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Mt. Hood is an active volcano just over an hour outside Portland, Oregon. While it’s known for its year-long skiing, there are so many awesome Mount Hood summer activities that aren’t so much on people’s radar.
Before living in the Mt. Hood National Forest for some seasonal work, we were completely unaware of how many fun things there are to do in and around Mt. Hood.
This list is complete with some of the best summer activities on the mountain!
Mount Hood Summer Activities At The Skibowl
- Location | Government Camp, Oregon | Mt. Hood Skibowl
- Booking Information | Mount Hood Adventure Park
- Accommodation Nearby | Best Western Government Camp or Government Camp Cabins
Traditionally a place for skiing, the Mt. Hood Skibowl has turned the skibowl into a place with some super fun summer activities. The Mount Hood Adventure Park offers things like alpine slides, ziplining, go karts, and even scenic rides up a chairlift.
There are two different sections of the Mount Hood Adventure Park, one at Skibowl West and one at Skibowl East. Both park passes can be purchased online (no refunds given) or in person for a few extra dollars more per activity.
Tickets range from individually priced activities starting at $13 each, or you can purchase passes with access to multiple different summer activities dependent on which pass you snag.
Downhill Riding At Timberline To Town Trail
- Location | Timberline Lodge
- Booking Information | No prebooking needed, but check the shuttle schedule here
- Accommodation Nearby | Timberline Lodge
One of the best Mount Hood summer activities in my opinion is downhill riding the Timberline to Town Trail. This trail opens up mid-summer, once all the snowmelt is gone from this section of the mountain.
The Mt. Hood Express is a shuttle service that connects riders from towns like Government Camp or Rhododendron up to Timberline Lodge. From there, you can jump on the Timberline to Town Trail and ride your way down the mountain!
Your Guide to Riding the Timberline to Town Trail | shuttle information + trail conditions
If 15 miles of downhill riding doesn’t tickle your fancy, check out the Timberline Bike Park. Riders can purchase tickets from the Bike Park, or in advance online, and then ride the downhill trails from the parking area at Timberline Lodge and catch a ride back up the hill on the chairlift!
Mount Hood Meadows Summer Outdoor Movies
- Location | Mount Hood Meadows
- Booking Information | Summer Outdoor Movie Schedule
- Accommodation Nearby | Best Western Government Camp or Government Camp Cabins
Recommended Stays
- Hotel | Best Western Government Camp | book your stay here
- Cabin | Government Camp Cabins | check current prices and availability here
- Luxury | Timberline Lodge | check current prices and availability here
Oh my goodness, I’m so jealous of people who get to experience the summer outdoor movies at Mount Hood Meadows.
Our friends who work with us invited us at one point — which is how we learned of the outdoor movies. However, with our camp hosting schedule, Friday night outings are unfortunately a no-go.
With that said, what a fun summer activity for the whole family or for a romantic date night! Mount Hood Meadows is located off of Highway 35, and offers outdoor movies every Friday night throughout the summer, with pizza and a beer cart as well.
We’ve also heard from some campers that Mount Hood Meadows allows camping in their parking lot over the weekend. We were told it is 20 USD a night to camp at Mount Hood Meadows, in a fully self-contained vehicle. What a perfect overnight adventure!
If you don’t have a fully self-contained vehicle, check out these toilets for on the road. Converting the back of your car into a sleeping space and popping up a toilet in the seat may work for a self-contained rig!
LEARN MORE | Don’t have a rig? Consider renting an RV through RV share. It’s like AirBnB, but for RVs!
Paddle Pack To Timothy Lake’s Dispersed Campsites
- Location | Timothy Lake
- Booking Information | First Come First Serve
- Accommodation Nearby | 40 Designated Dispersed Sites On The Lake
At Timothy Lake about 40 minutes from Mt. Hood, there are multiple campgrounds that are reserved up to six months in advance. However, there are also 40 designated dispersed campsites lining the lake opposite of the campgrounds.
These designated dispersed campsites are on a first come, first serve basis, and are actually completely free to camp at. You simply obtain a free camping permit (used for tracking purposes) from the kiosks, and then head out for an epic dispersed camping adventure.
