Most skiers who come to enjoy Mt. Bachelor's superlative 365 inches of snow have no idea they are skiing down the side of a very active volcano! Geologists swear it is not going to go the way of its northern neighbor Mt. St. Helens, so there is no need to be distracted from the fantastic challenges the slopes provide to skiers of all age groups.
This mountain offers amazing expert runs such as The Outback and The Cirque. But if you're in the mood for some artificial challenges, you can go test your mettle at the massive superpipe built to Olympic specifications, 400 feet long with 17-foot walls. The trails are rated 15 percent for novice skiers, 25 percent for intermediates, 35 percent for advanced, and an impressive 25 percent for the top skiers. The mountain has six terrain park areas and if you can ever pull yourself away, you will definitely want to take the kids up to the eight-lane Snowblast Tubing Park! All of this is like a wintersports overload! The excellent ski school offers courses for kids starting at age four and going all the way up to three day packages for adults.
Unlike many ski resort dining options (which are often pricing themselves out of the reach for families), this ski area offers a wide range of delicious and affordable restaurants. Each of the mountain lodges are home to cafes, coffee houses, and other dining options including The Skiers Palate and Scapolo's are both slopeside favorites. Jake's Diner is famous for its 24-hour huge and low-priced breakfast; The Original Pancake House will serve you up a memorable stack; McGrath's Fish has many local seafood specialties.
The Oregon Trail of Dreams Training Camp is a place that neither you nor your children will ever forget. This is one of the rare opportunities in the Lower 48 to mush dogs that are champions in every possible way, as they are currently in training for the ultimate dog race in the world, the unbelievably tough and challenging Iditarod race in Alaska. After taking the dogs for a swift mush through the snow, you can head out to Sunriver or the Inn of the Seventh Mountain for snowmobiling, ice skating, sleigh rides, and horseback riding. Not all of the most exciting adventures in the area need to be outside, as you can drive about four miles south of Bend to the world-renowned High Desert Museum and take an educational and entertaining walk-through of the museum's dioramas of the Old West, gaze on a spectacular collection of wildlife art and view some very rare and precious Pre-Columbian Native American artifacts.
This is a radical and super-challenging Oregon resort with a total of 15 lifts, comprising of two tubing lifts, two magic lifts, three triple chairlifts, and seven super express quads. There 71 trails you can snowboard, with their longest run of 7,920 feet. The area receives 365 inches of powder a year, and the last few years have been even more than that.
When you’ve had your fill of the amazing natural features that Mount Bachelor has to offer, such as The Outback and The Cirque, you can go and have a go at a massive superpipe set to Olympic specifications, 400 feet long with 17-foot walls. Beginners should head to the Short Sands, to try out their four 10-foot roller jumps, two 15-foot true table jumps, ride on flat box, ride on flat box, and ride on flat rail. Next head over to the Pacific City and try out their 16-foot flat box, 16-foot flat rail, 16-foot down box, 20-foot down box, 10-foot true table jump, 15-foot step down jump, and 20-foot table top jump. For one step up from there, head over to The Point. This terrain area has a 20-foot down bar, a 20-foot down rail, 20-foo elbow rail, a lift tower flat box combo, a 30-foot double kink bar, a 30-foot double kink box, a 24-foot down bar, 32-foot down rail, 45-foot jump, 60-foot step over jump, and a 30-foot up tube. Got all that?
For ice skating, snowmobiling, sleigh rides and horseback riding, contact Sunriver and Inn of the Seventh Mountain. If you want to mush dogs that are truly champions in every way, The Oregon Trail of Dreams Training Camp can set you up with dogsled rides, featuring dogs that are training for the great Iditarod race in Alaska. If it’s really cold out and you want to stay indoors for a bit, head about four miles south of Bend to the famous High Desert Museum and enjoy their walk-through dioramas of the Old West, some spectacular wildlife art and lots of Pre-Columbian native American artifacts.
While in the area, check out The Castle Keep Lounge in the lower level of the West Village Lodge for the best après ski. Bend is a suds paradise with the Bend Brewing Company, Cascade Lakes Brewery, or the Deschutes Brewery. For more distilled spirits try the Astro Lounge, Martini Bar, or Twenty Eight. Ready to dance? Head directly to The Grove, for alternative live music, and Jokers that is primarily a Top 40 club. For a bit mellower music, try The Riverhouse, The Owl’s Nest Lounge, or The Shilo Restaurant and Lounge. Country & Western fans, both locals and tourists, throng to The Tumalo Feed Company.