Timberline Lodge Itineraries/Options
Suggested Itinerary #1 HIGHLIGHTS/ OPTIONS
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Jonsrud Viewpoint
Between Portland and Timberline Lodge, we may stop at Jonsrud Viewpoint. The viewpoint offers telescopes and expansive views of Mount Hood and the Sandy River Valley (pic right), 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." 20 minutes |
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Timberline Lodge...
has timbered villas and chalets aplenty. But what exactly makes a grand lodge? It should breathe an air of epic romance, a place where daily worries succumb to wild beauty and creature comforts. This retreat invokes the mythic best of the Northwest.
Timberline Lodge’s multi-story stone hearth—an immense, hexagonal furnace weighing 800,000 pounds—would be at home on the History Channel’s Modern Marvels, along with the rest of this mammoth Mount Hood snow fortress. Dedicated in 1937, Portland’s nearest (dearest) mountain lodge screams old-fashioned Oregon ingenuity. The Depression-era Works Progress Administration funded its local teams of weavers (who hand-loomed the curtains), artists (who lined its glass mosaics), and carpenters (who hewed beams big enough to hoist sails on the HMS Victory).
has timbered villas and chalets aplenty. But what exactly makes a grand lodge? It should breathe an air of epic romance, a place where daily worries succumb to wild beauty and creature comforts. This retreat invokes the mythic best of the Northwest.
Timberline Lodge’s multi-story stone hearth—an immense, hexagonal furnace weighing 800,000 pounds—would be at home on the History Channel’s Modern Marvels, along with the rest of this mammoth Mount Hood snow fortress. Dedicated in 1937, Portland’s nearest (dearest) mountain lodge screams old-fashioned Oregon ingenuity. The Depression-era Works Progress Administration funded its local teams of weavers (who hand-loomed the curtains), artists (who lined its glass mosaics), and carpenters (who hewed beams big enough to hoist sails on the HMS Victory).
Inside Timberline Lodge:
Cascadian architecture - 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 lodge.
Activities:
Learn more about Timberline Lodge
Dine at Timberline Lodge - (Vittles, can cost you—roughly $130 for a Cordon Bleu test-kitchen-level dinner for two in the Cascade Dining Room. Consider heading to Timberline’s semi-secret, closet-size Blue Ox for topping-heavy pizza.)
($17.95 per person | $13.95 Continental | $10.95 kids - Updated 01/22/2019)
(Adult $24.75 | Children 4-11 $11.50 | Children under 3 eat free - Updated 01/22/2019)
Menu's
Please inquire about tour start times to accommodate the breakfast or lunch buffet. If you would like the lunch or breakfast buffet, please notify My Chauffeur before your tour.
Monday - Thursday 2:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Friday - Sunday 10:30 am - 11:00 pm
Blue Ox Bar: Open weekends
11:00am - 8:00pm
~~Timberline's Après-Ski Dining Options - Ranked~~
Activities:
- Visit the Exhibition Center - Once inside the lodge, 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 voice of FDR 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
- Heidi and Bruno - Visit with Heidi and Bruno, Timberline's resident St. Bernards.
- Take a USFS Ranger Walk or smartphone audio tour - Join a U.S. Forest Service Ranger for a 30 minute tour of historic Timberline Lodge. Explore the rich history and art of the Lodge and all it has to offer. This elegant rustic hotel has become a grand expression of Northwest art. Meet at the U.S. Forest Service desk inside Timberline Lodge. When: Friday-Sunday (?) at 11:00, 1:00, and 2:00. Monday through Wednesday when Forest Service staff are present. Call the ranger station at 503-622-3191 to confirm hours & for more info.
Learn more about Timberline Lodge
Dine at Timberline Lodge - (Vittles, can cost you—roughly $130 for a Cordon Bleu test-kitchen-level dinner for two in the Cascade Dining Room. Consider heading to Timberline’s semi-secret, closet-size Blue Ox for topping-heavy pizza.)
