll even receive a trophy!
One of our favorite October events in Central Oregon is the Fall Festival. As the light slants and softens, bringing the harvest in its wake, our thoughts turn to the coziness of the fall season. Celebrate with the delights of The First Interstate Bank Bend Fall Festival 2017. All the traditions that you love about this event will be there – pumpkin carving, gourmet food and wine, a harvest market, and outstanding music. New this year is the Fall Into Fashion Area, highlighting a carefully selected group of creators, retailers, and reps for both clothing and accessories which will be featured in street fashion shows.
Join the Sunriver Nature Center for a fascinating introduction to the origins and travels of three Pacific Flyway Sandhill Crane subspecies that breed and migrate through Oregon. For over 20 years, Dr. Gary Ivey of the International Crane Foundation has been actively involved in ecological research, habitat management, and conservation efforts aimed at Sandhill Cranes. Dr. Ivey will provide an intimate look at the unique natural history of this bird and its status throughout Oregon.
Project Ponderosa was founded in 2005 by Sunriver resident Lee Stevenson to promote student environmental engagement and Ponderosa Pine restoration in Sunriver, Oregon and the upper-Deschutes River ecosystem. Since the project’s inception, over 8,000 seedlings have been potted and maintained by students at Three Rivers School and La Pine High School and more than $10,000 has been raised to support non-profit organizations both locally and internationally.
The Central Oregon Mushroom Club will lead a field trip in search of wild and edible mushrooms in the local area. On this field trip, participants will receive an introduction to fungi diversity and learn to identify different types of mushrooms in the forest. Instruction will also be provided on how to ‘hunt’ and collect mushrooms as well as how to identify mushrooms that are safe for eating.
Join Sunriver Nature Center and the Central Oregon Mushroom Club for a special day dedicated to appreciating and understanding fungi! Mushroom fun for the whole family includes:
Lee Stevenson, founder of Project Ponderosa, will lead a hands-on workshop at the Sunriver Nature Center. Participants will learn how to identify and transplant a variety of native forest seedlings, including Grand Fir, White Fir, Mountain Hemlock, Snowbush, Manzanita, Mahala Mat, Kinnikinnick, Indian Paintbrush, and more. Information will also be shared about where to find these native species locally and how to successfully collect and transplant them into your own yard.
Sunriver Stars is an all-volunteer Community Theater group with several October events in Central Oregon. All positions from the Artistic Director on down are non-paid positions and, as such, require a strong commitment to the work at hand.
