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No one ever talks about Mount Bachelor when they talk about riding powder on the west coast. But they should.

I think one of the main hold ups is there is no resort at the mountain. The closest town is Bend, which is a 30-minute pretty scenic drive, but the town has great food and the trails at Bachelor are fantastic. And for those of you that snowboard, this mountain had the most snowboarders I have ever seen at a mountain, so that tells you it’s good!

Though less talked about, Mt. Bachelor still gets very busy, especially on weekends and holidays, so be prepared to get stuck in traffic or to experience long lift lines. Mount Bachelor is also generally pretty windy, with ski lifts experiencing a wind hold on a regular basis. One of the other biggest cons is because of the wind, the summit lift is closed more often than it’s open. So, the vast majority of the time you will not get to experience the top of the mountain.

I know I am not painting a great picture so far, but it still should not deter you. Even without the summit open there is a ton of great terrain around to play in. They also boast long seasons, being one of the earliest to open in November (though the past couple years have tested that with the changing climate).

How to Get to Mount Bachelor

Address: 13000 SW Century Dr, Bend, OR 97702

The road to the mountain sees a lot of snow, but the plows will be out all day keep the drive passable. Just make sure you have a vehicle with winter tires or chains. Or leave the car in the park and ride parking area and take the shuttle to the mountain ($8 one way).

This scenic drive takes you through the Deschutes National Forest, with multiple snoparks, such as the Virginia Meissner snopark which is great for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling.

In the summer, of course, no worries, and a perfect place to go mountain biking.

Lift Ticket Prices

Day passes can be as low as $65 but in peak season expect to pay anywhere from $98-134, depending on the day of the week. If you are an Ikon pass holder you get 5 days included at Mount Bachelor with the base pass.

Rentals

Mount Bachelor offers rentals for everyone, from skier to snowboarder, newbie to advanced. They even offer partial rentals if you don’t need all the gear but are missing something.

Just to give you an idea, in peak season, for performance equipment (adults only, for the more advanced) the full gear for the day is $76 and for the standard equipment (for everyone) $67.

They also offer junior rentals as well. So, if your young one is just getting into the sport, and you don’t want to shell out the money for full gear in case they hate it this is a great option. During peak this will be around $58/day for the full gear.

Lessons

Never gone down a mountain before on skis or a snowboard? Or maybe you want to try riding for the first time but have been a lifelong skier? Mount Bachelor offers both private lessons and group lessons for everyone and at different levels.

You can do single lessons, but Mount Bachelor has won awards for their ski/ride in 5 program. You get 5 lessons, gear included, and it is touted as one of the best in the business. This is for the absolute newbie and will run you $399, which is not bad considering you get the gear too.

Mountain Info

Mount Bachelor is the 6th largest ski mountain in the United States with 4,300 skiable acres of terrain.

Here’s the basic stats:

Average annual snowfall – 462 inches

Number of runs – 101

Top Elevation – 9,065 feet

Feet of Vertical Drop – 3,365 feet

Parking is free

Trails

Mount Bachelor has 15 lifts, including a few magic carpets for the little ones just starting out accessing 121 trails. There is a mixture of greens, blues and black diamonds depending on your skill level.

Some of the terrain is groomed and some is left natural. If you have never rode deep, fresh powder I wouldn’t recommend going down an ungroomed black diamond as your first trail of the day.

My first experience with powder up to my waste was horrifying. It is a completely different feel than riding groomers and takes a whole different skillset. And it will destroy your legs. It was a humbling experience to say the least.

My advice, for those new to deep powder. Start with some groomed blue square trails or even some black diamond groomers and ride in and out of the edges of the trail, where it is ungroomed to get a feel for it without going all in until you are more comfortable.

Nordic Lodge

For those that aren’t into downhill skiing, Mount Bachelor also has its Nordic Lodge, where you can spend your day cross country skiing and snowshoeing.

With the longest groomed Nordic season in North America, you can ski as late as June some years! There are 56 km of groomed trails for classic and skate skiing and 10 km for snowshoeing.

You can get rentals, lessons, purchase gear or have a bite to eat at the Nordic Lodge.

For single day, full day passes (adults) – $28; late day (after 12PM) – $22

For multiday passes you can do either 2 of 3 days ($46/adult) or 3 of 5 days ($65/adult).

Where to Eat

There aren’t a lot of options at the mountain, but the town of Bend offers more options than you could ever want!

At Mount Bachelor there is the Pine Marten lodge at the top of the Pine Marten express with great bowls in their cafeteria style area. You can also do sunset dinners there with a reservation, though the best time to do this would be during the summer months.

There is also a cafeteria style restaurant, café and pub at the main lodge at the base of the mountain. I always choose to eat at the pub, because I like the sit-down style, the beer, and the atmosphere. I recommend their Mount Nachos and their chili.

One area I would avoid heading to for lunch is the Sunrise Lodge at the base of the Sunrise lift. It can seem convenient when you park there and have been riding the trails on that side of the mountain all day but everything is deep fried, except the soups. Even my veggie burger was deep fried and my husbands pork sandwich was oozing grease. You also only have the option to have french fries on the side, there is no option for a salad or soup or even sweet potato fries, which you can get at the other lodges.

If you are heading into Bend and are looking for variety, make sure to check out The Lot. This group of food trucks offers food types for all, has a bar, and some indoor seating with heated seats and heaters overhead. This isn’t your typical food truck stop! For more recommendations and restaurant ideas, check out my top places to eat in Bend, Oregon.

Where to Stay

There is no resort at this mountain. The closest option is the WorldMark Bend, which is about 10 minutes away. It has everything you could ever want from condo-style rooms with full kitchens and balconies, to hot tubs and heated outdoor pools, to an ice-skating rink with attached bar.

They have a program where you can “be an owner” (read as time share) but you can occasionally get a room there in other sources, but they will try to get you to listen to their pitch to buy in. I have sat through it twice and have not bought in, but they did give me a free week at any WorldMark in the next year and also a $25 gift certificate to one of the local breweries, so it was worth the 2 hours of my time.

Downtown Bend is an additional 10-15 minutes away but between Mount Bachelor and Bend you can find Marriott’s and other popular hotels (likely at a fraction of the cost of WorldMark).

Concluding Thoughts

This mountain is a ton of fun with so many options for different levels. A mountain that everyone should check out when seeking west coast powder.

Should you stay in Bend? Is it worth checking out? Yes! Want to know more? Check out my visitor’s guide to Bend.