Family Snow Play at Old Man Pass
One of our favorite winter activities is to head up Mt. Hood for some snowplay - this includes sledding, snowshoeing, igloo building, angel making and so on. There are countless areas to go in Hoodland but we tend to head out to the snoparks that serve the Barlow Trail and Trillium Lake basin.
We don't believe in paying to sled - because we're old-fashioned and cheap - so we park at the Government Camp Maintenance Station Sno-Park and sled on the hill right at the Hemlock trailhead. After some runs on that hill, we head down the trail to a meadow for snow angel making and then to another hill shortly past the junction of the Barlow Trail and Hemlock trail. This is where our Extreme Ergo Sledding took place.
You can continue down the Barlow Trail to Summit Meadows and onto the Trillium Lake Loop, which is very level and great for family snowshoeing. Hau's post on this area - and what to bring- is a great primer to review before heading out (and outlines hitting the loop from the Trillium Lake Sno-Park instead).
BUT if you are interested in something more scenic and remote, head over the river to the Old Man Pass area of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. They have a series of scenic and level loops that are groomed and perfect for family snow play. They also have a great sledding hill just off the parking lot.
This weekend will be a great time to check out this winter recreation area because their annual Winterfest is Saturday, January 26, 9 a.m.—4 p.m. Planned activities include a snowshoe race, x-country skiing/snowshoe instruction, search and rescue survival info and demonstrations, and refreshments.
Travel Tips: If you head up to Old Man Pass, make sure you have all your gas and food needs covered before you leave Stevenson, WA - this is the closest "major" town. Go prepared for changes in weather conditions - bring chains and a shovel just in case you need to dig the car out. Travel time from Portland to Old Man Pass is comparable to traveling to Timberline. Oregon Sno Park Passes are valid in WA or you can pick up a Washington Sno-Park pass in Stevenson on the way (this is an update to what I posted earlier). Enjoy!
Thank you, thank you for this link. We have just moved across the river to Ridgefield, we can't find our ski trails books, and have been wondering what's near by but too busy and distracted to do the research. Armed with this info, we will go out to play.
Any other mamas in Clark County looking for ski partners? I would love to get out more than I do, am up for just about anything, and am available mid-week. Let's go play in the snow!!
Posted by: abby | January 24, 2008 at 09:23 PM
Actually, Washington DOES honor sno-park permits for Oregon (as long as your car has Oregon plates) - see http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/DMV/vehicle/sno_park_permits.shtml
Posted by: Lucy | January 25, 2008 at 12:40 PM
Thanks for the tip Lucy!
Sorry to say that I was misinformed at the visitor center!
AND it turns out that Washington Pass are valid at Oregon parks as well, see:
http://www.parks.wa.gov/winter/permits.asp
I am updating the post about this.
Posted by: Milagros | January 25, 2008 at 12:49 PM
Get your sledges out! Get on the slopes!
Posted by: Sledges | October 04, 2010 at 06:49 AM