Why Washington and Oregon Have NO Destination Ski Resorts

Growing up in Oregon I'd never really thought about our lack of ski towns, and now that I have considered it I'm extremely thankful for the lack of them. Hood Has always felt very homey and local, Bachelor a hidden gem tucked away, and I like it that way.

He’s totally right about Mt Baker. It’s not worth the trip. Stay far far away.

Oregon mountains definitely have a more local feel from what I've seen. I really like this because it creates local legends that are fun to spot on the mountain. Plus 99% of the people are extremely nice and just happy to be out on their weekend. No travel stress involved.

Exactly, it sucks here don't come.

Good thing we don’t have mountains considered destination resorts up in the PNW. We have a ton of locals that snowboard/ski rain or shine so we are already very packed especially on weekends. The snow seasons are amazing here, backcountry galore with descent park terrain. Never a bad day in the PNW

Backcountry skiing must be preserved. Not all skiers are resort skiers.

We focus our destination aspects on our backcountry. Last thing we want is to become a "fly to" destination...

As a Seattle Local, I can agree with almost all of this (and still love our mountains). But I'll note that Alpental is basically an extension of The Summit at Snoqualmie, not a separate resort. Also, at least 1 resort is super easy to drive to; I can get from the farthest part of the city to parked at The Summit at Snoqualmie in less than an hour. And it's all freeway driving until the last quarter mile for Central, or even just the last 200 feet for Summit West.

Thank you for confirming that we don't want anyone to visit. It's perfect. And the folks in the know don't even go to resorts. The last thing we need is yahoos from the rest of the US coming here. Appreciate the assistance.

Also most of the resorts are on US Forest Service land, and getting permission to build on mountain facilities requires lots of administrative paperwork. Mt Hood Meadows did try to have onsite hotel plans which got quashed because of environmental impact concerns.

I grew up skiing in Switzerland. I live in Oregon. This video is spot on. There is no reason to go to OR/WA ski resorts unless you’re a local.

I used to ski Crystal twice a month back in the 90s when it was more of a locals' mountain while most of the Seattle crowd went to Snoqualmie, which is right off I-90. I would go to Crystal on Monday, my days off, and almost had the place to myself. The lift operators used to call their Monday Lady. Between the midweek rate and my military discount (my husband was stationed in Ft Lewis), an all day pass was $20. Okay, everything was slow and simple, but it was truly a hidden gem with a small-town feel. Then Intrawest bought them out, replaced all the old chairs, added the gondola and some hilltop restaurants, and immediately tripled the price of a lift ticket. The surrounding area up 410 was quiet and pristine; I hope it at least stays that way. A lot of military families have skied there with 2 or 3 kids and could shell out as much as $700 for lift tickets alone. I'm pretty sure they've been priced out of the market.

Growing up in Seattle and skiing at Stevens Pass was always an adventure. I always thought it was normal to wake up early and drive to the resorts. I did find it odd that there weren't any places to stay close to these resorts seeing how the roads leading up to Stevens Pass specifically is so accident prone. There've been times when we'd be stuck in a two lane road for 2-3 hours with little to no cell service. I still ski PNW when I'm visiting friends and family though! Amazing resorts!

Travelled from New England for Mt Hood Meadows and Mt Bachelor best decision ever and all locals were surprised... Yes everyone is wrong

I flew to Seattle from San Diego and spent 6 days at Crystal Mountain. We got 10-13" of snow every 24 hours I was there. The on-mountain hotel sucked, but it was one of my best trips ever.

Timberline, summertime, High Cascades, at government camp is one of the best experiences I have ever had snowboarding. I can't recommend it enough.

I live in Spokane. Mt Spokane, 49° North, Schweitzer, Silver Mtn, Lookout Pass, Red Mtn (BC). All 2 hours, Red a little further. No lines during the week. I’ve lived in Summit County, CO (Frisco), Big Sky, MT, Flagstaff, AZ. Can’t beat the snow up here in Inland PNW. Touch drier than coastal mtns (Alpental, Baker and Crystal). So much less crowds. Not the biggest footprints, but again, you have the whole place to yourself. Schweitzer has gnarly terrain. Red Mtn is 3 mtns with significant sidecountry/backcountry.

When the views are visible at these resorts- they are some of the best in the country!

I'm fascinated by this video as someone who grew up going to Snoqualmie in the winters; I genuinely had no idea our conditions (fog, wet/sticky snow, etc.) were different from the 'destination' resorts. (And on that note, we like it very much and it's already getting ridiculously packed so please don't feel like you have to come here!)

Idk what it's like in other places, but I'll tell you as a former Portland chauffeur, I spent entire winters shuttling people from PDX to Timberline or occasionally Meadows. Usually, they'd be staying a couple week-days, because staying in "the hotel where they filmed The Shining" was part of the experience. It was always the biggest time of the year to talk to people from different parts of the country. I got to be like a tour guide, talking about Oregon stuff like volcanoes and Bigfoot. Incidentally, the company I drove for also had the contract for running shuttle buses between the resorts on Hood (and the ski town Government Camp), so on busy days, I could just put the flashers on and the dudes controlling traffic would wave me through when they saw "the guy with the mint-green tie." Reason being, they knew that I was going to be coming right back down, so a full parking lot didn't matter. I don't ski myself, but as a driving enthusiast, it was always a treat to take someone else's SUV up into the snow and turn the traction control off when the clients weren't onboard. Occasionally I'd wind up taking a stretch limo up to Timberline, and that was always real fun. Those things are a joy to drive sideways when you get the opportunity.