CROC is hosting a four day Central Oregon orienteering festival near Bend, Aug 6-9.
This will also be the 2026 Western States Orienteering Championships!
Air Quality Impact from Wildfires (Last updated 7/22/26)
We know many participants are keeping an eye on the current smoke conditions in Central Oregon. The health and safety of our participants, volunteers, organizers, and spectators is our top priority.
We are actively monitoring the forecast and local Air Quality Index (AQI) and will continue to do so in the days leading up to the event. Conditions can shift quickly, and air quality can improve significantly with a change in weather patterns over the next week or two. We are hopeful that this will be the case.
At this point, we expect to have a better sense of the outlook by next week. We plan to post an update here on Saturday, July 25, with the latest information, even if there are no significant changes to report.
In the meantime, we appreciate your patience as we continue to monitor conditions. We are committed to making thoughtful decisions with the goal of keeping everyone safe while providing as much notice as possible about any changes to the event.
Deschutes Daze!
Enjoy the return of our popular Deschutes Daze festival, last held in 2021, this time featuring courses for all ability levels, a regional championship, a National Ranking Event, and a new map.
One National Ranking Event with standard OUSA Competitive and Open Classes
Western States Championship spans three days
For competitive and recreational participants
Venues
Thursday August 6: Crooked River National Grasslands, Day 1, on a new map (Blue Hatchet)
Friday August 7: Crooked River National Grasslands, Day 2, with the event center at a new location on our existing map (Orchard)
Saturday August 8: NRE competition at Dutchman Flat near Mt. Bachelor
Sunday August 9: Peterson Ridge south of Sisters, Oregon on a map we first used in 2021, newly improved.
The first two days feature high desert open terrain including juniper woodlands, sparse sagebrush, and dry meadows. The scents of juniper and sage will welcome you to two days of adventure in this special place. Race start elevation at 3000’ on Day 1 and 3500’ on Day 2. Day 1 (Blue Hatchet) is on a new map by Rex Winterbottom (terraloco).
The third day of racing is on the Dutchman Flat map, created in 2003 by Valentin Vladimirov and updated many times including this year. The courses include areas of fast-running forest with little undergrowth under a dark canopy of massive firs. Alpine meadows and a clear running creek also traverse the course area. Nordic ski and snowshoe trails add interesting navigational handrails. The race start elevation is 6400’ with 800 m walk from parking.
The fourth day at Peterson Ridge brings us to the classic Cascades east slope environment. Open forest with huge ponderosa pines, a giant’s volcanic rock garden with cliffs and monoliths, and arid scrubland with aromatic sage and snowbrush. Elevation 3800’
The climate in Central Oregon in July is typically warm and dry. Average high temperatures are around 27°C (80°F), cooler at Dutchman Flat. There is a risk of excessive heat. The probability of rain is very low.
Click the image below to open a Google map of the event locations.
Registration Information
Use the registration form to sign up for
Orienteering courses
Camping at Tumalo State Park
T-Shirt
Saturday Evening Banquet in the Park
Day-of-event volunteer opportunities
Note: registrations will be limited at 150. It is possible that registration will close early when we reach this capacity limit.
Early registration fees will be available until the end of May. Regular registration fees begin on June 1 and prices go up on July 13. Registration will close on August 2, or sooner if we hit the 150 participant limit.
| Race | Adult | Group up to 4 |
Junior age 20 and under | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early registration ends 5/31 |
Day 1, 2, 4 Day 3 NRE Package |
20 40 90 |
20 + 8/addl n/a n/a |
12 22 50 |
| Regular registration ends 7/12 |
Day 1, 2, 4 Day 3 NRE Package |
25 45 110 |
25 + 8/addl n/a n/a |
15 25 60 |
| Late registration ends 8/2 |
Day 1, 2, 4 Day 3 NRE Package |
35 55 145 |
35 + 8/addl n/a n/a |
20 30 75 |
Refunds
Refund requests will be considered if your plans change or if you are not feeling well. Please contact the registrar.
For courses
100% if requested at least one week before the event
(or if you are staying home due to illness or injury)No Refund after that
For banquet and camping
100% if requested on or before July 25
No Refund after that
The T-shirt is not refundable but we can mail it to you.
Events
All event information in this table is subject to change. Please refer to the official Event Bulletin for detailed information such as driving directions.
All events will have assigned start times. Start times on Day 1 are between noon and 2:00pm; start times for Days 2, 3, 4 are between 10:00am and noon.
| Date | Venue | Event | Venue Location | Walk to Check-In |
Walk to Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday August 6 |
CRNG White, Yellow, Orange, Brown, Green, Red |
WSC Point-to-point |
About 15 miles SE of Madras 35 mile drive from Bend |
1 - 10 min | 1 min |
| Friday August 7 |
CRNG White, Yellow, Orange, Brown, Green, Red |
WSC Point-to-point |
About 15 miles SE of Madras 35 mile drive from Bend |
5 min | 10 min |
| Saturday August 8 |
Dutchman Flat Standard OUSA competitive classes/courses |
WSC NRE Classic Distance |
Park at the Mt. Bachelor Ski Area West Village parking lot 20 miles SW of Bend |
10 min | 10 min |
| Sunday August 9 |
Peterson Ridge Beginner, Intermediate, Short Adv, Medium Adv, Long Adv |
Point-to-point | About 10 miles south of Sisters which is 20 miles NW of Bend |
1 min | 1 min |
NRE = National Ranking Event, results sent to OUSA for your national ranking
WSC = Western States Championship event, results combined to determine the 2026 Western States Champions
Western States Championships
Deschutes Daze is the Western States Championships for 2026!
