Mount Hood Snow Tour from Portland

Mount Hood is about ninety minutes from downtown Portland, and in winter that ninety minutes is the whole problem. The mountain is the easy part. Getting up there, parking, and getting home again after a long day in the snow is what makes people put the trip off.

Our Mount Hood snow tour removes all of it. A chauffeur drives, the vehicle waits while you are on the mountain, and you come back down at whatever time suits you rather than whatever time the light and the roads allow.

Why not just drive yourself

Four reasons, and every one of them is the reason people call us in January.

The road. US 26 climbs steadily and conditions change fast. Traction tyre and chain requirements go up with little warning, and fitting chains at the roadside in the dark, in the cold, with a queue behind you, is nobody's idea of a good start to the day.

The parking. Timberline and Skibowl lots fill early on a clear weekend, and the walk from wherever you eventually leave the car is longer than you want it to be in ski boots.

The permit. Oregon requires a Sno-Park permit to park at designated sno-parks between November and April, which catches out most visitors and a fair number of locals.

And the drive home. After a full day on the snow, the return leg is downhill, in the dark, on a road that has been snowing on and off since lunch, with everybody in the car tired. That is the part of the day worth handing to somebody else.

What the day looks like

We build the trip around what your group wants rather than a fixed route.

Most days start with a pickup from your home or hotel in the Portland area and a straight run out on US 26 through the forest. From there it depends on you.

Timberline Lodge sits at six thousand feet and is worth the stop whether or not anybody is skiing. Built in the 1930s and still working as a lodge, its exterior is familiar to anyone who has seen The Shining. The views on a clear day run out across the Cascades.

Government Camp is the village at the base and the natural place for lunch, a drink, or an hour out of the cold. Skibowl and Timberline are both close by for skiing, snowboarding and tubing.

Trillium Lake gives the postcard view of the mountain reflected in the water, and in winter it becomes a snowshoe and cross country area rather than a drive up viewpoint.

Tell us what you want from the day and we will put the running order together, including how long you want at each stop.

The vehicles

Snow tours are usually booked on an SUV, and for good reason. The Cadillac Escalade and GMC Yukon XL carry up to six passengers with room for ski gear, boards, boots and bags, which a sedan does not.

For larger groups the Mercedes Sprinter van keeps everyone in one vehicle, with proper luggage space for a full set of equipment. On a mountain day that matters more than usual: one vehicle means one arrival, one departure, and one conversation on the way home rather than three separate cars trying to stay together on a winter road.

Every vehicle is a recent model and maintained to the same standard. Tell us the party size and what equipment you are bringing, and we will match the vehicle to it.

The chauffeurs

Mountain driving in winter is a different job from driving in the city, and it is the reason this trip is worth booking rather than improvising.

Our chauffeurs are licensed, background checked and experienced, and they know the route in all conditions. They know where the road tends to hold ice, where the traffic backs up on a Saturday morning, and when to leave the mountain to stay ahead of the weather rather than behind it.

They are also the person who deals with the road while your group deals with nothing.

When to go

The snow season on Mount Hood typically runs from late autumn well into spring, and Timberline holds snow later than anywhere else in the region.

Weekends are busiest, so an early start makes a real difference to both the roads and the parking. Midweek is quieter throughout. If your group is flexible on the day, we will tell you which one is likely to be the better experience.

Book a Mount Hood snow tour

Snow tours are booked hourly, since the day rarely runs exactly to plan and hourly service lets it move without anything being rebooked.

Tell us the date, the pickup address, the number of passengers, what equipment you are bringing and roughly how long you want to be out. We will confirm the vehicle, the hours and the price.

If the weather looks like it will make the trip miserable rather than memorable, we will say so. A tour on the wrong day is worse than a tour a week later.