Recreation

Mt. Bachelor

Elevation: 9,065’ 
Vertical Drop: 3,365’
Skiable Acres: 3,683’
Lifts: 12 chairlifts, including 7 high-speed quads 
Nordic: Full-service Nordic Center with 56 km of groomed track and the first ever Nordic Terrain Park 
Location: Only 20 minutes from Sunriver and Bend in Central Oregon

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Mt. Hood Meadows

Terrain: 7,300-foot top elevation, 2,777-foot vertical drop
Lifts: 13 chairlifts, including four high-speed quads
Nordic: 15k groomed track at Hood River Meadows.
Highlights: The largest ski resort on Mt. Hood! Enjoy 2150 acres of terrain with high speed express service with 4 high speed quads. Thirteen chairlifts total and Snowcat access the greatest variety of terrain in the state of Oregon.
P.O. Box 470 | Mt. Hood, OR | 503.337.2222

Mt. Hood Ski Bowl

Terrain: 5,026-foot top elevation, 1,500-foot vertical drop.
Lifts: 4 double, 3 surface, 1 platter chairlifts; inner-tube hill with tow.
Nordic: None at the ski area: numerous Mt. Hood National Forest trails nearby.
Highlights: America's largest night ski area, with 34 lighted runs. Snowboarding halfpipe and terrain garden. Portable Snow Tube Tow and Rentals. Portland's closest ski area is a good place for beginners and families, while experts rocket down the steeps of the Upper Bowl

87000 E. Highway 26 | Government Camp, OR |503.272.3206

Multnomah Falls

Discover Oregon's tallest waterfall from both the bottom and the top

About the Hike: Oregon's most popular trail climbs to viewpoints at Multnomah Falls, a 542-foot, two-tiered plume that plummets into a misty, mossy forest grotto.

Difficulty: A moderate, 2.2-mile hike with 700 feet of elevation gain to the top of Multnomah Falls, or a difficult 5.4-mile loop to Wahkeena Falls with 1,600 feet of elevation gain.

Season: Open all year

Neahkahnie Mountain

Climb an oceanfront peak haunted by the legend of a lost Spanish treasure.

About the Hike: The beach below this mountain might be where Europeans first set foot in Oregon. Today a portion of the Oregon Coast Trail crosses the mountain's summit to a breathtaking, aerial view of the beach south to Tillamook Bay. If you like, you can continue to Short Sand Beach and a walk-in campground at Oswald West State Park.

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Oneonta Gorge

A slot-like chasm with waterfalls

About the Hike: Next door to busy Multnomah Falls but usually overlooked by tourists, this delightful trail explores a cavern behind Ponytail Falls and then loops around Oneonta Gorge, a mossy chasm so narrow that Oneonta Creek fills it wall to wall. An optional 1.8-mile side trip leads to Triple Falls, where three plumes of water plunge 120 feet at once.

Opal Creek

Here's where gigantic old-growth trees tower along a wilderness river

About the Hike: Less than two hours' drive from Portland, this easy riverside walk tours a spectacular, towering forest of 500-year-old trees that were endangered by logging proposals until a long-fought Wilderness bill protected the area in 1998.

Difficulty: An easy 4-mile hike traverses the old-growth forest to 30-foot Sawmill Falls. A longer, 7.1-mile loop extends upriver to Opal Pool and Jawbone Flats, a Depression-era mining camp.

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Oregon Dunes

Step away from the established overlook, walk into the sand and discover Oregon's seaside Sahara.

About the Hike: Visitors who simply photograph the view from the Oregon Dunes Overlook are missing the best scenery in this seafront Sahara. It's just over a mile from the overlook's picnic area to a remote, windswept beach. Even better is a 4.8-mile loop hike to beautiful Tahkenitch Creek, through dunes and tree islands.

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Portland's Old Town

Amble through parks and historic streets in Oregon's largest city

About the Hike: Wedged between the Willamette River and a wall of steep, forested parks, Portland's downtown is compact enough to explore on a two-hour walking tour.

Allow extra time to stop at museums and shops and if you tire along the way, simply catch a streetcar, train or bus - they're all free.

Difficulty: An easy, 2.3-mile round-trip walk, with 100 feet of elevation gain.

Season: Open all year.

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Ramona Falls

High on the side of Mt. Hood.

About the Hike: Like white lace, 120-foot Ramona Falls drapes across a stair-stepped cliff of columnar basalt. The very popular trail to the shady grotto of this Mount Hood cascade starts out in a mossy alder forest beside the Sandy River's bouldery outwash plain. A loop trail to the falls follows a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail.

Difficulty: The difficult 7.1-mile loop to the falls gains 1000 feet of elevation.