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Mt Hood Ski Bowl resort snow
Lat Long: 45.30° N 121.77° W
Ski USA - Oregon

Mt Hood Ski Bowl Resort Reviews

Weather Forecast for Mt Hood Ski Bowl at 1316 m altitude

Issued: 10 am 06 May 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Next snow in Mt Hood Ski Bowl: 0.8 cm on Sat 16th  (after 8 PM)

Visitor reviews for Mt Hood Ski Bowl Ski Resort

Mt Hood Ski Bowl Ratings

Overall: 3.5. Based on 22 votes and 10 reviews.

Rate this resort

Snowsure: 3.4

  • 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 Ski Bowl 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 Ski Bowl has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain

Off-piste: 3.8

  • 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: 3.3

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

Access: 4.3

  • 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 Ski Bowl

Public Transport: 3.1

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

Accommodation: 3.6

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

Cheap Rooms: 2.7

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

Luxury Hotels: 3.3

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

Ski in/Ski out: 3.2

  • 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: 2.2

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

Snowmaking: 3.0

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

Snow Grooming: 3.9

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

Shelter: 3.9

  • 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 Ski Bowl is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close

Nearby options: 4.3

  • If snow conditions are poor at Mt Hood Ski Bowl, 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: 2.9

  • Mt Hood Ski Bowl 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: 4.5

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

Crowds/Queues: 4.2

  • 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: 3.6

  • 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: 3.6

  • 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: 3.5

  • 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: 3.6

  • No intermediate terrain at Mt Hood Ski Bowl
  • 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: 3.4

  • Not even a kicker at Mt Hood Ski Bowl
  • 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 Ski Bowl
  • There are some cross country trails available
  • The area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails

Luge/Toboggan: 1.5

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

Mountain Dining: 3.9

  • 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: 3.3

  • 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: 3.6

  • 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: 2.2

  • 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: 3.3

  • 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: 3.4

  • 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: 4.0

  • 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): 4.3

  • Overall, Mt Hood Ski Bowl 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): 4.3

  • Overall, Mt Hood Ski Bowl 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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February 13, 2023
martin from Ski USA - California USA - California
If there's snow (as opposed to rain) then there's no contest. The back mountain is snowy, steep and completely unoccupied, a true gem. Passes are cheap, the lodge is funky and cool, it's basically perfect. But Ski Bowl is a victim of climate change, so whereas 10 or 20 years ago it was just on the snow side of the winter dividing line between frozen and unfrozen, now it's on unfrozen side most of the time, unfortunately. So it gets rain when it used to get snow.
December 24, 2016
Larry from Ski USA - California USA - California
Ski Bowl can be the best but most people like Meadows for better snow, faster lifts and all your friends are there. If you go to Meadows bring all your money and patience. Ski bowl is for a slower pace. I like it better but I am old fashioned, kind of like Ski Bowl, old and slow.
January 16, 2012
Best on Hood! from Ski USA - California USA - California
All of Hood lives and dies by its maritime snow levels. If snow levels are high, all that precipitation can come down as rain. Being the lowest of the thee largest resorts on Hood, SkiBowl is the most susceptible to bad weather. But where it lacks in altitude, it more than makes up in attitude and terrain. While some other mountains often feel like a crowded zoo of rude wanna-bes shoving in lines competing for turns, laid back, relaxed, friendly local vibes run deep at the Bowl. Upper Bowl offers the best most accessible advanced terrain and cliffs on Hood. At just under 1/2 the size of Meadows (with twice the night skiing acreage) and way less than 1/2 the crowd...SkiBowl is easily the place to go on a weekend pow day when the outback is open...and is unquestionably the best night skiing. Short (nonexistent) Upper Bowl lift lines and steep vert more than make up for the antique two seater lifts... You can easily find yourself lapping 750 ft of double black terrain and approachable cliffs in 3 feet of fresh doing 6 min laps...no lines...just cheers from the lift from the other ten or fifteen people who were smart enough.
December 28, 2011
Jae H from Ski USA - California USA - California
Where Ski Bowl excels is 1) proximity to Portland. Closest resort to the city. Nice. 2) Night skiing - more lit terrain than any other place in the U.S. 3) The warming hut. I love that place. Cozy and perfect for a mid-mountain brew.
March 02, 2011
Caveslug from Ski USA - California USA - California
Skibowl sucks. Slow lifts and beginner terrain. And it's almost always raining. Pass it up and head to Meadows, especially on powder days. This isn't the ski resort you are looking for.
January 08, 2010
lukeduke from Ski USA - California USA - California
Mt Hood Ski Bowl has 50% off tickets with a military ID, crap tons of lights and friendly people. Short lift lines and more terrain than you would think. Powder days/nights here are awsome. Great value all around.
December 20, 2008
elderdeity from Ski USA - California USA - California
Mt Hood Ski Bowl has a tremendous amount of lighted terrain for night skiing. They claim it's the most in North America. All I know is they burn a lot of watts at night and it's an inexpensive ticket, too. Then, when you're completely exhausted from the steep terrain walk from the lower parking lot to the Mt. Hood Brew Pub, the pint or two of Ice Axe IPA are appreciated. You can finish in the upper parking lot and walk to the Ratskellar for beer and pizza or finish yourself off at Charlie's Mountain View bar with a couple of shots. It's a great way to spend an evening on Mt Hood Ski Bowl.
November 12, 2008
Francisco from Ski Pakistan Pakistan
Lodging is in Government Camp, where you won't find anything spectacular, but there are several choices. Ski Bowl is really the only place on Hood where you can huck cliffs, so that's a major plus on a powder day. Also the ski patrol won't get on you if you aren't rediculously dangerous, so for the most part there's no speed limit like there is at Meadows or Timberline. With that said, during the week, Meadows is the place to be, absolutely no lines, usually good snow, last year we had some powder days.
December 20, 2007
Alan from Ski USA - California USA - California
What a ski area should be. A walk from the village, with funky old bars and lodges. Excellent terrain. No crowds. Fantastic scenery. The snow isn't Alta...otherwise it's the coolest place you could find.
December 14, 2007
Evan from Ski USA - California USA - California
Ski Bowl is where it's at... if it's not raining. Not much beats dropping into the upper bowl with the waist deep pow. Also, you have it all to yourself, because the thousands of day-trippers from Portland all go to the more expansive, crowded, flatter Timberline and Meadows.