Public Transit Options

Perhaps you’d like to enjoy a day of Nordic skiing without worrying about slippery roads, tire chains, parking spots, and other drivers. Maybe you’d like to reduce your carbon footprint. Or maybe you don’t have a car. If any of those apply to you, you are in luck! Living in the Portland metro area, there are inexpensive and convenient options for using transit to reach a variety of groomed and ungroomed trails.   It’s possible to get to Government Camp, Mount Hood Meadows, Teacup Nordic, and even Mount Bachelor without a car. Here are some of the transit details, from the closest to the farthest, for these great ski destinations.  So hop on board and let’s go ski!

 

 

Government Camp: The Mt. Hood Express runs from the Sandy Transit Center to Government Camp and Timberline Lodge seven days a week (except Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day). There are seven roundtrips a day. Sandy Area Metro (SAM)/Sandy Area Transit (see their Routes and Services) operates a bus between the Gresham Transit Center and the Sandy Transit Center, with a schedule that’s coordinated with the Mt. Hood Express. Trimet has frequent service to the Gresham Transit Center by MAX and bus.

Timberline Lodge, Mt. Hood, Oregon

Mount Hood Meadows and Teacup Nordic: Take advantage of two options to get to the Nordic trails at Meadows. Meadows operates a “luxury motorcoach” (it is quite comfortable) weekends and holidays from late December through the end of March.  This ski season, the Park and Ride bus runs from Dec. 21, 2024.    There are three pickup spots at Park and Rides in Tualatin (Bridgeport @ 6:10 am) and Beaverton (Sunset @ 6:30 am), and the Gresham location of Migration Brewing (18188 NE Wilkes Rd. @ 6:55 am).  Buses leave Meadows promptly at 4 PM.  (Click on the Park and Ride link to purchase your seat online.)

 

You can also use interlinking routes from Columbia Area Transit (CAT) to reach both Meadows and Teacup Nordic. The Columbia Gorge Express runs from Gateway Transit Center in Portland to CAT’s hub in Hood River. From there, the Gorge-to-Mountain Express will take you to either Meadows or Teacup. As an added bonus, both buses take the annual Gorge Pass, which works on buses in both Oregon and Washington up and down the Gorge. Currently the cost is $40/year for adults ($20 for kids under 17).  This ski season, Gorge-to-Mountain Express starts Dec. 21, 2024.

Mount Bachelor Nordic Center:  There are two different buses you can ride from Portland to Bend. The Central Oregon Breeze picks up at Union Station, the airport, and the Cleveland Avenue Max Station in Gresham.  The route travels Hwy. 26 over Mt. Hood and Hwy. 97 to Bend.  They run six days a week (every day except Saturday). Pacific Crest Bus Lines runs from Portland (picking up at Union Station and the airport) to Bend, going through Salem and Sisters. They run seven days a week.

 

Once in Bend, the Mt. Bachelor Ski Shuttle operated by Cascades East Transit is quite convenient, with lots of departures starting fairly early in the morning. The main pick-up spot at Mt. Bachelor Park and Ride is just across the Deschutes River from Old Town, an easy walk from many lodging options.   

And for a trip to Methow by transit, check out this article, published in the Oct. 2023 newsletter.

 

Post updated Nov. 2024.