Mt. Hood Loop Tour

MtHoodTour.com
If you're skipping the "loop" tour and instead going straight to Timberline Lodge, skip to "2nd Part" (below).
Take a tour to one of the most breathtaking places in America--A trip to the top of Mt. Hood to Timberline Lodge.
The Mt. Hood Loop tour is your escape to Mt. Hood--adventures, farm to table flavors, educational scenic touring & specially crafted by My Chauffeur to showcase Mt. Hood's unparalleled beauty.
Adventure Package starts at $100*
See & Learn About:
  • One of the world's most scenic highway loops
  • The gorge & waterfall route (Columbia R. Gorge tour) formed by tectonic uplift and volcanism and cut by massive historic floods along Interstate I-84 and the historic Columbia River Gorge Highway, the "King of Roads"
  • The fault-and volcano-bounded Hood River Valley and up the flanks of Mount Hood to the 'top' (pictured right).
  • Between Hood River and Timberline Lodge, we may stop at Panorama Point in Hood River and Horkelia Meadow (in the early Summer for Conifer Forests and wildflowers. Blue Stickseed, Tawny Horkelia, Larkspur, Lupine, Scarlet Gilia, Sticky currant and Vanilla Leaf are just a few that are view-able. We'll also see Western Larch (Oregon’s only deciduous conifer), Englemann spruce, Ponderosa pine, Lodgepole pine, White pine and raptors in this 'Fire Forest'.).
  • Between Portland and Timberline Lodge, we may stop at  Jonsrud Viewpoint (pic right). The viewpoint offers telescopes and expansive views of Mount Hood and the Sandy River Valley, as well as the "Devil's Backbone," a ridge named by pioneers who were traveling on the Barlow Trail near the end of the Oregon Trail. The site has been considered one of the "best views in Oregon."*
  • Government Camp - Formerly a camp on the old Barlow Rd. Built in 1846 by pioneers Samuel Barlow and Philip Foster, the Historic Barlow Road once served as the final overland leg of the Oregon Trail for settlers to the Willamette Valley—an alternative to rafting one’s belongings down the wild and deadly Columbia Cascade rapids. Sam Barlow used to charge pioneers $5 a wagon to cross, about $183 today. Government Camp was named in 1845 when US cavalry troops were forced to abandon wagons and supplies here due to heavy snows.
  • ​Timberline Lodge (below)​
*By Sandy Historical Society - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/byways/photos/61568, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=715416
Attribution: Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives
Devil's Backbone from Jonsrud Viewpoint
"Jonsrud Viewpoint - 202C" by Mt. Hood Territory is licensed under CC BY 2.0

2nd Part

Timberline Lodge. . . a living museum with some of the most beautiful and historically significant art and craftwork in the nation."
We have built lodges in national parks and other recreational areas, but nothing like this..."
Harry Hopkins, WPA administrator

"Timberline Lodge...

is Oregon's Year-Round Playground & the beloved Oregon Icon"
Margery Hoffman Smith integrated and elaborated on the lodge's 3 main themes (Pioneers, Indian motifs and local wildlife), creating harmony among Timberline's structure, its art, and its furnishings, which still delights visitors and has transformed the building into a beloved Oregon icon"
Once inside Timberline Lodge (pictures right), we'll see:
NATIVE MATERIALS AND OLD WORLD QUALITY create a unique and truly regional style known as Cascadian. Three decorative themes including wildlife, Native American, and pioneer appear throughout.
The Exhibition Center - The once-damp, black hole of the Lodge's lower level is now the airy Exhibition Center.
  • Blue Gentian guest room - Here a visitor can stop the clock as one of the Center's highlights is the life-size replica of the popular Blue Gentian guest room. The viewer looks into this room through an outside window and sees an occupied hotel room in 1937 with period music and the chair of FDR and his voice coming from the 1930s radio on the bedside table.
  • The Builders of Timberline Video - The Center in the Barlow Room describes (via a 30 minute continuous loop video) the creation of Timberline Lodge depicting the 1930s WPA worker's erecting the lodge by hand and, using modern audio and visual technology, re-creates the Great Depression and the architecture, engineering and art created in the Northwest during the 1930s. Topics that will be discussed include: WPA history, Lodge History, Ski History and a general overview of the building of Timberline Lodge. Learn the History​
  • Tour Details
​Heidi and Bruno - Visit with Heidi and Bruno, Timberline's resident St. Bernards.
​Take the Magic Mile Chairlift Ride all the way to 'The Top'! (pictured right; No Skies Required) - Details
USFS Nature or Interpretive Tour - Learn about the flora, fauna, and geology of Mt. Hood on a nature hike with a USFS guide or alternatively, learn about the building of the Timberline Lodge on an interpretive tour inside the lodge.  $0-$4 per person
Plus:
  • Gourmet Lunches
  • Dining at one of the country's best small places for food lovers; Hood River's Oak Street or Timberline Lodge's 3 dining options including a hearty breakfast or lunch buffet in the Cascade Dining Room (picture right) or casual food and drinks with stunning views of Mt. Hood and Mt. Jefferson at the Ram's Head Bar (right). In the hidden Blue Ox  Bar (pictured right) the visitor drops back 70 years in time sitting in the heavy rustic furniture and viewing the glass murals of legendary Paul Bunyan and Babe the blue ox while enjoying hand-tossed pizza or deli sandwich and a pint from Mt. Hood Brewing Company.
  • Book an overnight stay @ Timberline Lodge**
  • More about Timberline Lodge itinerary

Timberline Lodge - The Living New Deal

Learn more about Timberline Lodge
​
NOTICE: To do any or all of the following activities, you should notify My Chauffeur before your tour:
  • Stop at or hike Trillium Lake (right) - Hike It
@ Timberline Lodge
  • Take a USFS Ranger Walk inside the lodge
  • Lunch or breakfast buffet
  • Magic Mile Chairlift Ride
  • Hike the Mountaineer Trail
  • Walk with Heidi (72 hours notice required)
  • Snowcat Ride or other activity
  • Overnight stay at Timberline
  • Any activity within the Special Events section
 ​*Pricing starting at $100-$160 per person is for the standard full-day (6-10 hours) tour with 4+ people in your group. The cost is higher with less than 4 persons or for extended tour lengths and less for large groups of 6+ ppl. Call to confirm pricing. Pricing may change without notice. 
**Book an overnight stay @ Timberline Lodge - Pricing stays the same except for the addition of your guides private room & meals (about $200) and the following days costs.
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"...one of the most scenic "loop" trips in the United States"
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Fireplace at Timberline Lodge, showing fire screen made from tire chains and andirons forged from old railroad rails. Author: George Showman from Brooklyn, USA
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SILCOX HUT: Author: Mt. Hood Territory
...Timberline amphitheater (below) is the most beautiful theater in the world...for what theater in the world, even on Mars, could duplicate your backdrop of Mt. Jefferson marked with pine"
Hallie Flanagan, director of the Federal Theater Project
Picture
Source: ttp://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/or0380.photos.044891p/
Trillium Lake - Author: Jeffhollett​
Weather  |  Webcam
. . .it must be as beautiful both inside and out as the beautiful surroundings in which it stands, and it truly turned out just that way."
The planners and architects of Timberline Lodge

Wintertime Mt. Hood

Mt. Hood/Timberline Lodge Winter Excursion
This is a year-round service, available in the Summer & Winter.
Check out the Road Conditions/forecast
​** Photos - Wikimedia GNU Free Documentation License applies.
​My Chauffeur Office Hours - Daily 7am - 9pm (Pacific Time)
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