It’s worth noting here, while the campsites are free, there is a $10 per day parking fee. This fee is waived when a National Park Pass or the Northwest Forest Pass are displayed.
Visit One Of Over 15 Lakes in Mt. Hood National Forest
- Location | All around the mountain, complete post with locations coming soon
- Booking Information | Most require a National Park Pass or Northwest Forest Pass
- Accommodation Nearby | Check out camping on Recreation.gov and search the lake name
From cold water plunges in glacial-fed lakes to surprisingly warm dips in man-made lakes like, Timothy Lake there are over fifteen lakes in the Mt. Hood National Forest to explore. (complete post with info on different lakes coming soon)
Some lakes are hike to lakes, like Mirror Lake (great backpacking opportunities there), while others like Trillium Lake or Frog Lake you can drive right up to. You’ll also find a variety of fees for lake days, campgrounds, and crowds.
We may be biased, but Timothy Lake is a fantastic lake for both fishing and non-motorized water sports. There’s a 10 mph speed limit on the lake, making it quite enjoyable for people fishing, crawdading, or out for a paddle.
As a friendly warning, while Trillium Lake is beautiful, it’s gotten a lot of attention in more recent years. My family just went there and there was literally a line of cars waiting to enter the day-use area. People in line had to wait for a car to pull out before they could pull in. Talk about overuse and not such a fun lake day!
Hunt For Wild Berries
- Location | All Over The Mountain
- Picking Information | Mt. Hood National Forest Berry Picking
- Accommodation Nearby | Government Camp
Scattered all over Mt. Hood and within the Mt. Hood National Forest, there are many different areas for picking wild berries. We’ve been on trails and have found huckleberries and wild strawberries, but there are many different kinds of berries around.
Picking wild berries is a great Mount Hood summer activity, but it can be very dangerous too.
Never eat a berry you aren’t sure to have identified as edible, and keep an eye out for black bears while in a berry field.
Harvesting berries in the Mount Hood National Forest is illegal for resale purposes, however, each person can harvest a limit of one gallon of berries per day, and up to three gallons of berries per calendar year.
Backpack To The Famous Mirror Lake
- Location | Mirror Lake Trailhead in Government Camp
- Trail and Permit Information | Mirror Lake Trail Information
- Accommodation Nearby | camp at the lake with this gear
Mirror Lake is an 4.5 mile lollipop loop hike to a lake with a beautiful reflection of Mount Hood when the wind isn’t blowing. This hike is pretty steep for the short duration to the lake, (just under two miles), but is well worth it.
Hiking to Mirror Lake can be done as a simple day trip, but there are also a handful of great backcountry campsites near the lake and even a pit toilet too.
As a day hike, Mirror Lake is heavily trafficked, so we recommend doing an overnight hike to Mirror Lake so you can experience the beauty of this place without the crowds.
LEARN MORE | Our Complete Backpacking List
Take In The Views From High Rock
- Location | High Rock | Off Highway 58
- Booking Information | Rent an RV Here
- Accommodation Nearby | Camp right at High Rock
Our first year camp hosting, we passed by signs for High Rock more times than we can count, however, we never visited. Our second year back, in the span of a weekend, three different people were talking about High Rock, so we had to go check it out for ourselves.
Holy smokes!! Why did we wait so dang long to get up to High Rock? It’s beautiful up there, and we’ve only seen a few other people each time we’ve been.
You can disperse camp in a rig just at the base of the hike up to High Rock or backpack up and camp with some amazing 360 views!
From the top of High Rock, you’ll not only see Mt. Hood, you’ll also see Mount Adams in Washington, and Mount Jefferson and the Three Sisters to the south!
We recommend visiting High Rock only in mid to late summer, as the road before mid-summer was not passable due to down trees from the winter.
Hike A Section Of The PCT
- Location | Check out this PCT map
- Booking Information | Learn about free permits here
- Accommodation Nearby | along the trail
The PCT or the Pacific Crest Trail goes all the way from the border of Mexico in California to the Canadian border in Washington. It’s a very popular thru-hike that takes around five months to complete.
