Oregon Ski Resorts Ranked & Mapped
There are a dozen ski resorts located in Oregon within the Cascade Mountain Range. About half are located around the base of Mt. Hood, which is the highest peak in Oregon, and fourth-largest in the Cascades.
Oregon is home to several ski resorts that offer a range of skiing and snowboarding opportunities for people of all skill levels. Many ski resorts in Oregon have groomed runs, terrain parks, and backcountry areas for different types of skiing and snowboarding, as well as rental equipment and ski schools for those who are new to the sport.
Oregon Ski Season
The ski season in Oregon typically begins in November and runs through April, depending on the weather and snow conditions. In general, Oregon is known for its wet and heavy snow, which can provide good conditions for skiing and snowboarding when groomed. However, off-piste areas and backcountry areas may not be groomed, and the snow quality can vary significantly in these areas.
Overall, the snow conditions at Oregon ski resorts can be quite variable, and it’s important to be prepared for a range of conditions.
List of All Oregon Ski Resorts
There are currently no Vail-owned resorts in Oregon. IKON has one associated resort, and INDY and Powder Alliance each have two.
| Resort | Pass | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Anthony Lakes | Haines, OR, 97833 | |
| Cooper Spur | Mount Hood Parkdale, OR, 97041 | |
| Hoodoo Ski Area | INDY | Sisters, OR, 97759 |
| Mount Ashland | INDY | Ashland, OR, 97520 |
| Mt. Bachelor | IKON | Bend, OR, 97701 |
| Mt. Hood Meadows | Mount Hood, OR, 97041 | |
| Mt. Hood Skibowl | INDY,POWD | Mount Hood Parkdale, OR, 97041 |
| Spout Springs | Weston, OR, 97886 | |
| Summit Pass | Government Camp, OR, 97326 | |
| Timberline Lodge | POWD | Government Camp, OR, 97028 |
| Warner Canyon | Lakeview, OR, 97630 | |
| Willamette Pass | Crecent Lake, OR, 97425 |
Explaining Our ‘Difficulty Score’
Parks & Trips created a proprietary Difficulty Score that is generated by looking at the number of easy-intermediate-expert slopes by acreage and the maximum vertical drop of the overall resort.
Our algorithm compares each resort’s metrics with all others in North America, then gives each a Difficulty Score, which we use to rank them accordingly. Resorts with a lower score are easier than those with a higher one. However, a high score does not mean that the resort does not have any easy slopes, or vice versa. This is just an overall score given to the resort based on all its metrics grouped together.
The Most Difficult Oregon Ski Resorts
Mt. Bachelor is the most difficult ski resort in the state by a mile. 60% of its trails are expert-level, has double the amount of acres as anyone else and has the third-steepest vertical. Timberline Lodge comes in second place, mostly due to its almost 4,000 ft vertical drop.
Rounding out the top three is Mt. Hood Meadows, which has the second-highest trail count, acres, and vertical drop in the state.
In terms of location, all difficult resorts except Mt. Bachelor are centered around Mt. Hood in the north-central portion of the state.
| Rank | Resort | Green Trails | Blue Trails | Black Trails | Difficulty ScoreTM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Mt. Bachelor | 15% | 25% | 60% | 82% |
| #2 | Timberline Lodge | 25% | 50% | 25% | 77% |
| #3 | Mt. Hood Meadows | 15% | 50% | 35% | 66% |
| #4 | Mount Ashland | 11% | 41% | 48% | 55% |
| #5 | Mt. Hood Skibowl | 20% | 40% | 40% | 53% |
The Easiest Ski Resorts in Oregon
Summit Pass at Timberline Lodge is the easiest ski area in Oregon. This park has zero difficult trails, and is the smallest hill in the state as well. The Warner Canyon and Copper Spur ski resorts finish off the top three easiest, but they both are quite a bit harder than Summit Pass.
| Rank | Resort | Green Trails | Blue Trails | Black Trails | Difficulty ScoreTM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Summit Pass | 75% | 25% | 0% | 9% |
| #2 | Warner Canyon | 51% | 46% | 3% | 24% |
| #3 | Cooper Spur | 40% | 40% | 20% | 28% |
| #4 | Anthony Lakes | 20% | 38% | 42% | 48% |
| #5 | Hoodoo Ski Area | 19% | 40% | 41% | 49% |
The Largest Ski Resorts in Oregon
Choosing the largest ski resorts is a bit of a tricky proposition. Do you look at just the summit elevation? How about the total acreage, most trails, or steepest vertical drop?
Well, we decided to combine all four of those metrics into one ranking to get the best idea, although we fully admit this is completely subjective. We’ve given you all the data in the following table to make your own decision.
Timberline Lodge is the largest ski resort in Oregon, with a massive vertical drop that is almost 1,000 feet higher than any other hill in the state. Mt. Bachelor has the highest summit elevation, and by far the most skiable acres of all Oregonian ski resorts.
| Rank | Resort | Summit Elevation | Base Elevation | Vertical Drop | Acres | Trails |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Timberline Lodge | 8,540 ft | 4,000 ft | 4,540 ft | 1,685 | 41 |
| #2 | Mt. Bachelor | 9,065 ft | 5,700 ft | 3,365 ft | 4,323 | 101 |
| #3 | Mt. Hood Meadows | 7,300 ft | 4,523 ft | 2,777 ft | 2,150 | 85 |
| #4 | Willamette Pass | 6,683 ft | 5,120 ft | 1,563 ft | 555 | 29 |
| #5 | Mount Ashland | 7,533 ft | 6,344 ft | 1,150 ft | 240 | 44 |
Neighboring States
Washington state has plenty of great skiing, as does California. The Cascade Mountain Range stretches from Canada, all the way into northern California, and many of its dormant stratovolcanoes make for great ski hills. To the east, Idaho is a sneaky-good state for skiing, so making a trip out to the Pacific Northwest should definitely be on your bucket list!
