McKenzie Leary/The Broadside 

Now that Starbucks has released its seasonal cups and the first snow of the season has passed, winter in Central Oregon has begun.

With COVID cases rising once again, there may be some uncertainty around what winter sports and outings will look like this year.

Here are four winter sports places located in Bend along with their COVID policies this year.

During the winter, The Pavilion near the Old Mill District offers curling, ice hockey and ice skating. The Pavilion requires face masks for everyone there. It does not matter whether people are indoors or outdoors. The Pavilion also encourages people to make a reservation for when they plan on going. Additionally, viewing ability will be limited to help enforce social distancing and smaller numbers.

The Seventh Mountain Resort is another option for someone looking to go ice skating. The ice rink at Seventh Mountain Resort is along the way to Mt. Bachelor and is a smaller rink than the one at The Pavilion. It is Central Oregon’s oldest outdoor rink. Ice skating will open on Nov. 20. Reservations are required with a wide range of session times from 10 a.m. to 9:20 p.m. Masks are also needed indoors and outdoors, and people are asked to maintain social distancing.

Mt. Bachelor is a Bend staple. People can go there to ski, snowboard, go dog sledding and regular sledding. For an entire article on what Mt. Bachelor is doing this season to keep everyone safe, go here.

There are also many snow parks near Bend can be used for Nordic skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, snowmobiling or winter cycling. A few of these snow parks include Wanoga Snow Play Area, Virginia Meissner Sno-Park and Dutchman Flat Sno-Park. As of the time of this publication, there are no guidelines posted about staying safe with COVID, but they are open and an option to go to.