Top 10 Ski Resorts in Oregon

With all the snow already here and coming, some will wonder where to go downhill and cross-country skiing, snowboarding, or tubing in Oregon.

This list rates ski resorts by their acreage, lifts, trails, and vertical rise (ft. from the base to the peak). There is great information about ski resorts in Oregon online; the data included is from Ski Central, which has current snow reports and other helpful info on its website.

#1. Mt. Bachelor: base 6300 ft, vertical 3365 ft, summit 9065 ft, annual snowfall 387 inches, 71 trails, 3685 acreage, 1.5 miles is longest run, regular adult lift ticket $155/day, lifts 13.

Mt. Bachelor has grown into a very popular ski resort with the rapid population boom in Central Oregon over the last 50 years. It offers beginning to advanced lifts and all the trails your freezing hands and feet can handle. Mt. Bachelor started in 1958 and had its first chair lift in 1962. The closest city is Bend 21 miles away.

#2. Mt. Hood Meadows: base 4523 ft, vertical 2777 ft, summit 7300 ft, annual snowfall 430 inches, trails 85, skiable acres 2150, longest run 3 miles, regular adult lift ticket $159, lifts 12.

Hood River is 35 miles away, Government Camp is the closest city only a few miles away. The ski resort started in 1967. This is the largest of the four ski resorts located on Mt. Hood on this list. The most expensive on the list, yet has a lot to offer, rivaling for the first spot.

#3. Timberline: base 7000 ft (est.), vertical 3690 ft, summit 11245, trails 41, skiable acres 1415, regular adult lift ticket $135, 10 lifts.

Located high up on the largest Oregon mountain, Mt. Hood, the Timberline ski area offers the best chance for an extended and early season for skiing. Government Camp is the closest city just miles away; Timberline is part of 4 different ski areas on this list on Mt. Hood.

#4. Mt. Hood Ski Bowl: base est. 3600 ft, vertical 1500 ft, summit 5,100 ft, annual snowfall 300 inches, trails 65, skiable acres 960, longest run 3 miles, regular adult lift ticket $89, lifts 9.

This ski resort is also on Mt. Hood at a lower elevation and closer to Portland around 65 miles away. Government Camp is the closest town.

Mt. Hood Ski Bowl is significant because it is the largest night ski area in the U.S. It also has an adventure park with bungee jumping, zip-line, and alpine slides. It is one of the oldest ski resorts in the country and Oregon starting in 1928.

#5. Willamette Pass: base 5120 ft, vertical 1563 ft, summit 6683 ft, annual snowfall 430 inches, trails 29, skiable acres 555, longest run 2.1 miles, regular adult lift ticket $66, lifts 6.

Willamette Pass is located 70 miles from Eugene on Highway 58. This ski resort gets a lot of snow, offers affordable prices, is in a good location, and has a large area to explore. It was founded in 1941.

#6. Hoodoo Ski Area: base 4668 ft, vertical 1035 ft, summit 5703 ft, annual snowfall 450 inches, trails 34, skiable acres 800, longest run 3 miles, regular adult lift ticket $79, lifts 5.

Sisters is the closest town 20 miles away, Eugene is 80 miles the other way along Santiam Pass, Highway 20 through the Cascade Mountains. Hoodoo Ski Resort also has an 800 ft tubing hill with a handle tow lift. It was built in 1938, making it a piece of Oregon history too.

#7. Anthony Lakes: base 7100 ft, vertical 900 ft, summit 8000 ft, annual snowfall 300 inches, trails 21, skiable acres 1100, longest run 1.5 miles, regular adult lift ticket $50, lifts 3.

The nearest town is North Powder 20 miles away in Union County in northeastern Oregon. The ski resort has been around since the 1930s and under new ownership since 2010.

This is a good option for those in eastern Oregon, it is affordable and has a large area to play in with multiple lifts and trails. Significantly, this ski resort has the highest base elevation in Oregon.

#8. Mt. Ashland: base 6338 ft, vertical 1150 ft, summit 7500, annual snowfall 300 inches, trails 23, skiable acres 220, longest run 1 mile, regular adult lift ticket $69, lifts 4.

The closest city to the ski resort is Ashland 23 miles away. The ski area is located on Mt. Ashland. It started in 1964. This is a great option for those in southern Oregon. It is affordable and has much to offer, including stunning scenery.

