A Timberline Lodge visit is the one thing every Mt. Hood guest should do, whether or not they ski. The lodge was built by hand between 1936 and 1938 by Works Progress Administration crews, dedicated by Franklin Roosevelt, and it still runs as a working hotel at nearly 6,000 feet on the mountain's south side. It is also a National Historic Landmark you can wander through for free. Here is how to make the most of a few hours there.
Getting up the hill
Timberline Road leaves Highway 26 at Government Camp and climbs six miles to the lodge. From Wildwood Basecamp in Mt. Hood Village it is about 35 minutes. Parking is free. In winter the road is plowed constantly but can be icy; Oregon requires you to carry chains or have traction tires on Highway 26 from November through March, and the road up to the lodge is where you may actually need them. Check the Timberline webcam and TripCheck before you leave. On big snow weekends the lots fill by mid-morning.
The building is the attraction
Walk in the main entrance and stop. The head house is a hexagonal room built around a stone chimney that rises through three floors, with hand-carved beams and iron work made on site. Almost everything you touch was made by WPA craftspeople: the newel posts carved into animals, the hand-hooked rugs, the wrought-iron door handles shaped like ram heads, the furniture built from salvaged timber.
Head downstairs to the exhibition center on the ground floor for the history: photos of the crews, the original blueprints, and the story of how a Depression-era jobs program produced one of the most beautiful buildings in the Northwest. Forest Service staff and volunteers often lead short free tours; ask at the desk.
Yes, the exterior was used in The Shining. No, the interior was not; that was a set. The staff have heard every joke. Room 217 does not exist here; the hotel has a 217 only because the film's producers asked them not to use it, and they used it anyway. Ask nicely and someone will tell you the story.
Eating and drinking
The Ram's Head Bar on the mezzanine is the move for a non-guest: big windows facing south to Mt. Jefferson, a fireplace, decent beer, and a menu of soups and sandwiches. The Cascade Dining Room downstairs does a more formal dinner and a well-known breakfast buffet; reservations help, especially in winter. There is also a casual grab-and-go in the day lodge next door during ski season. Prices are mountain prices. Bring snacks if you are on a budget and just have a beer for the view.
Outside the lodge
Walk behind the building to the Timberline Trail, the 40-mile loop around the mountain. You do not need to do 40 miles. In summer:
- Silcox Hut sits a thousand feet above the lodge; the Magic Mile chairlift runs for sightseers on summer weekends and takes you up in ten minutes. Wildflower meadows and a view to Jefferson, the Three Sisters, and on a clear day, Mt. Shasta.
- Zigzag Canyon overlook is about 2.3 miles west on the Timberline Trail, gently rolling, then a sudden 700-foot drop-off into a canyon carved by the Zigzag Glacier's meltwater. Roughly 4.5 miles round trip, mostly moderate. Bring water; there is no shade.
Snow lingers on the upper trail into July. Dogs are allowed on the trail on leash but not on the lift or inside.
Winter at the lodge
Timberline skis nearly year-round thanks to the Palmer snowfield, and the lodge in winter is at its most romantic: snow to the second-floor windows some years, a fire going, skiers stomping in. If you are not skiing, come up anyway for lunch and the scene. Then head back down to Government Camp for sledding and tubing with the kids; the lodge itself does not have a sledding hill.
Tips
- Weekday mornings are calm. Saturday afternoons in February are not.
- The weather at 6,000 feet is its own thing. Bring a jacket in August.
- There is no cell service worth mentioning. The lodge has WiFi in the public areas.
- Pair it with Trillium Lake ten minutes down the hill for the reflection view of where you just were.
Our Mt. Hood things-to-do page covers the rest of the corridor. But start here. Stand in the head house, look up the chimney, and think about the people who built it by hand in the snow for a paycheck. It changes how the rest of the mountain feels.