Crosswater Club at Sunriver
In the high desert south of Bend, Robert Cupp routed a course across the wetlands where the Deschutes and Little Deschutes rivers meet, then made it one of the longest in America. Opened in 1995 as Golf Digest's Best New Resort Course, Crosswater is a par 72 past 7,600 yards, a wide, demanding modern course that earns its reputation as central Oregon's headline round.
Photograph: Crosswater Club at Sunriver, via Google · Mike Boire
The verdict
Crosswater is the course that turned Sunriver from a comfortable family resort into a genuine golf destination. When Robert Cupp opened it in 1995 it measured among the longest layouts in the country, and at its debut it took Golf Digest's Best New Resort Course honor. Cupp had a free hand across more than six hundred acres of wetland, pine forest and river meadow, and he used the room: wide fairways, vast bunkering and water in play on a dozen holes, all stretched over a routing that flirts with the Deschutes and Little Deschutes again and again.
For the traveling golfer, Crosswater is the anchor of a central Oregon trip, the round you build the others around. It sits at around 4,100 feet, so the ball flies and the long card plays shorter than the number suggests, and five sets of tees mean the back markers are a test for low handicappers while the forward tees keep it humane. It is private to members but open to Sunriver Resort guests, which makes it attainable in a way many courses of its quality are not, and it pairs naturally with Bend's growing roster of high desert golf.
Crosswater at a glance
- Opened
- 1995
- Designer
- Robert Cupp
- Type
- High desert wetland
- Par
- 72
- Yardage
- Past 7,600 yds
- Access
- Resort guests and members
Designer, opening year, par and yardage verified June 2026 from course databases and resort sources. Crosswater plays as a par 72 stretching past 7,600 yards from the back tees, one of the longest resort courses in the country, set across protected wetland and pine forest at around 4,100 feet. It is private to members but open to Sunriver Resort guests; green fees are seasonal and resort set, so always confirm directly before booking.
The holes worth the trip
Crosswater is a course of scale, and the first job on the tee is to respect the water. The rivers and their attendant marsh thread through the property, so several holes ask a carry off the tee or over a wetland angle on the approach, and the smart play is to know your number and keep the ball dry rather than chase the heroic line. The fairways are generous by design, but the bunkering is bold and the wetland margins are penal, so the strategy is less about finding the short grass and more about choosing the side that opens the green.
The par 3s are the signature set, and the long fifth, played across water to a green set against the river, is the photograph everyone takes home. The par 5s reward the player who can flight a long iron or fairway wood over a wetland carry to set up a short pitch, and the closing stretch keeps water in the eye when the round is on the line. Because the course is so long, the par 72 plays as a true championship test from the tips, which is why it has hosted professional golf, but the genius of the five tee sets is that it stays fun several hundred yards forward.
What lingers after a round at Crosswater is the sense of space and the central Oregon light: lava rock and lodgepole pine, the Cascades on the horizon, ospreys over the river and firm, fast turf underfoot through a long high desert summer. It is a modern course built with room that most designers never get, and it uses every acre. For a golfer planning a Bend and Sunriver trip, it is the round that justifies the journey.
How to get on
| What to know | Detail |
|---|---|
| Access | Private to members but open to guests staying at Sunriver Resort; a resort stay and play package is the reliable route to a tee time |
| Green fee | Indicative resort guest green fee for the 2026 high season runs to a premium daily rate with cart; it is seasonal and resort set, so always confirm directly before booking |
| Booking | Through Sunriver Resort as a staying guest; summer tee times are limited and sell out, so book the stay and the round well ahead |
| Walking and carts | Cart golf for most guests given the length and the wetland routing; check current walking policy with the resort |
| Best months | Late June to early October, when central Oregon turf is firm and the days are long; shoulder season can bring cold mornings at altitude |
| Getting there | At Sunriver, about fifteen minutes south of Bend and twenty five minutes from Redmond airport in central Oregon |
Access verified June 2026 from resort sources; tee times are for resort guests and members, so always confirm directly before booking. Ask about a Bend and Sunriver golf trip.
Where to stay nearby
The natural base is Sunriver Resort itself, where staying as a guest is the route onto Crosswater and puts you a short ride from the first tee, with lodges, homes and the resort's Meadows and Woodlands courses for the rest of the trip. Bend, fifteen minutes north, adds breweries, restaurants and a mountain town to come back to in the evening, and works well for a group that wants more than a golf resort.
Because central Oregon is a destination in its own right, most golfers build a multi day trip around Crosswater and pad it with the region's other high desert and mountain golf. Pair it with the volcanic drama of New Mexico's high country at Paa-Ko Ridge Golf Club and Black Mesa Golf Club for a wider western desert golf swing, or keep the trip in the Pacific Northwest and the Mountain West.
Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts around Sunriver and Bend.
Build a central Oregon golf trip
Crosswater is the centerpiece of Sunriver and central Oregon, best played as part of a resort stay with Bend's high desert golf around it. We plan trips through Oregon and the western states, arrange the stay and play and the tee times, and handle the lodging and order of play. Tell us roughly when and who is travelling and one concierge costs it to the head, with no obligation.
Crosswater questions
Can visitors play Crosswater at Sunriver?
Crosswater is private to members but open to guests staying at Sunriver Resort, so the most reliable route to a round is a resort stay and play package. Tee times are limited and demand is high in summer, so book well ahead. Green fees are seasonal and resort set, so always confirm directly before booking.
Who designed Crosswater?
Crosswater was designed by Robert Cupp and opened in 1995. It was named Golf Digest's Best New Resort Course that year and was, at its debut, one of the longest courses in the country, laid out across the wetlands where the Deschutes and Little Deschutes rivers meet.
What is the par and yardage at Crosswater?
Crosswater plays as a par 72 stretching past 7,600 yards from the championship tees, among the longest resort courses in the United States. It plays at around 4,100 feet of elevation through high desert pine forest and protected wetland, with five sets of tees to bring it back to a sane length.
Where is Crosswater Club?
Crosswater is at Sunriver Resort, about fifteen minutes south of Bend in central Oregon. It is the headline course of the resort, which also operates the Meadows and Woodlands courses, and sits in high desert country known for firm turf, long summer days and big mountain views.
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Designer, opening year, par, yardage and access verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.