What a wonderful experience at the Oregon observatory! We love love loved the half hour presentation about galaxies, and then had the chance to look through 10+ telescopes afterwards with expert commentary. We got to see Saturn through 2 different telescopes which was a big highlight! read more

Oregon Observatory - Telescope viewing - Observatories Near Me - Sunriver, Oregon

Loved our experience stargazing at the Oregon Observatory! My friends and I bought tickets for the 8pm group and had an amazing time. The staff here are very friendly and informative. They are extremely punctual, and we had ample time to gaze through the many telescopes they have set up, before enjoying a very fun (and funny) constellation guide. Very family friendly, and worth the short drive. If you're able to wait for the later 9:15p experience (this was in late September), it may be even better with the skies being darker. Plenty of parking, and bathrooms are available. read more

Highly recommended next time you visit Sunriver. Next to the observatory is the Sunriver Nature Center and Lake Aspen which adds that much more to this visit. The price is fair at $10 for adults and $8 for children considering the technology of the telescopes and the experience they offer. read more

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This was a super activity that our entire family enjoyed. Very informative and friendly employees. You can to they love their jobs and loved answering the many questions they were peppered with by many visitors. Loved seeing the moon and Saturn the best. So amazing for all ages. Price is a bit much which is why it loses a star (10 for adults and 8 for kids). Go during day to see the sun for free and the nature part- very cool raptors. read more

Amazing! Would recommend for age 6+ and arrive at 9 pm. The kids will be able to see a lot early. The slide show was fast and informative. We got to see Mars (have to stay late for that), Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus (have to be early.) I've been to a few big observatories which you can see larger images at but with 12 + smaller telescopes set up I saw way more here. Volunteers were great! read more

A definite MUST when you're in Sunriver! They have roughly 15 high-powered telescopes that you can clearly see the rings of Saturn, moons of Jupiter, and more! Very knowledgeable staff stationed at each telescope. Look up to see the Milky Way from where you're standing! Incredible! It was about $6 for the kids and $10 for adults. Worth every penny. Even on a crowded, holiday weekend, we got through every station in about an hour and never felt crowded. read more

Want a great experience? Visit the Oregon Observatory! We went to the 9 pm to 11 pm show. There were several telescopes set up for viewing the early night sky. At 9:30 an entertaining presentation was given about constellations. After the presentation we headed back to the telescopes to view the planets. Saturn was the best when the sky was dark. At 10:30 a laser light presentation pointing out the constellations was given. Both speakers were enthusiastic to share their knowledge. Be sure to get to the observatory early (15 minutes is when we arrived. Patrons who arrived after 9:00 stood in a long line for tickets. read more

We attended the night time observatory program in summer. The staff is outside early to direct you to buy tickets in the nature center. From there you can start looking through telescopes outside with staff setting them up for you and talking about what you see. There was then a 30 min program that was just outstanding. Very entertaining, but also very informative. The question time was great. Jerry was awesome, we all enjoyed his presentation. Then we walk back over to the telescope area for nighttime viewing. Again, the staff had different things set up and you just go from telescope to telescope checking it out. It was busy and you are waiting in line for some telescopes. The staff knows their stuff. Lastly, they do a green laser pointing out constellations. With clouds moving in our guy started a little early so we could get something. As it got cloudier he was still great, encouraging us to imagine things and line it up in the sky. Another staff person comes out saying a flare is coming in 2 minutes(light from satellite) and sure enough exactly where they said we all saw it. This was an amazing experience for our family and I highly recommend it. It is in the Sunriver resort area, so you could eat dinner beforehand and then drive out to it. The staff were awesome and very intelligent about the subject matter. Funny too. read more

Don't like to mark down an observatory, but this is all based on the high price. Charging a 3yo $8 to look through a few telescopes is ridiculous, $10 fee for adults when the place is closing in 20 minutes is also absurd. They can apparently get away with it at Sunriver, but I've paid less at many notable professional observatories in the Southwest. read more

An absolute must if you find yourself in Sunriver, Bend, or surrounding towns in Central Oregon. We skipped the opening 30-minute presentation and headed straight for the telescopes in order to beat the crowd and get uninterrupted viewing time. Unbelievably amazing to peer into the night sky and see Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, galaxies, nebulas, and stars. The volunteer staff is incredibly knowledgable and passionate, willing to answer any questions and provide detailed information about each viewing area in order to maximize the experience. We spent almost an hour moving from telescope to telescope - expect long lines once the opening presentation is finished (if there's a big crowd, which it sounds like doesn't necessarily happen each night); we found that getting there early made for the best opportunity to see as much as possible. Such an outstanding evening & we will most certainly be going back! read more