Mt Hood Skiing and Snowboarding

Regions of Oregon

Oregon Activities

Lodging

Getting Here

Oregon Events

Site Pages

[?] Subscribe To This Site

Mt Hood Skiing and Snowboarding

The proximity of Mt Hood skiing to Portland and the northwest part of Oregon is one of the delights of living there. It is about an hour's drive from the metropolitan area.

Timberline Lodge and Skibowl offer a season pass that is good at both areas. It is called Fusion Pass. This is a great deal if you are going to be doing a lot of skiing on Mt. Hood.

Timberline Lodge Ski Area

The grandaddy of Mt Hood skiing!

One thing that sets Timberline Lodge Ski Area apart from all others is that you can ski there all summer on the Palmer Glacier. That is why so many international ski teams train there. As you can see from the picture on the right, the area is divided into lanes. The lanes closest to the lift are open to the public. The other lanes are used for ski team training and ski and snowboarding camps. The Palmer snowfield is acccessed by a high speed quad lift.

Timberline has a total of seven lifts. One double chair, one triple chair, and as of the beginning of the 2007 ski season, five quad express chairs. The new chair, below the lodge, opens up more trails but at this point I do not know how many.

Night skiing is in the winter only with three chairs lit. The winter season usually runs from Thanksgiving to March and in some years through at least part of April.

Most of the trails are for beginners and intermediate skiers. Twenty percent are for advanced skiers. There are no expert runs at Timberline. The verticle drop is 3,580 feet from the top of the Palmer Snowfield to the bottom of Molly's run below the lodge. I am not sure if the new lift changes this.

Timberline has two terrain parks and a pipe.

Facilities include Timberline Lodge and the WyEast Day Lodge where restrooms, food service, rental shop, lockers, and ski school are located. Overnight lodging is available in the old lodge. Otherwise you will have to find something at Government Camp, Welches, or Hood River.

James Cohen, Creative Commons

To get to Timberline from Portland take Highway 26 West and travel to Government Camp. Drive through Government Camp and watch for the highway sign for Timberline Lodge. You will be turning left. During the winter months there may be Oregon State Police checking to make sure you have some kind of traction device. It is best to carry chains so you can put them

on if you need to do so. Also, you can be stopped at the Lodge from returning down the mountain without chains if the conditions are bad. This would mean you either rent a room or sit up all night in the lounge.

For more information call 1-800-547-1406

abkfenris, Creative Commons

Mt. Hood Meadows Skiing and Snowboarding Resort

Plenty of expert Mt Hood skiing here down Heather Canyon. There are also ample advanced and intermediate runs and of course beginners have some nice runs as well. There are five high speed quad lifts and six double chair lifts with 85 runs. The longest run is three miles.

Mt Hood Skiing Update: 2011-2012
The Stadium lift has been replaced by a new high speed detachable quad and renamed Stadium Express. It will not only get more skiers to the top faster but will also be able to operate more often when it is windy. The bottom terminal is also closer to the lodge.

There are eight freestyle terrain parks, each with different features. Not all of them are open all the time--some are for spring only and some are for early season. Small, intermediate, and advanced jumps, rails, rollers, pipes, jibs, moguls, and slalom are all waiting for you. Forest Park is lit for night skiing.

The Nordic Center is open Saturday and Sunday with 10 miles of groomed tracks. The center is located at the east end of the Mt. Hood Meadows parking lot. Rental equipment is available.

Nathan Searles, Creative Commons

Facilities include a certified day care center for children starting at six weeks old. The lodge has restrooms, food service, ski rental, ski repair, lockers and a ski school. There is no lodging at the ski area.

There is bus transportation from many Portland neighborhoods and towns to the Meadows every day except Monday. You can purchase a combined lift-bus ticket.

To get to Mt. Hood Meadows from Portland, take Highway 26 east to Government Camp. Drive through Government Camp and at the junction take Highway 35. Travel 10 miles to the Meadows. You can also I-84 from Portland. In Hood River take Exit 64 which will put you on Highway 35. It is 35 miles to the Meadows.

For more information phone 503-337-2222 or 1-800-SKI-HOOD.

Skibowl

A big attraction for Mt Hood skiing at night.

Skibowl is lower on the mountain at the 4,000 foot level and therefore their ski season is shorter than at Timberline and Mt. Hood Meadows. But what a season it is!

It is the closest ski area to Portland--50 miles on Highway 26. Skibowl is billed as America's largest night skiing resort and it is open every night of the week.

This is a great area for expert and advanced skiers. Forty percent of the runs are for expert skiers and forty percent are for advanced skiers. That leaves twenty percent for beginners and intermediates. There are four double lifts, three surface lifts, one platter and one tube. There are 65 runs. The longest run is three miles.

Terrain parks are open both day and night and have Jumps, rails, tree rides, rollers and rail boxes.

Facilities include the ususal food service, restrooms, ski and snowboard rental.

Skibowl is adjacent to the community of Government Camp where lodging is available.

You can also rent snowmobiles and tour Mt. Hood National Forest with starting points at Frog Lake Sno Park, White River East Sno Park or Skyline Sno Park.

If that isn't enough for you, you can go on a horse-drawn sleigh ride through the woods both during the day and evening.

To get to Skibowl from Portland, take Highway 26 East to Government Camp. The turnoff to Skibowl in Government Camp is on your right.

For more information phone toll free 1-800-SKIBOWL.

Cooper Spur

Mt Hood skiing for families and those who want to avoid the crowds.

Cooper Spur is a small ski, snowboarding, snow tubing area on the north side of Mt. Hood. It is owned by Mt. Hood Meadows. It is 23 miles from Hood River and 12 miles from Mt. Hood Meadows. This is a good place for families to go to just play in the snow or to learn to ski.

There is one double ski lift and one rope tow for skiers. There are two tubing tows. Out of the 10 runs, forty percent are for beginners, forty percent for intermedediate, and twenty percent for advanced.

There are hotel rooms in the lodge, cabins, condos, and a log home for rent.

For more information phone 541-352-7803

Keep up to date 24/7 with news about skiing on Mt. Hood. Visit For the latest information visit Oregon Ski News

Discover the fun of Mt Hood skiing!

Return to Oregon Skiing from Mt Hood Skiing

Return to Great Oregon Vacations from Mt Hood Skiing