There’s a lot to be said for convenient. And when we’re talking Bend, Ore., convenient could easily find you miles away from everything just five minutes out of town.

Shevlin Park is like that, a Cascades east sanctuary abutting the boundary of creeping urbanization. We love Shevlin Park for lots of reasons, not the least of which being that a townie can get out there for a run, ride or hike at lunchtime and get back before the boss calls out the militia.

I go there whenever I can and, so far, I’ve flown under the middle-management radar.

But I’d never explored the extension of the park across the street. Operated by Bend Metro Park and Recreation District, the tract is home to Aspen Hall, Shevlin Pond and Tumalo Creek.

Aspen Hall is a top-tier meeting facility in a sylvan setting. It rents for $625 a day and gets lots of use.

Right outside is a picnic area and Shevlin Pond, a still-water component of Tumalo Creek where youths 17 and under can (and do) catch stocked rainbow trout from April through October.

During a recent weekend, Bruce Ottenfeld of Bend brought his children and grandchildren to the banks of Shevlin Pond for some fishing, some picnicking and some exploring. ”It’s a good place to bring the little kids,” he said.

And sure enough, Ottenfeld found time to relax with the other adults while a couple of the children cast small jigs to the trout and a couple chased lizards among a garden of sun-warmed basalt boulders.

If you go, be sure to check out the trail that meanders downstream from the park area. You’ll quickly leave the happy shouts of children at play behind and enter a typically Central Oregon realm of seriously large ponderosa pines, clear running water and volcanic geology.

It’s such an amiable place, you might catch yourself dawdling along the tall grass of the creek bank, contemplating the assonant rhythm of rapid and rock. Or cocking your neck at an improbable angle to watch a soaring raptor. Hawk? Eagle? Buzzard? Too high up to tell.

There’s even a swimming hole not too far downstream. Barely 60 degrees and a little breezy this day, though. I passed on the opportunity.

There are so many sublime places in Central Oregon, it’s easy to overlook the ones right under our noses. Don’t. It’s good to have a close-in destination like Shevlin Park/Aspen Hall in your outdoor repertoire.

But be wary. I think I saw your boss out there.