Mount Hood is Oregon's highest peak at 3,426 metres, a glaciated volcano that can be seen from Portland on a clear day, and the road to Timberline Lodge takes you right up onto its flank. The lodge sits at about 1,800 metres, above the treeline, where the forest gives way to open slopes of ash and snow, and it is a remarkable building. It was constructed in the 1930s as a Works Progress Administration project during the Depression, with local craftsmen carving the timbers, forging the ironwork and weaving the rugs, and President Franklin Roosevelt dedicated it in 1937. Its exterior was later used in the film The Shining, which is why you will see visitors taking photographs of the front door with slightly worried expressions.
The ride up starts at Government Camp, a small ski village on US 26, and follows a spur road of several kilometres that climbs through noble fir and mountain hemlock. The road is paved and well maintained, with moderate bends and good views opening as the trees thin. Snow can fall early and linger late, so the road may be closed or require chains in winter, and even in summer fog can fill the upper slopes. Expect temperatures far cooler than in the valley, and wind that cuts straight through a mesh jacket.
Skiing continues at Timberline long after most resorts have closed, thanks to the Palmer snowfield, and you may see skiers carrying their gear across snow in July. The mountain's glaciers are shrinking, but the upper slopes are still white, and the contrast with the green forest below is striking. In summer, wildflowers bloom in the meadows, and hikers follow the Timberline Trail around the mountain. The old Barlow Road, the last stage of the Oregon Trail, passed nearby, and pioneers hauled their wagons over these slopes in the 1840s.
Mount Hood Village, about twenty kilometres away, and Sandy lower down are the places to fill up, and Government Camp has limited services. The lodge has restaurants and a café where you can warm up with a hot drink, though it can be crowded in peak season. Bring layers, gloves and a rain shell, even on a bright day.
The view from the terrace, with the cone of the mountain above and the forested ridges falling away below, is worth the ride. Late afternoon light is lovely, and the air is thin and clean.