- Cascade Dining Room - Spend the day in historic Timberline Lodge, marvel at the 96 ft. stone chimney while you read by the light of it's gigantic fireplace, soaking up the scenic history and enjoying a hearty breakfast buffet or "Taste of Oregon" lunch buffet* or fine-dining dinner in the Cascade Dining Room (reservations required) where you may want to sit at a window table so you can look south across the tops of the Cascade Mountains to Mt. Jefferson and Broken Top...The Cascade is casual by day, romantic by night--fine dining always. Enjoy the award winning wine list. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner 7 days a week.
($17.95 per person | $13.95 Continental | $10.95 kids - Updated 01/22/2019)
- Monday - Friday 7:30 am - 10:00 am
- Saturday - Sunday 7:30 am - 10:30 am
(Adult $24.75 | Children 4-11 $11.50 | Children under 3 eat free - Updated 01/22/2019)
- Monday - Friday 11:30 am - 2:00 pm
- Saturday - Sunday 11:30 am - 3:00 pm
- Sunday - Friday 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
- Saturday 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Menu's
Please inquire about tour start times to accommodate the breakfast or lunch buffet. If you would like the lunch or breakfast buffet, please notify My Chauffeur before your tour.
- Blue Ox or Ram's Head Bars - In the Blue Ox Bar next door to the Exhibition Center, the visitor drops back 70 years in time 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. Enjoy family-friendly casual food and drinks with stunning views of Mt. Hood and Mt. Jefferson at the Ram's Head Bar, uniquely located on the mezzanine (Timberline's living room). Relax and enjoy the heart of the lodge--gaze at the magnificence of this unique timber frame structure. Then consider some of the other activities (below) before you head back to Portland or to your lodging room, where you enjoy the sight and touch of the handcrafted furnishings while watching the soft flicker of the fire.
Monday - Thursday 2:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Friday - Sunday 10:30 am - 11:00 pm
Blue Ox Bar: Open weekends
11:00am - 8:00pm
~~Timberline's Après-Ski Dining Options - Ranked~~
@ Timberline Lodge
- Walk with Heidi (72 hours notice required)
- Visit the Gallery Gift Shop - Regional artists are featured along with books, fine gifts and collectable souvenirs.
- Visit the Wy'East Day Lodge - This lodge was opened in 1981 to provide modern skier services. In the summer, it's a great place to stop before or after your visit to Timberline lodge for food services, gift shops and rest rooms.
- 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
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The 'Magic Mile'
You can see the 'Magic Mile' here in the trees
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Magic MileThe Magic Mile is an aerial chairlift at Timberline Lodge ski area, Mount Hood, Oregon, U.S. It was named for its unique location above the tree line and for its original length. When constructed by Byron Riblet in 1938, it was the longest chairlift in existence, the second in the world to be built as a passenger chairlift, and the first to use metal towers. |
*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 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, Mt. St. 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. See Below.
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, Mt. St. 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. See Below.
- Hike the Mountaineer Trail - This is the highest elevation trail on the south side of Mt Hood and most of it is above tree line with outstanding views. Visitors can head west one mile to the old Timberline Cabin site and return on the Pacific Crest Trail for an easy 2 mile loop hike. Or for a more challenging 2.7 mile hike, continue up to the 7000' Silcox Hut and the top of the Magic Mile Ski lift, a 1000' elevation gain. The NW corner of the trail is the least visited and has wonderful alpine terrain. For the trail description and map, ask for the Mountaineer Trail #798 map at the visitor center in the main lobby - Hike to Silcox Hut. If you would like to take a hike, please notify My Chauffeur before your tour. Snow free July through October. Hike It. All hikers must sign the Trailhead Release Agreement.
