About 20 miles west of the sporting little town of Bend in central Oregon is Mt. Bachelor and the Mt. Bachelor Ski area. Located right along Highway 372, Mt. Bachelor is a favorite destination for Oregon residents and vacationers during the winter. Mt. Bachelor Village is equally popular among skiers and snowboarders, who both head to the mountain during the coldest months to take advantage of Mt. Bachelor’s famous dry snow.
The Mt. Bachelor ski area is considered by many skiers and snowboarders to be one of the best and most challenging places to hit the slopes in the United States. Some local Olympic athletes even call the Mt. Bachelor ski area home, and use Mt. Bachelor Oregon as their primary training course. Although the name of the area was originally Bachelor Butte and did not change to Mt. Bachelor Oregon until the 1980’s, the Mt. Bachelor ski area has remained one of the best places to ski in North America for decades.
Mt. Bachelor Village is home to more than 15 properties offering Mt. Bachelor Oregon lodging and accommodation. Although there is no lodging actually on the mountain, lodging at the Mt. Bachelor Village is meant to create convenient access to the Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort. Most of the accommodation at the Mt. Bachelor Village will be condos or suite hotel lodging, with kitchens. This makes lodging at the Mt. Bachelor ski resort a bit more convenient, since guests are able to cook a certain number of meals in their room.
To find lodging at Mt. Bachelor on the weekends, be sure to book your stay as far in advance as possible. If you plan to stay in the village, you will need to have advance reservations. There are a few hotels in Bend which can accommodate last minute travelers, but these are not located on the mountain. In addition to booking hotel rooms, many travelers plan to travel as a group. Group travel is one excellent way to take advantage of lower prices. Often, by booking a rental house or condo, travelers can pay a lower per-person price than if they stayed in a hotel.
The mountain itself has 71 runs, all of which are open to both snowboarders and skiers. There are also three terrain parks and one superpipe, as well as daily lessons offered and snowboard and ski rental. For anyone wishing to take a break from the runs, the Mt. Bachelor ski area also has ice skating, snowshoeing, dogsled rides, telemarking, cross country skiing, sleight rides and tubing.
Nearby, the town of Bend is also a great place to go for a host of some of Oregon’s best breweries and restaurants, along with movie theaters, art galleries and lots of shopping. Outlet malls located to the north of Bend are also a popular draw for out of town visitors, particularly due to the fact that the state of Oregon does not charge sales tax. A local airport is found in Redmond, and both Bend and Sunriver offer shuttle buses to Mt. Bachelor. Some travelers actually make their stay in Bend and shuttle over to the ski resort.
