Mount Hood Meadows

Located on the southeast face of Mount Hood, Mount Hood Meadows is the largest ski resort in the Mount Hood area. Just over an hour away from Portland, the resort enjoys a diverse range of terrain, high-speed lifts, and a beautiful footprint. But if you’re not from the Pacific Northwest, the resort may not be the best choice for a true destination ski trip.

Spanning 2,150 acres, Mount Hood Meadows comprises the largest footprint of any Mount Hood resort and arguably offers the best in-bounds terrain in the area. Across its lengthy vertical drop, the mountain features tree-defined trails, skiable woods, and high-alpine bowls of varying difficulties. While it doesn’t operate into the summer like neighboring Timberline, the resort enjoys a lengthy season that extends through May.

Mount Hood is a massive volcano, and its unique climate system produces storms that furnish Meadows with strong accumulation each season. The resort gets impressive snow totals throughout the winter, often in massive dumps. However, storms are often wet and heavy. Depending on the storm, the snow might feel more arduous than fun. Conditions can get really choppy really quickly and really difficult to maintain composure through. And if it hasn’t just snowed, the fickle weather patterns produce terrain that’s often windswept and icy.

On a good day, Meadows offers quite the experience for beginner and intermediate skiers thanks to its high-alpine Vista and Cascade areas. The Cascade area mainly comprises above- and near-treeline intermediate terrain, and the Vista area boasts high-alpine beginner runs—which you can’t find anywhere else in the Mount Hood area. Runs this striking are a rare treat for less-advanced visitors in the alpine-sports world.

However, due to their exposure, these areas are highly susceptible to inclement weather closures. In peak winter months, these lifts can remain closed for days or weeks on end due to wind, low visibility, or ice. It usually takes a perfect, bluebird day for the resort to finally open the areas. These closures are on par with some competing Oregon ski resorts, but it’s rare to find variability like this anywhere else in the country.

When Vista and Cascade are closed, Meadows offers other terrain options—albeit ordinary ones—for beginners and intermediates. The Daisy and Buttercup lifts provide access to dedicated learning terrain, while the Mount Hood, Stadium, and Hood River Express lifts each service one beginner run. Intermediate guests will appreciate the Shooting Star area, which offers solid vistas and ample cruisers, as well as the Hood River area, which contains several longer blue runs. Unfortunately, grooming operations can be lacking on some of these trails—especially on the Hood River side.

Unlike some other Hood-area resorts, Meadows boasts plenty of difficult terrain. The Mount Hood Express services a series of steep, ungroomed black runs. While not marked on the trail map, considerable cliff drops exist off some of these trails; some woods areas can cliff out for those who aren’t careful. A few miscellaneous black runs exist across other mountain areas as well. However, none of these black trails are particularly lengthy.

The resort’s double-black diamond rating should be heeded with extreme caution. All expert terrain access comes through gates. The high-alpine Heather Canyon features a consistently steep pitch across a wide-open, mogul-riddled footprint and is particularly avalanche-prone. The lower-mountain Private Reserve zone features some of the most technical terrain anywhere on the West Coast.

Many serious obstacles are fair game, including perilous cliff drops. And while these expert areas see somewhat variable openings throughout the season, they’re open much more consistently than the Vista and Cascade lifts (although the top half of Heather Canyon is only accessible when Cascade is running).

On only the clearest, least windy of late-season days, Meadows also offers hike-to access to some of Mount Hood’s undisturbed, above-treeline footprint. The resort’s highest in-bounds area—Super Bowl—isn’t quite as tough as Private Reserve, but it offers access to an astounding 4,500-foot vertical drop, which is on par with the longest in the country, across a lengthy expert footprint. This run is severely prone to avalanches; in most situations, patrol will require guests to carry an avalanche beacon and shovel to this trail. While the hike is absolutely beautiful, it requires a grueling 1,700-foot vertical ascent, meaning the overwhelming majority of guests won’t find it practical to do.

Like many other Oregon resorts, Mount Hood Meadows offers a competitive terrain park setup. Features include boxes, rails, and jumps, as well as a superpipe, and range from small to extra-large in size. Features have improved considerably in recent seasons, with the resort adding more varied terrain and significantly more intermediate zones. Freestyle areas are chiefly serviced by the Vista chair, but when that lift is closed, the Daisy and Easy Rider chairs provide similar access.

