[Pigpen]

Hey all,
Never been boarding in OR yet, and planning a spring trip out the for my spring break (March 14-22). Couple questions.
Which is better overall, Mt Bachelor or Mt Hood? The girlfriend will be coming with (she knows how to board). I do park but she doesn't. So looking for good terrain and a lot of side kickers if possible!
I've read to stay in Bend if going to Bachelor, and Government Camp if going to Hood. Also, what is Ski Bowl in Gov Camp?
Girlfriend would like to do a little shopping, just ski resort kinda shopping. And some cool resort bars would be cool, with a couple things to do.
Any info is appreciated! Thanks!
Jordan

 

[lab49232]

Hey all,
Never been boarding in OR yet, and planning a spring trip out the for my spring break (March 14-22). Couple questions.
Which is better overall, Mt Bachelor or Mt Hood? The girlfriend will be coming with (she knows how to board). I do park but she doesn't. So looking for good terrain and a lot of side kickers if possible!
I've read to stay in Bend if going to Bachelor, and Government Camp if going to Hood. Also, what is Ski Bowl in Gov Camp?
Girlfriend would like to do a little shopping, just ski resort kinda shopping. And some cool resort bars would be cool, with a couple things to do.
Any info is appreciated! Thanks!
Jordan

It's even a question based on what you're looking for. Go to Bachelor. HOod is 100% bare bones purely there for riding. No shops, real lodge, or anything. Bachelor is a resort. Govy is basically a campground with one bar. Don't get me wrong it's great and I love Hood but with the GF it has nothing to really offer.

Ski bowl is a fun resort right at Govy that has some of the best terrain on the mountain. However it's super low so it doesn't get nearly the amount or quality of snow as Meadows or Timberline. That being said it had the most night skiing in NA but again super old, all slow 2 person lifts but a fun place for locals. Not a destination ski resort place though.

 

[Argo]

There is no "resort" type shopping in either place. Of the two I would pick bachelor. Bend is an awesome town and bachelor has great terrain and parks. If you do go to mt hood, hit up mt hood meadows. Government camp is a cool town but it is not a resort by any means. Timberline is a cool place to visit and even to stay there. If you stay in govy, tline is 10 minutes up the road and meadows is too. Ski bowl is right in town, biggest night riding area in North America and great terrain if you get it in a heavy snow cycle.

Portland is a fun town but it's about an hour away. Bend is like 20 minutes to bachelor and there is a great bar scene there and some shopping to do, not resort type though.....

Bachelor isn't a resort..... None of the options are resorts... Bachelor definitely has more going on at the base though!

 

[lab49232]

Bachelor isn't a resort..... None of the options are resorts... Bachelor definitely has more going on at the base though!

This is true, Bachelor is as close to a resort as you get in Oregon but still not if you compare it to Colorado and such. The PNW is really just not a resort area, but rather a "your here to ride so go ride" kind of place. However Bend is close enough that it can almost count as part of Bachelor and has ski shops, bars, etc. etc. Portland is a hell of a drive, especially on weekends with traffic from Meadows. You won't really find a single real resort style ski shop within an hour of Hood either.

 

[Argo]

Bachelor has a nice big shop at the base to spend money at too, they have decent variety too. So you have 2 votes for bachelor!

 

[ridinbend]

Bachy all the way. You stay in Bend and take a shuttle to the hill. The natural terrain features on Mt Bachelor are exactly what you want.

 

[highme]

Hood & Bachelor are both fun, and you could easily ride Bachelor, Meadows & Timberline* in a week since Hood is about 2 hours from Bend. If you're only planning on staying in one area though, it should be Bend.

You could have a fun trip spending 7 days between Portland, Govy & Bend.

One thing I just remembered, if cost is an issue, Meadows has sold a spring pass starting in early March the last few seasons. It's usually around $125 or so. Daily tickets are around $75-85 at Bach or Meadows, so that pass is a screaming deal.

 

[ridinbend]

Also if you get on the mailing list for Bachelor, you'll get notices when the sell their 4pack. Which is a killer deal.

 

[ekb18c]

I hear the night activities in Portland are really fun...

 

[rambob]

Before I lived here (in Central Or) I used to hit both; Meadows and Bach in one trip. Like the others have said, Bach has the ammenities with Bend being so close but Meadows has IMO better terrain. If U have the time and a rental car U can easily hit both and Portland and / or Hood River. A lot depends on how much U want chase the weather and how good of a rider U are.

 

[highme]

Oh yeah, Hood River too. Man, I live here and would love to spend 7 days between Hood River & Bend. Ride Meadows & Bach. Drink Pfriem, Crux, 10 Barrel, Double Mountain, Logsdon... (the list makes my liver palpitate).

I forgot about my Timberline*.



* - Timberline apparently has the best parks on Hood. I don't ride park anymore, and haven't been to TLine in years. However, the vids I've seen from there make it look like a legit claim. Meadows did have SPT come out last year and build a spring park that was pretty well regarded though.

 

[Pigpen]

Thanks for all the replies!!!

Definitely considering Bachelor now, potentially do a day or 2 at Hood. We will rent a car, and money isn't a big factor. It will be an 8 day trip. So probably 5 at Bachelor and 1 (maybe 2) at Hood

 

[Argo]

If your flexible then do 3 days at bachelor and 3 around hood, hit a day each at meadows and tline, then another day at your favorite one.

 

[lab49232]

If your flexible then do 3 days at bachelor and 3 around hood, hit a day each at meadows and tline, then another day at your favorite one.

This, and if you hit a good cold front with low snow levels spend a day riding the Outback at Ski Bowl, awesome terrain and holds snow for a lot longer than Meadows or Tline as it is by far the least crowded. However if it's not snowing Ski bowl doesn't offer anything except night skiing when compared to Meadows.