A Guide to the Broken Top Neighborhood near Bend
Central Oregon › Near Bend › Century Drive Corridor › Broken Top
Broken Top is a private golf club community near Bend, in Central Oregon, built around a Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish designed course that opened to members on July 4, 1993. It sits in unincorporated Deschutes County along the Century Drive corridor, and the golf course, mountain views, and mature ponderosa forest are what draw most buyers here first. Homes have generally ranged from around $700,000 for a golf townhome to just over $3 million for a larger custom estate, and you’re roughly 4 miles from downtown Bend.
Broken Top isn’t one subdivision, it’s 68 recorded plats layered in over three decades, including the original numbered phases, golf tracts, Painted Ridge, and the golf townhome and courtyard sections. That’s why you’ll see everything from compact golf villas to large view lots within the same general area. The Broken Top Club website has current membership and course details if you want to look before you visit.
Where it sits near Bend
Finding Broken Top on the map.
The map below shows the approximate combined boundary of Broken Top’s recorded plats along the Century Drive corridor west of Bend. Widgi Creek Golf Club sits about a mile away, and the community backs up against Deschutes National Forest land to the west. You’re looking at a mix of golf frontage, forested lots, and mountain-view parcels rather than one uniform street grid, which is normal for a neighborhood built out over 30-plus years. Use the map to orient yourself, then explore the sections below.
Broken Top
Tetherow
Century West
Broken Top approximate boundary — Deschutes County public records, 68 combined plats. Tap to explore.
Character and identity
What Broken Top is
actually like to live in.
You notice the golf course before you notice much else here. Fairways wrap through most of the neighborhood, and a lot of the streets, Tam McArthur Loop, Green Lakes Loop, Fall Creek Loop, are named for Cascades landmarks you can actually see from parts of the property. Sisters, Broken Top itself, and South Sister all show up in the view corridors depending on which phase you’re in. The forest here is mostly ponderosa pine, planted and preserved when the course was built rather than left completely wild, so it reads as manicured-meets-high-desert.
Broken Top Limited Partnership, an investor group out of Portland, San Francisco, and Japan, ran an actual design competition for the golf course in 1990 and 1991 and picked Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish over a competing bid from Jack Nicklaus. Wadsworth Golf Course Construction built it, finishing on October 31, 1992, and the club opened to members on July 4, 1993. You can read more on Broken Top Club’s own site.
“What surprises people touring Broken Top for the first time is how different two homes ten minutes apart can be. A golf villa near the clubhouse and a custom view lot up near Painted Ridge are almost different buying decisions, different HOA structure, different maintenance, different feel day to day. I never show it as one neighborhood, I show it as which phase actually fits how you want to live.”
Lot sizes vary block to block more than in most Bend neighborhoods you’ll tour, from attached golf townhomes on small footprints up to custom estate lots over half an acre. Some sections sit right on the fairway with different setback and landscaping rules than the non-golf lots. Elevation shifts noticeably as you move through the property too, which is part of why the mountain views change so much from one street to the next.
The clubhouse and course are the obvious gathering point, but the neighborhood also backs up to Deschutes National Forest land, which gives you informal access to forest roads and trails without leaving the immediate area.
Outdoors
Trails, golf, and
what’s right outside the door.
You’re not far from some of the best outdoor access on this side of Bend. Century Drive puts Mt. Bachelor about 18 miles up the road, and the Deschutes National Forest boundary is close enough that a lot of residents treat the forest roads near the neighborhood as an everyday trail network rather than a destination you drive to.
Widgi Creek Golf Club — about a mile away, public access, along the Deschutes River corridor.
Mt. Bachelor — about 18 miles up Century Drive, skiing and riding in winter, lift-served biking and hiking in summer.
Winter is the one honest tradeoff. Century Drive can get slick in heavy snow years since it’s the same road everyone uses to reach Mt. Bachelor, so test drive it in winter conditions before you commit if that’s new to you.
Day-to-day life
Groceries, coffee, and
where people actually go.
Living in Broken Top means a short drive for almost everything outside the clubhouse. Downtown Bend and the Old Mill District are both about 3 to 4 miles away, roughly 8 to 10 minutes, and that’s where you’ll do most grocery runs, sit-down dinners, and everyday errands.
Widgi Creek Golf Club — public course and clubhouse dining about a mile from Broken Top.
Bend Park and Recreation District — trail access along the Deschutes River corridor, reachable from the neighborhood’s east side.
Mt. Bachelor — about 18 miles further up Century Drive for a full day out.
You can handle golf, a workout, and a casual dinner without leaving the Century Drive corridor. Anything beyond that, a specific grocery chain, a hospital visit, an evening downtown, means the 8 to 10 minute drive into Bend proper.
Development history
Broken Top’s history
and how it was built.
Broken Top Limited Partnership, an investor group based in Portland, San Francisco, and Japan, planned the community in the early 1990s along what was then a much quieter stretch of Century Drive. Rather than default to a big-name designer, the developer ran a real design competition for the golf course. In 1990 and 1991 the team of Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish won the job over a competing bid from Jack Nicklaus. Wadsworth Golf Course Construction built the course through 1992, and it was completed on October 31, 1992. Broken Top Club opened to members on July 4, 1993.
