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Mt Hood Meadows resort snow
Lat Long: 45.33° N 121.66° W
Ski USA - Oregon

Mt Hood Meadows Resort Reviews

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Visitor reviews for Mt Hood Meadows Ski Resort

Mt Hood Meadows Ratings

Overall: 3.1. Based on 162 votes and 177 reviews.

Rate this resort

Snowsure: 3.8

  • Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing
  • Is often closed due to a lack of snow
  • Occasionally suffers from a lack of snow
  • Rarely suffers from a lack of snow
  • Mt Hood Meadows is snowsure even in the poorest seasons

Variety of pistes: 4.0

  • The ski runs are featureless and unvaried
  • The ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week
  • Mt Hood Meadows has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain

Off-piste: 3.6

  • No off-piste worth mentioning
  • Off piste is out-of-bounds
  • Some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days
  • A vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days

Scenery: 3.9

  • An ugly resort in a bland setting
  • Average mountain views and resort
  • A spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town

Access: 3.9

  • At least one overnight stop
  • Requires a whole day
  • Requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns
  • Arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon
  • There is a main airport within an hour of Mt Hood Meadows

Public Transport: 3.3

  • There are no buses or taxis to Mt Hood Meadows
  • There are slow or infrequent buses / trains available
  • Getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections

Accommodation: 2.3

  • No places to stay in/near Mt Hood Meadows
  • A few places to stay in the resort
  • A wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets

Cheap Rooms: 2.4

  • No budget accommodation available
  • Just one or two hostels so book ahead
  • Several cheap hostels and pensions available

Luxury Hotels: 2.2

  • No luxury accommodation available
  • Just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead
  • Several up-market hotels in Mt Hood Meadows

Ski in/Ski out: 2.1

  • The ski area is located far from any accommodation
  • A free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip
  • Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available

Childcare: 3.4

  • There are no child care facilities at Mt Hood Meadows
  • The resort has limited child-care facilities
  • the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche

Snowmaking: 2.5

  • Mt Hood Meadows relies entirely on natural snow
  • There are just a few snow cannons
  • There are snowmaking facilities on all pistes

Snow Grooming: 3.7

  • There are no snow groomers at Mt Hood Meadows
  • Occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state
  • All the runs at Mt Hood Meadows are groomed daily

Shelter: 3.3

  • There is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut
  • There are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close
  • Mt Hood Meadows is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close

Nearby options: 2.6

  • If snow conditions are poor at Mt Hood Meadows, it will be poor everywhere nearby
  • There are good alternatives within an hours drive
  • Other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions

Regional rating: 3.7

  • Mt Hood Meadows usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region
  • Has average conditions for the region
  • Usually has the best snow conditions in the region

Lift Staff: 3.6

  • The staff at Mt Hood Meadows are rude or unhelpful
  • Lift staff at Mt Hood Meadows are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help

Crowds/Queues: 2.6

  • The resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues
  • It is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays
  • It is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare

Ski Schools: 3.7

  • No ski schools available
  • One or two ski schools but local language only
  • A few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors
  • Plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available
  • Excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors

Hire and Repairs: 4.0

  • Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex
  • There are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance
  • Good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible

Beginners: 3.8

  • Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard
  • A few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week
  • Vast areas of gentle terrain

Intermediates: 4.2

  • No intermediate terrain at Mt Hood Meadows
  • Intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days
  • Vast areas of cruising runs

Advanced: 4.0

  • Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders
  • Enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste
  • Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week

Snow Park: 3.8

  • Not even a kicker at Mt Hood Meadows
  • Average sized park quite well looked after
  • Huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails

Cross-country: 3.7

  • There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Mt Hood Meadows
  • There are some cross country trails available
  • The area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails

Luge/Toboggan: 1.7

  • No designated luge or toboggan runs
  • There are toboggan runs that open quite often
  • Mt Hood Meadows has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages

Mountain Dining: 3.0

  • Nowhere to buy food by the pistes
  • Some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive
  • There is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets

Eating: 3.2

  • Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop
  • There are a few places to eat in the resort but nothing special
  • A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants

Apres-Ski: 3.0

  • Nothing to do, not even a bar
  • There are a few bars in the resort but nothing special
  • Clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere

Other Sports: 1.7

  • No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts
  • Resort has just a small public swimming pool
  • Resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool

Entertainment: 1.9

  • Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here
  • The non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week
  • The resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports

Winter Walks: 2.7

  • Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails
  • A couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails
  • Extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities

Ski Pass Value: 2.9

  • A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available
  • The ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts
  • Ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area

Value (National): 3.2

  • Overall, Mt Hood Meadows is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money
  • Overall represents average value for money
  • Overall offers the best value resort in the country

Value (Global): 3.1

  • Overall, Mt Hood Meadows is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world
  • Overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries
  • Internationally the resort offers excellent value for money

