About Us
Our Family
Property Owners
Hello! Risa Lodge is a family-run business. We are based in Corvallis, Oregon, and have enjoyed coming over to Bend since the 1990’s when we chose to make Oregon home. Lori manages the business side and Justin handles repairs and maintenance. You might also encounter Eliza handling bookings and our social media accounts, and Quinn or some of our extended family might show up to do repairs or maintenance. If you haven’t rented the entire property, then we might be staying in one of the units.
We have enjoyed hosting guests at our places in Bend for over 15 years. We find great joy in sharing our Bend sanctuary with family, friends, and renters through operating a small-business vacation rental. “Room for One More” has always been at the heart of our hosting philosophy since we bought our first place when our kids were small.
We have spent many holidays in Bend enjoying all that it has to offer while creating some of our fondest memories with friends and family. The first property we had in Bend was a rustic 3 bedroom cabin on the outskirts of Deschutes River Woods that we loved. We hosted Scouts and craft weekends that were sometimes bursting with guests sleeping in every nook and cranny. After several years of family memories and successfully operating our small vacation rental business, we upgraded to a 4-bedroom cabin near Shelvin Park (west Bend), which was suited to much larger groups much like The Lodge. We hosted large high school teams, yoga retreats, and even some weddings, all while using it for ourselves for holidays, ski weekends, and as an oasis during the pandemic.
History of the Lodge
In 2026, we purchased what was known as Baker Lodge from Chris and Cliff Wheeler. They built the beautiful log home in 1995, originally as just the 3 bedroom “Main House,” with “The Nest” (upstairs above the garage) added around 2004, and the "The Annex" (ADA unit) added around 2007. Both of those sections are attached, but entirely private from the Main House, allowing for privacy and space when large groups stay at The Lodge.
Google currently refers to the Lake as “Baker Lake,” but at about 6 and ½ feet deep, this little body of water can be referred to as either a pond or lake. The lake started its life as the stock pond for the Baker family who had a ranch on the south end of Bend. Generations of youngsters have enjoyed ice skating on the lake during the winter months and swimming in the lake in the summer.
In the 1960s or 70s, a developer came into the area and created the Deschutes River Woods neighborhood, known as DRW to locals, and enlarged the Baker family’s stock pond to the size it is today. Up until sometime in the 1990s (we think), local kids would still come use the pond to fish, swim, and ice skate. Once in a while, you’ll catch some adventurous kids sneaking on the property. Please be gentle with them if you oust them. We don’t encourage them to come, but really, who wouldn’t want to come and hang out here for a while?
Baker Lake has been a centerpiece of the community for decades and was even one of the main highlights the DRW developer featured to sell plots in the neighborhood in the 1960s. When the lake was initially sold, the DRW sales office was moved onto the property and was the main house here until 1994. You can still see that A-Frame cabin standing on the property when you walk on the nature trail. We are hoping to rehab it and return it to its habitable condition in the future.
We hope you’ll come stay with us to enjoy the charm of the lake and make some memories with your loved ones!