Magic Mile Skyride
Take the Magic Mile Chairlift Ride all the way, to the 'Top'! - Best View of Mount Hood-No Skis Required.
After arriving and checking out Timberline Lodge, you may choose to ride the Magic Mile Chairlift Ride (open Memorial Day through Labor Day), up near Silcox Hut. The views don't get any better than this! While inhaling the cool, clear non-smells, of mountain air, you'll go to an altitude of 7000 feet, only about 4000 feet from the summit! The Silcox Hut served as the upper terminus for Timberline's original Magic Mile ski lift from 1939 to 1962. Reopened as a chalet in 1992, it now offers overnight bunks for groups and a limited cafe in the European alpine tradition.
The lift was the 1st to use steel towers, the 2nd lift in the U.S., and the longest in the world, when it opened in 1939. The day pass then, was $2. Today, that same pass, is $90.
Have a picnic lunch or just take in the scenery by looking right to the coast range, left to the Great American Desert, and straight ahead, beyond Mount Jefferson and the Cascade mountain range.
Sturdy boots & heavy jacket suggested in winter and Spring. Skis are not necessary. Allow 30 minutes to ride up and down or 2 hours if you choose to ride up and walk down, plus time to look around up top. If you would like to take the Magic Mile Ride, please notify My Chauffeur. All participant's must sign the Trailhead Release Agreement.
THE MAGIC MILE SKY RIDE is open Monday through Thursday, 8am-2pm, and Friday through Sunday, 8am-3pm.
$20 per person.
Or $69 per family of four.
Kids 6 and under are FREE.
The Bottom Line.
A ride up the Magic Mile Skyride is a lot of fun, and hiking around on the rocks at the upper end of the chair lift is great, too.
It’s worth the ride, just for the views on the way up and the way down.
If you take some time hiking at the top, you’ll find even more great places to take pictures, or just sit and relax, including Silcox Hut.
Few visitors venture very far into the scenic alpine landscape, that lured hotel builders here in the first place. The landscape here is entirely the product of recent volcanism. The silvery snags below the chairlift and along the trail to the Silcox Hut, are trees killed by the hot blast of a small eruption in the 1790s. The ground itself on this side of the mountain is a debris field from a much larger, Mount Saint Helens style blast, two thousand years ago. In that eruption, a gigantic avalanche wiped the mountain's slope clean, as far as Government Camp. Afterwards, a lava dome slowly rose to plug the vent. The dome remains as Crater Rock, the monolith looming in front of the actual summit.
Again, if you would like to take the Magic Mile Ride, please notify us ASAP, because we would have to arrange the tour to arrive at the lodge before the chairlift closes. All chairlift participant's must sign the Trailhead Release Agreement.
Back to Timberline Lodge Itineraries.
After arriving and checking out Timberline Lodge, you may choose to ride the Magic Mile Chairlift Ride (open Memorial Day through Labor Day), up near Silcox Hut. The views don't get any better than this! While inhaling the cool, clear non-smells, of mountain air, you'll go to an altitude of 7000 feet, only about 4000 feet from the summit! The Silcox Hut served as the upper terminus for Timberline's original Magic Mile ski lift from 1939 to 1962. Reopened as a chalet in 1992, it now offers overnight bunks for groups and a limited cafe in the European alpine tradition.
The lift was the 1st to use steel towers, the 2nd lift in the U.S., and the longest in the world, when it opened in 1939. The day pass then, was $2. Today, that same pass, is $90.
Have a picnic lunch or just take in the scenery by looking right to the coast range, left to the Great American Desert, and straight ahead, beyond Mount Jefferson and the Cascade mountain range.
Sturdy boots & heavy jacket suggested in winter and Spring. Skis are not necessary. Allow 30 minutes to ride up and down or 2 hours if you choose to ride up and walk down, plus time to look around up top. If you would like to take the Magic Mile Ride, please notify My Chauffeur. All participant's must sign the Trailhead Release Agreement.
THE MAGIC MILE SKY RIDE is open Monday through Thursday, 8am-2pm, and Friday through Sunday, 8am-3pm.
$20 per person.
Or $69 per family of four.
Kids 6 and under are FREE.
The Bottom Line.
A ride up the Magic Mile Skyride is a lot of fun, and hiking around on the rocks at the upper end of the chair lift is great, too.
It’s worth the ride, just for the views on the way up and the way down.
If you take some time hiking at the top, you’ll find even more great places to take pictures, or just sit and relax, including Silcox Hut.
Few visitors venture very far into the scenic alpine landscape, that lured hotel builders here in the first place. The landscape here is entirely the product of recent volcanism. The silvery snags below the chairlift and along the trail to the Silcox Hut, are trees killed by the hot blast of a small eruption in the 1790s. The ground itself on this side of the mountain is a debris field from a much larger, Mount Saint Helens style blast, two thousand years ago. In that eruption, a gigantic avalanche wiped the mountain's slope clean, as far as Government Camp. Afterwards, a lava dome slowly rose to plug the vent. The dome remains as Crater Rock, the monolith looming in front of the actual summit.
Again, if you would like to take the Magic Mile Ride, please notify us ASAP, because we would have to arrange the tour to arrive at the lodge before the chairlift closes. All chairlift participant's must sign the Trailhead Release Agreement.
Back to Timberline Lodge Itineraries.
