Mt. Hood Territory - Oregon

 Mt Hood - Oregon

Rising 11,239 feet Mount Hood and its snow covered peak is home to twelve glaciers.  It is the highest mountain in Oregon and the fourth highest in the Cascade Range.  Mount Hood is considered to be the most likely to have volcanic activity, though based in its history, an explosive eruption is unlikely, but not impossible.  The mountain is sometimes informally described as “dormant”.

Timberline Lodge is a National Historic Landmark and located on the southern flank of the mountain just below Palmer Glacier.

There are 6 ski areas, Timberline, Mount Hood Meadows, Ski Bowl, Cooper Spur, Snow Bunny and Summit on the mountain.  They total over 4,600 acres of skiable terrain.  Timberline offers the only year-round lift-served skiing in North America.

Mount Hood is part of the Mount Hood National Forest, which has 1.067 million acres, 4 designated wilderness areas totaling 189,200 acres and more than 1,200 miles of hiking trails.

The Columbia River George is one of the most beautiful sites for observing nature whether it is by hiking or driving or skiing. 

The run-off from Mt. Hood’s volcanic slopes makes the soil in the valley a perfect place for fruit-growing with apricots, apples, blueberries, pears and wine grapes. 

In the area are historical sites to visit, quaint shops and restaurants to enjoy, the smells and sights of the lushness of the territory and all that it has to offer.  The trip to the Mt. Hood area will be a memory of a lifetime and most likely draw you back time after time.

The Clackamas River flows down through the center of the Mt. Hood Territory and the Oak Grove Fork branches off and runs into Timothy Lake at the eastern edge of the Territory.  There are campgrounds, as remote as you would like, there is kayaking, canoeing, and whitewater paddlers for your entertainment.  If you want to fish, the fish often rise for ease of fishing and the nights are dreamy and quiet.  Pretty hard to beat that combination!

Location: Since the area is over 1,000,000 acres in size you can get there from a number of different locations.  One option is to take Highway 26 east from the Portland area.  Stop in at any one of the Visitor Information Centers from Sandy to Government Camp and talk with the area experts or pick up as much information as you could possibly want to take with you.  This route will take you to Mt. Hood through beautiful mountain territory.

You can also start your journey on I-5, exit at #283 and stop at the Visitor Information Center in Wilsonville for information about the area from this direction.