The road up to Timberline Lodge is six miles of climbing from Government Camp, and at the top there is a building that looks as if it has grown out of the mountain. The lodge was built in the late 1930s as a Works Progress Administration project during the Depression, and craftspeople carved its timbers, wove its rugs, forged its ironwork, and painted its murals by hand. President Franklin Roosevelt dedicated it in 1937. The exterior was later used to represent the hotel in the film version of The Shining, though the interiors were done elsewhere.
The location is at about six thousand feet on the south side of Mount Hood, which is Oregon's highest peak, an enormous glaciated volcano that dominates the horizon for a hundred miles. At the lodge you are right beneath it, with the snowfields above and the forest below, and the view south over the Cascades on a clear day is outstanding. Skiers use the lifts in winter and even in early summer, and the Pacific Crest Trail passes close by, so you may see long-distance hikers coming through with weathered faces and big packs.
The riding is a pleasure: a well-surfaced road with steady climbing, tight, flowing turns, and ever-widening views as the trees thin. It is a National Forest road with a fee in some seasons, and traffic can be heavy on sunny weekends. Snow closes or restricts it for much of the winter, and the road can have ice and snow into late spring, so check conditions. At the top, the air is thin and cold even in July, and the wind can be sharp, so keep a warm layer to hand.
The lodge itself is a good place for a hot drink and a look at the carvings, even for those who are not staying, and the public areas are open to visitors. Time your visit for late morning or midafternoon, when the cloud tends to lift, and give the descent the attention it deserves. Brakes work hard on the way down, and it is easy to arrive at Government Camp with a smell of hot pads.