In the summertime, visitors to Oregon ski areas are rewarded with fresh air, high alpine vistas and plenty of recreational opportunities, including world-class mountain biking. The biking opportunities range from chairlift-accessed downhill trails to vast networks of cross-country trails. The number of ski areas offering mountain biking is growing, with Mt. Bachelor, Anthony Lakes Mountain Resort and Timberline Lodge & Ski Area continually expanding their terrain and offerings (Editor’s note: Mountain biking is on hold at Mt. Hood Skibowl for the summer of 2022).
The range of offerings at these ski areas includes lessons, bike rentals, as well as camps for kids and adults. Whether you’re new to downhill biking or are an advanced rider looking for challenging freestyle terrain there’s something for everyone at Oregon’s summer mountain resorts.
Mt. Bachelor
Mt. Bachelor’s summer season of chairlift-accessed mountain biking includes two lifts accessing thirteen-plus miles of trails. Pine Marten lift drops riders on the uppermost mountain’s intermediate and advanced terrain, with the lift running from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The beginner terrain on Little Pine will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Mt. Bachelor Bike Park offers lift served access trails built for riders of all ability levels with Little Pine accessing beginner and intermediate trails, and Pine Marten Express transporting riders and their bikes to more challenging trails through rugged hillsides and forested banked turns.
The advanced Redline jump line trail is an exciting downhill flow trail for advanced riders with minimal pedaling and a variety of berm jumps, rollers, and table tops.
In addition to a repair shop, the mountain also offers a full fleet of rental bikes. Kids and teens are invited to sign up for the popular five-day or two-day Gravity Bike Camps, you can also test your skills in the Friday night Gravity Race series. The mountain offers lift tickets for all-mountain access as well as limited lower mountain access for beginners, season passes are also available through the Mt. Bachelor website.
Timberline Lodge & Ski Area
The lift-assisted Timberline Bike Park offers 7-10 miles of green, blue, and black trails including a skills park, trail system, natural and man-made features and jump lines. The park is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. conditions permitting. The resort also offers mountain bike rentals, lessons and bike tours. In addition to private lessons for all ages, Timberline is also offering bike camps for youth age 8–16 during the month of August.
The Palmer Glacier snowfield allows Timberline to keep the upper lifts spinning throughout the summer for skiers and snowboarders. But those in the know, also head up to Timberline to take advantage of the U.S. Forest Service Timberline to Town trail, a five-and-a-half mile ride down to the town of Government Camp, which also connects to the 8-mile-long Pioneer Bridle Trail, for another incredible single-track descent into the town of Rhododendron. Riders will need to set up a car shuttle or use the Mt. Hood Express, which is outfitted with a bike rack during the summer months. A two-dollar one-way fare will get you back up to Timberline.
Anthony Lakes Mountain Resort
At Anthony Lakes, you’ll be earning your turns to access the great network of mountain biking trails. The trail system includes over 8 miles of singletrack winding around the resort following the winter Nordic ski corridors. You’ll also find trails climbing up 1,000-foot to the summit with forested single track and rugged descents. In 2020 the resort introduced the new Broadway Flow Trail, a three-mile trail featuring flowing downhill and banked turns for all levels of riders.
Mt. Hood Skibowl
[Editor’s note: Operations suspended for summer 2022]
Mt. Hood Skibowl has bragging rights as one of the first resorts in the nation to offer chairlift-assisted mountain biking. Skibowl features a network of over 40 miles of mapped beginner, intermediate and advanced dirt trails with over 1,500 vertical drop accessed by a network of four chairlifts. Rental bikes are available in the Skibowl base area, where you’ll also be able to purchase a lift ticket. In addition to the single-track trails, Skibowl has a Freeride Mountain Bike Park complete with bridges, berms and jumps for a range of ability levels, and a mountain bike skills park to ease into freestyle biking features.
Try out the Sunrise Trail, a 2.7 mile-long single-track flow trail. The Lower half is accessible everyday from the Lower Bowl Skychair, with the upper 1.5 miles accessible on weekends from the Upper Bowl Skychair. In addition to incredible terrain, the Sunrise Trail offers incredible viewpoints along the way looking out over Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Hood and the village of Government Camp.
