The Hood River Fruit Loop is the best day trip you can make from our Mt. Hood cabin, and we say that as people who would happily never leave the hot tub. It's about an hour and fifteen minutes from Welches over Bennett Pass, the drive itself is the second-best part, and you come home with more pears than any household can eat. Here's the version we actually do.
The drive out
Take Hwy 26 east past Government Camp, then turn north onto Hwy 35. This is the back way to Hood River and the whole reason to go. You climb over Bennett Pass, pass the White River viewpoint (stop, it's Mt. Hood's best profile from a paved road), then drop for miles through forest into the upper Hood River Valley. Somewhere around Parkdale the trees turn into orchards and the mountain sits right behind them. In spring it's blossom, in fall it's red apples on the branch. Either way, you'll pull over more than once.
Fill up in Sandy or Welches before you leave. There's no gas between Government Camp and Parkdale, and Parkdale's is not cheap.
What's ripe when
The Fruit Loop is a 35-mile signed route through about 30 farms, stands, wineries, and cideries. What you'll find depends on the month:
- April: blossom season. Nothing to pick, everything to photograph. The Blossom Fest weekend gets busy.
- Late June to July: cherries and berries. U-pick cherries are the family favorite, and the season is short.
- August: peaches, nectarines, early apples, lavender in full bloom.
- September to October: the big one. Pears (Hood River grows more Anjou pears than anywhere in the country), dozens of apple varieties, pumpkins, cider, and the harvest fest in mid-October.
- November: most stands close after the second or third weekend. Call ahead.
Stops we keep going back to
Kiyokawa Family Orchards in Parkdale. Over a hundred varieties of apples and pears, a huge u-pick, and a stand where you can taste before you buy. Come here first, because you'll want to compare everything else to it.
Draper Girls Country Farm. Fresh-pressed cider, u-pick, goats, and a view of the mountain from the parking lot that makes people forget where they parked.
Mt. View Orchards. Good for kids, good for cider, and a spot on the lawn to eat lunch with the mountain right there.
Packer Orchards and Bakery. Come for the fruit, leave with the giant cookies and the pie. This is not a suggestion.
Hood River Lavender Farms. Best in July and August. Bring a hat.
A cidery. Fox-Tail, Crush, and others along the loop pour flights, and the orchard settings are half the appeal. Designated driver required, which is the price of doing this with friends.
Hood River itself
Once you finish the loop, drop into town. Oak Street has good coffee, a great bookstore, and gear shops for the windsurfing crowd. For lunch or an early dinner, pFriem at the waterfront is the reliable pick, with an outdoor patio and a lawn where the dog can flop while you watch kiteboarders. If you have kids or a train nerd in the car, check the Mt. Hood Railroad schedule; it runs seasonal excursions up the valley.
Dogs on the loop
Most stands are fine with a leashed, well-behaved dog outdoors, and a few have water bowls out. Not all allow dogs in the u-pick rows, so ask at the counter. Keep them out of the goat pens. The waterfront park in Hood River has an off-leash area if they need to run before the drive home.
Timing and traffic
October weekends are the busiest by far, especially the harvest fest weekend and anything with sunshine. Leave the cabin by 9, be at the first stand when it opens, and you'll have a couple of quiet hours before the Portland crowds arrive around noon. Weekdays in any season are gloriously empty. Coming home, Hwy 35 has almost no traffic, but the light through the pass late in the day is worth slowing down for anyway.
One weather note: Bennett Pass tops 4,600 feet. Early snow in October or late snow in April is possible. Check ODOT TripCheck before you leave, and carry chains from mid-October on.
Back at the cabin
This is where the plan pays off. Unload a box of pears, put the cider in the fridge, and get in the hot tub at Wildwood Basecamp while someone makes a galette with the apples you bought too many of. The full kitchen matters on a day like this. For more ideas around the mountain, our Mt. Hood things-to-do page covers lakes, trails, and where to eat in Government Camp, and our Mt. Hood rentals page shows what's open for the fall weekends.
Go for the fruit. Stay for the mountain. Eat the pie in the car.