Mt. Bachelor – Central Oregon’s Majestic Treasure
As if you needed another reason to visit Bend, Oregon… One beautiful attraction that literally cannot be overlooked is the majestic, Mount Bachelor. Mount Bachelor is a dormant volcano of the Cascade Mountain Range that was first formed between 11,000 and 15,000 years ago. It’s a true, majestic, giant that reaches 9068 feet high into the Central Oregon sky. Offering activities as diverse as dog sledding, Nordic skiing and tubing, there is a winter adventure waiting here for the whole family. The dry climate of Central Oregon assures that the 370 inches of annual snowfall on Mount Bachelor is light and fluffy, perfect for carving flawless “S turns” or learning to ski or snowboard. The resort offers 3,683 acres of terrain, 3,365 feet of vertical drop and 71 runs ranging from double black diamonds to easy green runs for first-timers. According to visitbend.com, ‘The resort offers beginner and intermediate snowboard parks with tables, step ups and step downs, along with more challenging rails, ride-on boxes and mini tabletops. Mt. Bachelor’s Olympic sized Superpipe was the home to the Chevy Truck US Snowboard Grand Prix and 2006 Olympic Qualifier. According to TransWorld Snowboarding magazine readers, Mt. Bachelor is #4 in North America for snowboarding and was mentioned as “a place that suits all ages, levels, and styles of riders and riding.” There are many RV parks in Central Oregon that are open year round, and staying in Bend means you’re no more than half an hour from the mountain. You can find a great list of these parks, and all their amenities here. For those of you who want to stay AT the mountain in your RV, you can do that too, as long as you know a few things in advance. While there is no proper RV camping with hook-ups etc. at the actual mountain, they do allow self contained RV’s to park overnight in the West Village Parking lot ONLY. Permits are $10 per night, (7 night’s max), are required and may be purchased at the Sales & Service Center inside the Mountain Gateway Building in the West Village between 8:30am and 4:00pm daily. One very important fact to note is that parking your RV in this lot means that you may end up having to move at any time of the day or night if you are in the way of their routine snow removal. This could be a bit of a hassle, but truthfully, for ten bucks per night and being AT the mountain, it may just be a small price to pay for comfort, convenience, and some big time fun.
photo credit:sunriverpinelodges.com