Mount Hood Meadows stands out with a modern lift fleet. With the exception of the Heather Canyon return, detachable high-speed quads service every major area. But it’s a good thing that the lifts at Meadows move quickly—if you’re there on a busy day, you’ll find yourself waiting on lengthy lines. The Mount Hood Express, which is the main out-of-base lift, generally sees the longest waits, although the neighboring Blue chair provides some relief when it runs. Vista and Cascade generate considerable demand when open, and when those lifts are closed, it just makes the lines everywhere else worse. To avoid crowds during peak times, the Shooting Star and expert-only Heather Canyon areas are typically the best options.

Mount Hood often experiences stormy, uncomfortable conditions throughout the season. But for those looking to stop for a break, Meadows boasts a massive base area complex with multiple dining options. While facilities exist outside of the main base, they’re somewhat lacking. The Hood River base features a small lodge with food options and limited seating, while the mid-mountain Mazot eatery boasts cordial vibes but only offers outdoor seating.

In most cases, it’s straightforward to get around Meadows thanks to sufficient signage, clear trail maps, and a general lack of flat terrain. The mountain’s tall-but-narrow footprint generally allows visitors to easily travel from one area to another. However, Meadows suffers from one truly arduous experience—and that’s the Private Reserve runout, which ends at the Hood River parking lot about a 5-to-10-minute catwalk from the lift. No on-mountain signage warns of this mandatory hikeout, which is sure to leave unprepared guests with a sour taste in their mouth. Unfortunately, this hikeout is required for all of Meadows’ most extreme Private Reserve terrain, making these formidable lines impractical to lap.

On a nice day, Meadows visitors will enjoy the absolutely striking aesthetic afforded by Mount Hood. However, storm cycles often bring about cloudy, low-visibility conditions that mask the mountain’s beauty. On overcast days, it’s generally still possible to see into the less weather-prone valleys; these flat areas don’t provide quite as interesting views, but looking down at them still produces somewhat of an on-top-of-the-world feeling.

During the core winter season, Meadows offers night skiing on a limited amount of terrain Wednesday through Sunday until 9pm. While only the Mount Hood Express, Stadium, and bunny hill lifts spin through the evening, a range of terrain options remain open for varying ability levels. For those living in the area, this may make Meadows a really enticing option for after-work laps. However, a lot of locals are already in on the secret, and the evening hours are often home to some of the worst lines.

Lodging

Meadows is a ski area rather than a built-up resort, and it lacks on-site accommodations entirely. A few hotels, inns, and luxury condos exist just a short drive away in Government Camp, although they’re a bit pricey. However, many of these accommodations provide free shuttle service to the mountain. More economical options exist about 45 minutes away in the Portland suburb of Gresham, which features a number of hotel and home rental options.

A bus from the town of Hood River runs to the mountain on a daily basis. This route used to be free, but now it’s $5 for a round trip. A park and ride bus provides access from several Portland-area lots on weekends and holidays, but it isn’t cheap, costing $35 round trip; this is much more expensive than the Mt. Hood Express bus that provides similar service from the Portland suburb of Sandy to Timberline Lodge and Mount Hood Skibowl, which only costs $4 round trip.

Aprés-ski

On-site aprés is generally limited at Meadows. However, guests can find a local aprés scene at the Hood River Meadows parking lot, where tailgate parties occur in full force, especially during the warmer spring months. Additionally, the patio at the main base can be a great place to soak in a beer and the beautiful views on a nice afternoon. The nearby town of Government Camp offers a limited bar scene as well.

Verdict

Due to some extremely variable terrain openings and a lack of on-site lodging, Mount Hood Meadows won’t be the best ski area to fly out to. However, the resort is quite reasonably priced, with full-day tickets either near or just above $100, and 4-hour afternoon tickets available for about $70. At these rates, the resort is still a good deal on days when the upper mountain is closed, and an absolute steal for the diversity and level of terrain available on a good day. Moreover, many expert areas remain open when high-alpine lift service is suspended. For many in the Portland area, Meadows will offer the best overall mountain experience within close proximity.