5 wintry ways to play in CENTRAL OREGON
It’s hardly surprising that snow would be a popular topic in Central Oregon — and not just in the winter. This high desert region lies on the leeward side of the Cascade Range, with some of the snowiest terrain in the country. So powder hounds spend their autumn eagerly counting the snowflakes that often start falling in September. They’ll schuss and shred their way through winter and spring. And come summer, they’ll be back on the slopes laced into hiking boots or astride mountain bikes.
In Oregon, wilderness and civilization nestle together in the very best ways. Morning snowboarding and afternoon city life are not just possible, they can be a daily occurrence when the slopes are 20 minutes from town. And in a land dotted with mountains, forests and snowy meadows, there are plenty of ways for everyone to play — including the “I’d rather just watch the snow from indoors” demographic.
Here are five wintry ways to play, from Hoodoo tubes to snowy dog sleds, skijoring thrills (think: rope tow — behind dogs), a cozy lakeside retreat and more.
1 Ski a volcano
Twenty minutes from Bend, you’ll find Mount Bachelor, a ski resort perched on a stratovolcano with 360-degree views, 10 ski lifts and an average of 460-plus inches of snowfall each year. Last winter brought 578 inches of snow and a season that stretched well into spring.
To get there, you don’t even have to cope with snow chains or driving. Ski shuttles make regular runs from Bend and Sunriver Resort year-round, toting not just skiers and snowboarders, but snowshoers and tube enthusiasts, who flock to the resort’s Snowblast Tubing Park. Snowshoe enthusiasts can take free guided 90-minute hikes led by a U.S. Forest Service naturalist on weekends and school holidays from mid-December through the end of March.
Prefer to channel your inner Iditarod musher? You can do that here, courtesy of Oregon Trail of Dreams, a dog-sled business owned by Jerry Scdoris and his daughter Rachael, who rose to fame in 2006 as the first legally blind athlete to complete the Iditarod. Now they offer Iditarod dog-sled rides that leave from the ski resort and head for the wilds, taking in snowy views of Three Sisters, Broken Top and other peaks.
DETAILS » Regular lift tickets at Mount Bachelor are $54-$96; kids 5 and under ski free. Nordic lift tickets are $13-$20. Snowblast day passes are $35-$45; a two-hour pass is $20-$25. Rates vary for the dog-sled experience. The ski slopes are typically open from Thanksgiving until late May; www.mtbachelor.com.
2 Yodel at Hoodoo
Mount Bachelor ski area may be the best known of the local ski resorts, but the unpretentious Hoodoo Ski Area is the local fave — and its snow tubing park is named the Autobahn, which tells you pretty much everything you need to know about relative thrills, chills and tube speed.
Hoodoo lies at the summit of Santiam Pass in the Cascades, tucked between Mount Washington and Three Fingered Jack, one of the region’s many evocatively named peaks. About 45 miles northwest of Bend, Hoodoo sits on a rounded butte with five lifts serving 34 ski runs — nearly a third of them for beginners. We’re smitten with the Autobahn, which is one of the largest tubing parks on the West Coast, with 800-footlong lanes carved into the snow. (Too much of a thrill? There’s a Snow Bunny Sled Hill, too, where you can use your own sled or rent a tube.)
DETAILS » Regular lift tickets at Hoodoo are $31-$53, a Nordic day pass is $10-$16 and kids 7 and under are free. Ride the Autobahn all day for $25-$30, which includes a rental tube. Access to the Snow Bunny hill is $5, plus $5 if you rent a kiddie tube. The Hoodoo Ski Area, which is expected to open its slopes in early December this year, is at 27400 Big Lake Road in Sisters; www. skihoodoo.com.
3 Play in the Sno
Sno-Parks — day-use snow playgrounds — abound in this part of Oregon, offering sledding hills, Nordic ski and snowshoe trails and more esoteric pursuits, too. Near Hoodoo, Santiam Sno-Park is a hot spot for sledders, skiers and the snowshoe contingent. The Ray Benson SnoPark, a mile from Hoodoo, is especially popular with snowmobilers, dog teams and skijorers.
Never heard of skijoring? Skijoring is a bit like the love child of skiing and dog-sledding. In Scandinavia, where the sport originated, horses are used to pull a skier across snow or ice. Here, it’s the avid sport of the Pacific Sled Dog and Skijor Association (www.psdsa.org), which offers trail maps and hosts events such as the Chemult Sled Dog Races, Bachelor Butte Dog Derby, Mush Without Slush and the LaPine Mushing Weekend.
DETAILS » There are SnoParks on U.S. Forest Service land throughout Oregon’s mountains, including more than 20 in Central Oregon. From Nov. 1 to April 30, you’ll need a Sno-Park permit, but getting one is easy and inexpensive. Passes — $4 for a single day, $9 for three days or $25 for the season — can be picked up at resorts, retailers and other outlets throughout the state, including at Hoodoo, Black Butte Ranch and in Sisters, the town closest to Santiam and Ray Benson.
4 Cozy up
Remember last year’s hygge trend? Danish-style coziness was all anyone could talk about. In Oregon, that’s not a trend. Cozy is a lifestyle, from the sleigh rides at Black Butte Ranch to the great room at the Suttle Lodge, where you can watch the snow drift down as you sip tomato soup with grilledcheese croutons by a roaring fire.
The newly renovated lodge sits on the woodsy shores of Suttle Lake in Oregon’s Deschutes National Forest, just outside the town of Sisters. New owners took over the decade-old inn 18 months ago and have been slowly transforming it into a beguiling Wes Andersonstyle lodge, with cushy custom-designed chairs that look like the coveted corner seats of a dozen L-shaped couches. In the winter months, Suttle Lake freezes over and the snow-dusted landscape turns magical — and more magic emanates from the lodge kitchen and craft-cocktail bar.
As for Black Butte Ranch, horse-drawn carriage rides — with hot cocoa or cider by the fire pits before or after — are part of the resort’s holiday traditions, which last year also included a breakfast with Santa, a special dinner and a snowshoe adventure complete with bonfire and s’mores. (Psst, if you’re heading to Hoodoo, Black Butte offers ski and lodging packages each winter.)
DETAILS » Suttle Lodge and Boathouse, 13300 Highway 20, Sisters, Oregon; www. thesuttlelodge.com. Black Butte Ranch is just off Highway 20, near mile marker 93, near Sisters; www.blackbutteranch.com.
5 Celebrate WinterFest
Embrace the fire and ice of Bend’s annual WinterFest celebration held over Presidents Day weekend, which includes live music, daredevil stunt riders, a kidfriendly activity-filled OMSI tent (from the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry), ice sculptures and 20 blazing fire pits and sculptures along the Deschutes River. Plus food vendors, Atlas Cider and 10 Barrel Brewing beer and surprises. Last year, those surprises included a pop-up rail jam — a snowboard and ski stunt course — that wowed the crowds.
DETAILS » Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Old Mill District, Bend; oregonfestival.com.