#9 Warner Canyon: base 5700 ft, vertical 1080 ft, summit 6480 ft, trails 21, regular adult lift ticket $40, lifts 1.

This smaller ski resort in southeastern Oregon has been operating since 1938 and is 4 miles from the city of Lakeview in Lake County. Skiers will have plenty of area to cover with 22 runs coming from a single lift. Having this non-profit ski area is a treat for those in the Oregon Outback.

#10 Summit Ski Area: base 4000 ft, vertical 300 ft, summit 4300 ft, annual snowfall 150 inches, trails 3, skiable acres 70, regular adult lift ticket $49, lifts 2.

Summit Ski Area (now called the Summit Pass) is the oldest ski area in the Pacific Northwest built in 1927. It offers downhill skiing, tubing, and Nordic trails. It is the fourth ski resort located on Mt. Hood and the oldest.

Summary

With all of these great options, skiers should find something that works for them. Having the information and awareness of what is out there will help the process of getting there and experiencing the great outdoors in the Oregon wintertime.

Originally published at NewsBreak

10 Famous Movies Filmed in Oregon Part 2

It shouldn’t be too surprising that Oregon with its amazing scenery and diverse natural landscape has been used to make movies for the big screen. Still, with such a relatively small population it is somewhat amazing how many movies have been filmed here over the years. After naming 10 movies in part one , it became apparent there needed to be a part two, as these are just as famous, so here goes from oldest to newest. 1. Paint Your Wagon (1969): Having Clint Eastwood star in a musical isn’t likely, but he did star in this American Western musical in the late 60s and even did his own singing. The film also stars Lee Marvin and Jean Seberg and was directed by Joshua Logan. Most of the movie production happened near Baker City, Oregon, a small city in Eastern Oregon with around 10k residents and at 3451 ft. elevation. The plot centers around a mining camp in the California Golf Rush era in the mid-1800s. 2. Five Easy Pieces (1970): Starring Jack Nicholson, this early 70s drama was filme...

Opinion: Most communities in Oregon and the US are Republican, yet Democrats are in charge

2022 Oregon Governor Election Photo Assuming election results are valid in Oregon, which does take a lot of faith these days after the questions about the 2020 US Presidential election arose, Democrat Tina Kotek won the Governor’s race in 2022 by a slim margin over Republican Christine Drazan. The interesting aspect of this win is how many of Oregon’s 36 counties voted Republican vs. Democrat. Looking at the political map, almost the entire state is red with only a few small counties in the northwest having the blue color. Specifically, there were 7 counties that voted Democrat and 29 that voted Republican. The difference is the 7 counties voting blue are the most populous counties, also the counties with the most residents coming from other states – much like Tina Kotek herself, a transplant from Pennsylvania . Tina only won the campaign to be Oregon’s 39th Governor by 66,727 votes over Christine Drazan. Said in another way, the Democrats pulled off another close election with m...

Plugging Along

Press enter or click to view image in full size The simple things are profound. Hello friends, hope this finds you well and in good health. I remember seeing this comic strip where an older man with a gut and grey hair saw a “hiring” sign at a fast food restaurant and thought it was a good opportunity. The theme of the strip was that he was a plugger — plugging along. That must have been about 20 years ago it seems, but it stuck with me in my journey of plugging along myself. So much was said in that little one picture comic strip. Our journey down here on God’s earth is full of plugging along moments; where our attitude and perspective really make the difference in the type of life we live. Not everyone gets the glory or the recognition. Most of us just work in the shadows plugging along with our lives, trying to do the right thing, trying to keep our heads afloat in the waters of hustle and bustle. I think what I liked about that comic strip was the humility of the cartoon character....

The Following Leaders on Medium

I remember one distinct moment during a career development course at a community college I attended 21 years ago when the professor asked us to stand up and do an exercise. She asked the class to separate themselves into two groups; those who thought of themselves as leaders on one side of the classroom and those who thought of themselves as followers on the other. This question came without warning at the beginning of the class, so we didn’t have time to think it through. The result was probably more sincere because of this suddenness. For some context, the class consisted of about 30 students, mostly young adults under 21 YOA; I was about 21 years old. An interesting thing happened. An Important Life Lesson in Social Perception The vast majority of the class went to the leader side of the class and only two of us went to the follower side. I was one of the followers along with another young man. How awkward; then the professor focused on us followers and ask...

Business and Society Articles

Search This Blog