The neighborhood grew in phases over the following decades rather than as one filed subdivision. Deschutes County GIS records show 68 recorded plats under the Broken Top name, spanning the original numbered phases, golf tracts, Painted Ridge, and the golf townhome and courtyard sections. Each phase came with its own lot sizes and, in some cases, its own layer of HOA rules under the larger community, which is part of why style and price vary so much from one street to the next.
Broken Top is fully built out today. Current activity in the neighborhood is resale, not new construction, and listings span everything from golf townhomes in the $700,000s to custom estate homes above $3 million, plus the occasional remaining view lot.
Architecturally, expect a mix of Northwest lodge-style and traditional custom homes from the 1990s and 2000s alongside newer townhome-style product near the clubhouse. Materials lean toward stone, timber accents, and dark rooflines that read as mountain architecture rather than the more contemporary look you’ll find in newer SW Bend construction.
Schools
Where your kids
will go to school.
School assignments in the Bend-La Pine area are set by home address and can shift when the district redraws boundaries. Confirm the current school for any specific address before relying on it — the Bend-La Pine Schools locator is the authoritative source.
Central Oregon Community College and OSU-Cascades are both within Bend, roughly a 10 to 12 minute drive from Broken Top depending on traffic.
Broken Top Homes for Sale, Right Now
Active Broken Top listings update daily from COAR MLS on the main neighborhood page, from golf townhomes to custom estate homes on the course. Inventory moves fast here, so what you see is current.
Advantages and Considerations
What to know before
buying in Broken Top.
Every neighborhood has genuine strengths and honest tradeoffs. Here’s what matters most to buyers who end up here, and what’s worth knowing before you commit.
- Broken Top Club membership is separate from home ownership. Confirm current membership categories and dues before you write an offer, don’t assume a purchase includes access.
- You’re in unincorporated Deschutes County here, not the City of Bend, which can affect services and taxes compared to in-city SW Bend neighborhoods.
- The neighborhood spans 68 recorded plats and multiple product types, so lot size, HOA dues, and even architectural guidelines can vary block by block. A walk through the specific phase you’re considering matters more here than in a single-phase subdivision.
- Some homes back directly to fairways with different setback and landscaping rules than non-golf lots. Ask specifically if golf frontage matters to you.
- Century Drive is your only real access route, so winter driving conditions and Mt. Bachelor season traffic are worth test-driving before you commit.
- School assignment is Bend-La Pine District 601: W.E. Miller Elementary, Cascade Middle School, and Summit High School, confirm by address since boundaries can shift.
- Occupancy is a genuine mix of full-time residents and second homes. Ask about occupancy patterns in the specific phase you’re touring if that matters to you.
How it compares
Broken Top vs Tetherow and Century West.
All three sit along or near the Century Drive corridor west of Bend, and buyers cross-shop them constantly. Here’s how they actually differ, which one fits depends on what matters most to you.
Broken Top
Tetherow
Century West
Boundaries approximate, sourced from Deschutes County public records and City of Bend GIS.
Older and established
Newer and resort-style
Broader and more affordable
Worth saying plainly: if club membership or golf frontage isn’t a priority for you, Bachelor View or Braeburn inside Century West can get you closer to downtown Bend at a lower price point than Broken Top, without giving up the Century Drive location. Broken Top and Tetherow both sit in unincorporated Deschutes County, outside the City of Bend limits.
From a client who considered Broken Top
No closed sale came through our board specifically inside Broken Top in this cycle, so rather than share a sale that didn’t actually happen here, here’s an honest example of recent work in the wider SW Bend golf corridor: 3105 NW Blodgett Way in Discovery West, closed May 2025, represented by Tiffany Vasquez for Jake and Jeanne Plattner.
My Honest Take
What I’d want you
to know before touring Broken Top.
The thing I tell people before their first Broken Top tour is to stop thinking of it as one neighborhood. It’s really 68 different plats stacked up over 30 years, and the golf villa near the clubhouse and the custom home up near Painted Ridge are two completely different ownership experiences, different HOA structure, different maintenance, different neighbors. I’ve walked buyers through both in the same afternoon and watched them realize they wanted the opposite of what they came in asking for.
What I don’t do is push Broken Top on everyone who says they want golf. If you want brand new construction and a more resort feel, I’ll be honest that Tetherow might fit you better. If you want the Century Drive location without club dues, Bachelor View or Braeburn in Century West might be the smarter move. Broken Top earns its price point with an established golf course, real mountain views, and mature landscaping you can’t build overnight, but it’s not the only good answer out here.
If you’re weighing Broken Top against Tetherow or Century West, or you just want to see how different the phases actually feel in person, reach out to me directly. I grew up around construction sites with my dad, so I’ll walk the golf frontage and the setback questions with you the same way I would if I were buying it myself.
Broken Top FAQ
Questions people ask
about Broken Top.
Guide last updated September 2026 by Tiffany Vasquez, Life in Bend. Neighborhood facts sourced from Deschutes County GIS public records, the Bend Park & Recreation District, and Bend-La Pine Schools.
22 years in real estate · 250+ homes sold
Top 3% Bend, per COAR MLS
541-728-3668 · lifeinbend.com
Tiffany is your guide, contact, and advocate from the first tour through closing, and her support staff makes sure you get the concierge service you deserve. With 22 years in real estate and a background raised by a father who built and developed custom luxury homes, she walks every Broken Top home, golf villa or custom estate, with a builder’s eye for what the HOA structure and construction quality actually mean for you.
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