TIMBERLINE LODGE
On Mount Hood near
Government Camp, Oregon
Timberline Lodge and Mt. Hood.
Brief History:
In early 1936 as the Great Depression raged, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook what many would call a "make-work" project to build a lodge on the south side of Mt. Hood in Northern Oregon. In retrospect, history has shown us that the Timberline Lodge was a "make-art" project-- the Timberline Lodge is certainly a state, if not national, treasure! The original design of the building was created by the famous architect, Gilbert Stanley Underwood, and although his design was heavily modified prior to construction, his influence is apparent. The architectural style is unique, a blend of many styles really. It primarily reflects the rustic style, a style which Underwood had undeniably mastered by this time. The Lodge features the classic rustic elements: high ceilings, massive exposed beams and posts, heavy metal accents (wrought iron in this case), and large expanses of rough-cut stones. The "Timberline Arch", a structure named after this lodge, is a major repeating theme; seen in doors, windows, and even the furniture. Timberline Lodge is listed as a National Historic Landmark.
Timberline Lodge, which opened September 28, 1937, is a hand-made wonder. Just about everything in the building from door hinges to furniture is hand-made, mostly from local materials. Crafts persons were brought in to design and build models of the furniture, rugs, drapes, and bedspreads. Those crafts persons then trained unskilled workers who did the bulk of the work of making the furnishings. Interior designer Margery Hoffman Smith was the interior designer for the Lodge. Artisans were hired to create original art work for the lodge that ranged from wood carvings to paintings. Today the Timberline Lodge is an art museum as well as a lodge. In addition to the original pieces from the 1930's, additional art work has been commissioned and added to the building over the years. Items that wear out, such as the drapes, have been repaired or replaced with new hand-made duplicates of the originals. When items needed to be modernized to meet modern-day requirements, such as door locks, the work has been done in a way that makes the modern mechanism appear as close as possible to the original. Timberline Lodge is a showplace of superb craftsmanship, both old and new.
The information above is just a brief overview. Further down on this page you will find a complete description of the facilities, services, directions, travel tips, and even how quiet the rooms are. The Virtual Tour of Timberline Lodge is the focal point of this website, at the least take a few minutes to look through the first few pictures! The tour will tell you much more about the history, architecture and artwork of the lodge. Finally, there is so much to see at the Timberline Lodge that we couldn't fit it all on the virtual tour, so a Bonus Features section has over 50 additional photos with descriptions of features like carvings, iron work, and small detail stuff, including photos of each of the Lodge's famous hand-carved animals on newel posts!
Amenities, Services Offered:
Historic-Hotels-Lodges.com
Timberline Lodge
Information Sheet
In-Room Amenities
| Feature | Comments | |
|---|---|---|
| Air conditioning | no | Each room has a portable floor fan in case it gets stuffy. |
| Individual Room Climate Control |
yes | |
| Television | yes | Not in Chalet rooms. |
| Telephone | yes | |
| High Speed Internet | yes | Wireless in lobby areas |
| Coffee Maker | some | Free morning coffee for guests in lobby. Only the rooms with fireplaces have in-room coffee. |
| Refrigerator | no | |
| Microwave | no | |
| Ice Bucket & Glasses | yes | |
| 3-prong Electrical Outlets in Rooms |
yes | |
| Hairdryers | yes | Not in Chalet rooms. |
| Iron & board | yes | Not in Chalet rooms. |
| Shampoo, Lotion, Etc. | yes | Also cotton balls and those ear swabs they say not to put in your ear. You've put them in your ears, right? |
| Non-Smoking Rooms | yes -all rooms | No smoking in any rooms or buildings |
| Fire Sprinklers | yes | |
| Kitchenettes | no | |
| Sound Insulation | some | See notes below. |
| Fireplaces | some | Some rooms have wood burning fireplaces. |
| Pets Allowed | no | |
| Bathrobes | no | |
| Ski Lockers | yes | Locker rooms are on ground floor, each room has a locker. |
On Site Facilities
| Feature | Comments | |
|---|---|---|
| Year Built | 1937 | |
| Number of Rooms | 70 | |
| Swimming Pool | yes | Outdoor pool is heated year-round. Swim in the snow! |
| Spa or Hot Tub | yes | |
| Sauna | yes | |
| Exercise Room | yes | |
| Tennis Courts | no | |
| Massage & Staffed Spa | no | |
| Self-Serve Laundry | no | |
| Full-Serve Laundry | yes | |
| Safe Deposit | yes | At front desk. |
| Restaurant | yes | The Cascade Dining Room. Also the Ram's Head and Blue Ox Bars both serve meals. See Planning a Visit below. |
| Lounge or Bar | yes | Ram's Head Bar, Blue Ox Bar |
| Gift Shop | yes | |
| Meeting Rooms | yes | Several of various sizes. |
Hotel Services
| Feature | Comments | |
|---|---|---|
| Free Breakfast | no | Some package deals include a breakfast buffet. |
| Free Evening Reception | no | |
| Daily Linen Change | maybe | On request |
| Free Parking | yes/no | A snow-park permit is required November 1 - April 31, you can buy one at the registration desk. |
| Valet Parking | no | |
| Airport Transportation | no | There are several shuttle services that will take you to/from Portland International Airport, including a car-pool matching service. Call the Lodge reservations desk for info. |
| Bell Hops | no | |
| Concierge | no | |
| Room Service | no | |
| Credit Cards Accepted? | yes | All major cards. |
| ATM or Check Cashing | yes | ATM in lobby. |
| Ski Area | yes | Large alpine area, 7 chair lifts. Multiple terrain parks. Small number of Nordic trails. The Palmer Snow Field is open year-round as conditions permit for black-diamond skiing & boarding. 3,690 vertical feet of trails. |
Additional Notes:
- The Chalet rooms are European style bunk rooms located on the ground floor, and most do not have private baths.