Residence in a western state and OUSA membership makes you eligible to compete, earn awards and bask in glory as Western States Champion.
Rankings for Western States Championships are based on your two best times for the events on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. That means if you compete on all 3 days you get to drop your worst result. For each event and class: The winner receives 1000 points and everyone else receives points based on their percent behind the winner’s time.
The competition classes for Western States Championships are similar to the standard OUSA competition classes, with some classes combined.
EventReg will offer all the classes you are allowed to register in based on your age and sex. Most participants will select the age-numbered class closest to their actual age. This may be a different age-number for Thursday (CRNG Blue Hatchet) and Friday (CRNG Orchard) than for Saturday (Dutchman Flat NRE), but they are compatible for computing the combined score if they appear on the same row in the table linked above.
Unusual participants who are “running up”, for example a 55 year-old man running in the M-21+ class on Saturday, should pick the corresponding class for the other days to make their scores combinable.
Course-color classes, such as F-Brown or M-Orange, are not competitive for the Western States Championship. Groups must register on a Course-color class.
Confused? Use the contact form below and we’ll answer any questions.
Accommodations
Tumalo State Park Group Camp
We have reserved both group campsites at Tumalo State Park (already full), lat long coordinates: 44.1284, -121.3315. (Copy/paste these into Google maps or mapping app to get driving directions.) Just 6 miles from Bend.
This is a full service campground with well maintained showers. The group camp is set apart from the other campsites, shaded by tall ponderosas. The restroom building has electrical outlets. There is water next to the tent sites.
You can sign up for tent camping in the group campsite with your Deschutes Daze registration. Each reservation is for one tent (single, couple, or family) with one car, for 3 nights (Thursday through Sunday). There are 20 spaces, of which 2 may be occupied by a small camper such as a Sprinter van.
Other Camping
Sisters Creekside Campground has reservable sites in a pleasant setting in the town of Sisters.
Pringle Falls Campground in La Pine has reservable sites along the Deschutes River.
Skull Hollow Campground about 9 miles from Terrebonne has non-reservable sites but is not likely to fill up. It is pleasant but hot during the day. No water
Haystack Reservoir Campground about 13 miles from Terrebonne has reservable and non-reservable sites. It is pleasant but hot during the day. Swimming allowed if no cyanobacteria advisory. No water
Public showers may be available at Juniper Swim & Fitness Center
800 NE 6th St. Bend, OR 97701 , Tel. (541) 389-7665, call to confirm
Up in the mountains, there are several walk-in, low-cost, high-scenery, Forest Service campgrounds located on Century Drive west of Bend (near the Dutchman Flat event). These are first-come, first-served, not reservable (no water)
Dispersed camping is allowed in the national forests, for example on the road to Dutchman Flat or around our new Peterson Ridge map south of Sisters (no water)
Other Lodging
There are numerous hotel/vacation rental/B & B options in Bend
Banquet and Award Ceremony
The social event of the summer will take place on Saturday. We will have food from Parilla Grill, serving wraps, street tacos, and salad, including vegetarian and vegan options.
The banquet will be at Miller’s Landing Park in Bend. Food will be served buffet-style. Soft drinks and water will be provided. We are working on a permit for BYO beer/wine.
The evening will include social time and the presentation of the Western States Championships awards.
Saturday August 8 - arrive as early as 5:00 pm - dinner served 6 pm
Sign up for food via the registration link above
Adults (age 13 and up): $22
Kids (ages 6-13): $11
Bring your own lawn blanket and/or chairs if convenient, as we’ll be sitting on the grass next to the river.
T-Shirt
Two styles are offered via the registration link above. Please follow these links for detailed descriptions and size charts.
Note on sizing: The unisex style runs large by 1/2 size. Consider picking the smaller if you are between sizes. The women's style is true to size.
Wildfire
The event director will be monitoring local fire-prevention and fire-response agencies to assess potential risk. We will be proactive to be aware of any nearby fires and postpone the event if there is a risk of an evacuation alert.
The Event Director is subscribed to the Deschutes County emergency alerts so that we will know about any problems as they arise. It is unlikely for any new fire to develop quickly enough for the venue to become subject to an evacuation alert during the event, but if that does happen we will focus on getting everyone out of the area as quickly as possible.
Smoke from Wildfires
For smoke in the air, we will follow the US Environmental Protection Agency air quality index (AQI) guidelines to determine if we can use volunteers in the area or hold competition.
Contact
Please use this contact form to reach the Deschutes Daze 2026 planning team