The entire PCT is 2,650 miles and takes years of planning and preparation. However, you can jump on the PCT and hike short distances, out and backs, or even do some multiday hikes along the PCT.
Skirting the east side of Timothy Lake, the trail continues up to Frog Lake, then right around the west side of Mt. Hood before crossing into Washington at Cascade Locks.
If you’re lucky, you’ll meet some of the thru-hikers and get a totally different perspective on hiking and nature. These hikers average around 30 miles of hiking a day.. that’s absolutely wild!
Remember these bathroom tips when hiking in the backcountry, and be sure to pack everything out with you!
Do A Waterfall Tour Around The Mt. Hood
- Location | Check the list below
- Booking Information | Northwest Forest Pass or National Park Pass is often needed
- Accommodation Nearby | Historic Timberline Lodge
With all the snow melt happening, doing a waterfall tour is a fantastic Mount Hood summer activity.
Keep in mind, while hiking to waterfalls, the trails and bridges can become icy and slick.. after all, a lot of the waterfalls are directly trickling down from the snow on Mount Hood.
Some waterfalls, like Little Zig Zag Falls, are super easy to hike to and can be reached within ten minutes of the parking area.
Others, like Tamanawas Falls, take closer to three hours to complete and are more of a half-day adventure.
I’ll be putting together a complete list of waterfalls around Mount Hood soon, but for now, click on each waterfall below to see the Google Maps pin of it. In the reviews on each pin, you’ll find how long or short the hike is.
There are loads more waterfalls along the Columbia River Gorge, however, for the sake of this post, I’m not considering those in things to do on Mount Hood in the summer, as those are all accessible year-round.
If you’re not interested in doing a waterfall tour on your own, check out some of these waterfall and Mt. Hood tours out of Portland, Oregon.
Mount Hood Summer Activities vs Mt. Hood National Forest
I’ve tried to keep this list short and sweet, including things really close to or on the actual mountain. The Mt. Hood National Forest is a huge area of space and there is so much more to see and do in the national forest.
I’ll be compiling a list of things we’ve done and have enjoyed in the national forest as a whole, but again, these Mount Hood summer activities are more so based on things you can’t access or do during the winter due to the proximity to the actual mountain!
If you do any of these summer activities, tag us in your posts so we can see! I love seeing people out and doing things we recommend!
Mount Hood Summer Activities Required Passes
Unlike when visiting Mt. Hood during the winter, you don’t need to have a permit to access these locations. However, many of the above listed Mount Hood summer activities require passes for parking.
Northwest Forest Pass (Annual)
The Northwest Forest Pass is a $30 annual pass that’s good from the month you buy it until the end of that month the following year. You can purchase this pass online, or at places like REI, ranger stations, hardware stores, and some gas stations too.
Be sure that the place you purchase your pass from validates your pass. It does not work if not validated, and at our hosting job, we’ve seen quite a lot of them not validated!
Northwest Forest Pass (Day)
If you’re not interested in purchasing the annual Northwest Forest Pass, they do sell day passes instead. These are $5, and can be purchased at similar locations as the annual pass.
Purchase a day pass online here.
It’s worth noting, someone recently came into our day-use area and let me know that Trillium Lake does not accept the Northwest Forest Day pass. They only accept the annual one.
To validate your Northwest Forest Day Pass, simply write the date in the white box in permanent maker.
National Park Pass
The America the Beautiful or the National Park Pass is accepted at a lot, but not all of the above locations. This pass is an 80 USD annual fee, however, there are many ways to get this for a discount or for free. Learn about them here.
Like the Northwest Forest Pass, the National Park Pass is good for one entire year, from the date of purchase to the end of that month the following year.
You can purchase your National Park Pass at any national parks or monuments in Oregon, at REI, or online here.
More On Oregon + Mt. Hood
Biking The Timberline To Town Trail | $2 Shuttle with 15+ miles of downhill riding
Oregon Travel Guide | All our Oregon posts in one place
Fun Things To Do in Northern Oregon | from Portland to the coast, waterfalls to viewpoints
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