- Winter Activities - Snowcat ride & snowshoeing - The private snowcat ride must be booked in advance and costs $500 for 1-12 persons unless you book one of their lodging rooms. 4:30pm or later daily...lasts about 1 hour. Snowshoeing video
- See Timberline Lodge Upcoming Special Events
- STAY OVERNIGHT at Timberline Lodge: All to say that staying at Timberline is like bunking in a super-cozy history museum. The price of sleeping in this creaky castle is steep however: $360 and up for a fireplace room. Vittles, too, will cost you—roughly $130 for a Cordon Bleu test-kitchen-level dinner for two in the Cascade Dining Room. Consider, instead, staying in a $150 “chalet bunk room” (or less than $150 for the 'Mid-week Fall Special'; 50% OFF through mid-December) and head to Timberline’s semi-secret, closet-size Blue Ox for topping-heavy pizza. Still, there’s nothing quite like escaping a high-alpine storm through Timberline’s snow tunnel, then opening those heavy, mosaic-fitted doors to greet a toasty fire. And waking up to Hood’s south face beaming through your window? Timeless. Government Camp, Ore., winter rates from $127.50–$360 + room tax More Lodging Info
- See more at: http://www.timberlinelodge.com/lodging/historic-lodge-rooms/#sthash.eQfUiJj4.dpuf
- Inside the lodge or the spectacular Silcox Hut.
- Holidays at Timberline
NOTICE: To do any or all of the following activities, you should notify My Chauffeur before your tour:
OTHER OPTIONS:
- Stop at and/or hike Trillium Lake - Hike It
- Take a USFS Ranger Walk
- 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 above or options below
OTHER OPTIONS:
- Winemaker's Dinner Series @ Silcox Hut & other culinary events - You'll find one-of-a-kind dining experiences like the exclusive Winemaker's Dinner Series, which pairs a six-course meal with Oregon wines high above the main lodge in the rustic Silcox Hut.
- Hike Mt. Hood - http://www.myoregon.com/Hike_Timberline_Lodge
- Mt. Hood Brewing Co. - On your next mountain adventure, stop in and enjoy the family-friendly, casual ambiance and home of their premier handcrafted ales and hearty fare like Tillamook cheddar burgers and beer-battered fish & chips, in Government Camp.
- Barlow Trail Roadhouse - From the same era as Tad’s, this Welches roadhouse first opened in 1926 to feed travelers coming around the south side of Mt. Hood. Stop for a breakfast of Avalanche Biscuits and Gravy or the Volcano Scramble.
- Barlow Pass/Pioneer Women's Grave
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Trillium Lake
The historic Barlow Rd., the Oregon Trail's final leg, leads to Trillium Lake (right) for photo ops or stroll the 2-mile shoreline trail to enjoy reflections of Mt Hood (left). 2 mile hike. 1 hour. $5 day-use fee. If you would like to take this hike, please let us know ahead of time. |
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Little ZigZag Falls
This FAN type falls descends from the stream above and is similar to a horsetail type but gets broader and "fans out" at the bottom. Fairy Falls in the Gorge is another good example. This trail (.5 miles one-way) follows the Little Zigzag River upstream to the trails end at the Falls. Enjoy a cool and pleasant hike on hot summer Days. .4 mile hike one-way. 1 hour. Forest Pass required. If you would like to take this hike, please let us know ahead of time. |
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Mirror Lake
Views of Mt Hood from the small back country Mirror Lake are the big draw here. It's a classic glacial cirque lake. The steep slopes south and SW of the lake are the glacial cirque headwall. This trail is heavily visited. 1.9 mile hike one-way. 2 hours. No pass required. If you would like to take this hike, please let us know ahead of time. |
By Chris Murphy - https://www.flickr.com/photos/chrismurf/192377836/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1331010
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Barlow Road @ Barlow Pass
The Barlow Road (at inception, Mount Hood Road) is a historic road in Oregon near Timberline Lodge. It was built in 1846 by Sam Barlow and Philip Foster, with authorization of the Provisional Legislature of Oregon, and served as the last overland segment of the Oregon Trail. Its construction allowed covered wagons to cross the Cascade Range and reach the Willamette Valley, which had previously been nearly impossible. Even so, it was by far the most harrowing 100 miles (160 km) of the nearly 2,000-mile (3,200 km) Oregon Trail. |