Show all 35 ratings

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November 13, 2009
EA from Ski USA - California USA - California
I've never shown up at another resort in North America at opening time to wait over an hour for the lifts to operate. Yes, Mt Hood Meadows does experience some unique challenges to lift operations high on the mountain, but the current operating protocol is not reasonable. Decent terrain and incompetent operations staff. The resort is run like the trash hills in the Midwest, not at all like a world class resort.
November 10, 2009
EJ from Ski USA - California USA - California
Overall, Mt Hood Meadow has the best resort riding closest to Portland. However, in my opinion they can't get it right on many fronts. How many times do I have to show up on a huge powder day only to find that the lifts don't open up on time? I always ask the folks that I ride up the lift with what their perceptions are. More often than not I get the same general reply, "its not run well at all and they charge too much for what they are offering but it's the only game in town if you want halfway decent terrain that is located high enough on Mt. Hood to give you decent snow". I think people feel unhappy by the whole deal. I'd rather spend my money for those few days here and there where Ski Bowl gets good snow, its just not worth it to give my money to Meadows (Mt Hood Meadows) anymore and drive away disappointed. [note from the editor: this text has now been edited in order to consolidate views relevant to the resort and its facilities]
November 06, 2009
matthew shred or die from Ski USA - California USA - California
Meadows (Mt Hood Meadows) is 'sick'! Forest Park is so much fun on any type of day. Go ride the powder 'til midday then hit up the parks. Yes, they should make the Heather lift a quad so it doesn't take 15 minutes to get on but the runs are worth it. The Fusion pass is a complete waste of money. Skibowl is terrible and Timberline is for families and beginners. Go shred Meadows (Mt Hood Meadows).
October 14, 2009
christian from Ski USA - California USA - California
With regards to skiing Lower Heather on one chair at Mt Hood Meadows, just exit the Heather chair, veer right and follow the tracks. That will take you to Jacks Woods where you can ski quite a few places.
May 02, 2009
Bruce from Ski USA - California USA - California
We skied and rode Meadows (Mt Hood Meadows) all day last Sunday and it was excellent spring snow, got a little warm/soft on the lower runs by 11:00 but stayed below freezing and near ideal (great packed base with a thin layer of powder on top) all day on Cascade. Enjoy.
April 11, 2009
ski_pdx from Ski USA - California USA - California
Jack's woods can be lapped in one chair ride. Look up Ho Chi Min Trail. The terrain is tough to control and there have been many inbounds avis this year, as well as many patroller deaths in the past years to justify Meadows (Mt Hood Meadows) and their stance on terrain closures. The days they close stuff for weather, you wouldn't want to ski what they have closed. S&R, PR, Jack's, Fright Trees, Super Bowl, Clark, God's, Accordion, Steal; all great inbound stuff that the patrol gets open when they can, just like any other hill. Management has the right idea and is moving the right way. Obviously there is a lot of deep-rooted hard feelings they (at Mt Hood Meadows) will be working against.
April 09, 2009
MATT from Ski USA - California USA - California
If you are not having fun at Meadows (Mt Hood Meadows), then quite simply, you are blowing it. This place is fun at its most tracked out, and absolutely EPIC on powder days. You just have to be creative and know the mountain. You clearly do not if you say Meadows is a bad place to have fun. Explore your options a bit more thoroughly and you will see what our mountain has to offer. Yes, the parks are not the best. Go to Timberline. If you want the most variety on the mountain, from wide open terrain (much of upper vista), tight trees (most of HRM especially Fright) steeps (Heather, Fright, S&R, and much more) technical (gullies, gaps, jibs,) or you just want to bomb away on the grooms, this is the place. I enjoy the other resorts too, but only Meadows (Mt Hood Meadows) can give you most, if not all, of what you want in a nice hard day of riding. Heather is also well worth the lift time, whatever it may be.
April 02, 2009
MaximumRadness from Ski USA - California USA - California
Mt Hood Meadows Parks program has problems. It was still messed up when it was the best in the industry in the mid 90's. It's still a mess. Yes, the crowds and lift lines are aweful any day of the week. But, the terrain is so spread out and due to the poor placement of lifts, the crowds get as disjointed as the parks program. This makes it easy, with a bit of effort, to get good untracked fresh powder well into the afternoon. Yes, afternoon powder this close to the coast and this low in the Cascades can be sloppy heavy goo. But, there is almost never a shortage on a weekday, if you can put in just a little bit of effort, or spy some locals to follow. Speaking of locals at Mt Hood Meadows, they are almost always willing to share a smoke or brew or line of fresh tracks with you. This really is quite a small area and hill and with a little time invested, it's pretty fun too. The fact is, there are secrets in those trees, for anyone to find, and despite the management's best efforts to just completely ruin this hill, it's still the best vertical and crowd disperse-ment we got within an hour or so of Portland.
March 30, 2009
larry from Ski USA - California USA - California
At Mt Hood Meadows, Jacks Woods is reachable by Heather chair if you're on skis, no luck if you're a border. I love Meadows.
March 25, 2009
Jeff from Ski USA - California USA - California
A Zone Traverse - Clark to Accordion, at Mt Hood Meadows, has got to be one of the best 'in bounds' runs around, certainly one of the 'sickest' piste runs (if you can call it that) that I have seen. Close to 3000 vert and great scenery. On a good day almost no one is out there and Accordion can be 'butt-puckeringly' steep if the right line is chosen. On Mt Hood (Mt Hood Meadows), there is certainly none better unless you are hiking away from a resort. When the goods are closed, there is fun to be had if you know where to look. I don't want to give up the best stuff though but trust me, it is out there if you know where to look. I don't review on the basis of the resort staff, etc. Unless it is a strict family vacation spot, I have never been in-bounds without incompetent lifties and the like. Patrol is doing their best with a large area to cover in the Canyon. If you can't deal with them, educate yourself and spend some time in the BC the proper way. If you think about it, it is pretty amazing they run a groomer down Twilight and Moon on occasion. The pics are sick if you havn't seen them. Two thumbs for Meadows (Mt Hood Meadows) from me.