5 Favorite Oregon Winter Trips

November 13, 2015 (Updated December 19, 2015)
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Oregon has more outdoor winter fun than you can shake a ski pole at. Here are some of our favorite ways to get out and play when the snow starts falling.

Trail Time: For family-friendly, go-at-your-own-pace winter fun, check out Oregon’s cross-country skiing. Established trails leave from sno parks on Mt. Hood, near Mt. Bachelor and outside of the town of Ashland. Some are dog friendly, and there are routes to suit all ability levels. (Just don’t forget the hot chocolate.)

Mountain Majesty: The wintry beauty of the Wallowa Mountains inspired local photographer Joe Whittle to create his Wallowa Winter Wonderland photo essay. His images of burly bighorn sheep, icy Wallowa Lake, the snow-covered Eagle Cap Wilderness and the Eagle Cap Extreme Sled Dog Race might just inspire your own pilgrimage to Oregon’s “Little Switzerland.”

Fat Tire Fun: In a state as bike-crazy as Oregon, it’s fitting that the latest two-wheeled craze has rolled across our borders. Introducing fat biking, mountain biking’s snow-loving cousin. Our story about Bend-based Cog Wild Bicycle Tours will get you stoked for a fat ride through the snow.

Feathered Friends: The winter season offers great access to bird watching as migrating and overwintering species settle into the marshes, coastline and lakes of Oregon. This winter birding trip takes you from Sauvie Island to Klamath Wildlife Refuge to Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Swinging Slopeside: For some good old-fashioned alpine turns, visit one of Oregon’s fabulous ski resorts. Take a tour of Mt. Bachelor, a great example of how Oregon resorts offer terrain to please everyone from the smallest of skiers to black diamond daredevils. Point ’em and go!

About The
Author

Eileen Garvin
Eileen Garvin lives and writes in Hood River. When she’s not hunched over her keyboard or digging in the garden, you can find her mountain biking, kiteboarding, hiking, skiing or camping somewhere in Oregon.