We report the design, fabrication and characterization of compact gradual bends for channel plasmon polaritons (CPPs) being excited at telecom wavelengths. We obtain high-quality near-field optical images of CPP modes propagating along a bent V-groove in gold, which indicate good CPP mode confinement in the groove and efficient guiding around the compact S-bend connecting two 5-mum-offset grooves over a distance of 5 mum. Using averaged cross sections of the CPP intensity distributions before and after the S-bend, the total bend loss is evaluated and found to be close to 2.3 dB for the wavelengths in the range of 1430-1640 nm.