- All rooms have feather beds.
- Sound insulation: Timberline Lodge has wood walls, which provide limited sound insulation. Earplugs are provided in each room, so it is no big secret the place can be noisy. There is a fan in the room which can provide white noise. We ran the fan, and it covered the noise in our room. The lodge maintains a policy of 10PM to 7AM quiet hours. Commercial-style toilets in the rooms are loud when flushed, in the mornings when many are being flushed, it makes for a unique thump, thump, thump noise, almost like a tune. We found it more amusing than annoying-- a good attitude is important when staying in a historic building! The quietness of a room is pretty subjective. Much depends on how noisy the folks in the adjacent room are. When making a judgment on this issue, we try to consider hotel construction, noise masking (white noise) sources in the room (like fans), the layout of the rooms, and the policy of the hotel management on guest noise. We always suggest you take along ear plugs, just in case you find there are elephants staying in the adjacent room.
- 3-prong outlets: This means the room has standard 120 VAC grounded electrical outlets. The electrical system in the Timberline Lodge is fully updated.
- Views: All rooms have a view in summer. Odd numbered rooms are on the uphill side and face Mt. Hood; even numbers are on the downhill side with Mt. Jefferson in the distance. The Chalet rooms on the ground floor are almost always below the snow level in late fall, winter, and early spring. Second floor rooms are often below snow level in winter. Even some third floor windows may be below snow level at some times. Below snow level means no view at all-- you see only layers of snow piled against the window.
- Disclaimer: The information above is a combination of information provided by the hotel and things we observed when we visited. Many of these items are subject to change at any time, and we make no guarantee that the above information is accurate. Please send us an email if you notice something above is not correct. Thank you!
Rates and Reservations:
Timberline Lodge
Timberline Lodge, Oregon 97028
Reservations phone (800) 547-1406
Internet room rates & reservations: www.timberlinelodge.com
Planning a Visit:
Timberline is located on the side of Mount Hood, above the tree-line at 6000 feet elevation. A snow-park permit is required November 1 - April 31 if you bring a vehicle. Be prepared for lots of deep snow if you visit November - April.
Timberline resort has a large alpine (downhill) ski area as well as limited Nordic (X-country) skiing. Ski operations are based at the Wy’East Day Lodge directly across the street from the lodge. For Nordic skiers wanting more or easier trails, we suggest the Teacup Ski Area which is about 15 miles from the Lodge.
Cascade Dining Room: A full dinner at the Cascade Dining Room starts around $50.00 per person and goes up with fancier dishes, appetizers, wine, etc.. Menus are posted in the Cascade Dining Room section of the Lodge's website. Reservations are recommended (503-272-3104) and advance reservations are needed for the prime dining times on weekends. Some special nights, like holidays, need to be booked several days and sometimes weeks in advance. People drive up from Portland just to have an elegant dinner/date at Timberline! Leif Benson, CEC, AAC has been Timberline’s executive chef since 1979 and has won numerous world-class culinary awards. Chef Benson prides himself on using the Northwest’s freshest ingredients to create memorable meals that complement the unique ambiance of the Lodge. We dined at the Cascade Dining Room for the special Valentine's Day Dinner in 2007 and the meal was outstanding! In addition, the wine choices on the Northwest wine tasting menu were excellent. (Here's the menu from that dinner.)
Other Food Options:Full dinner at the Ram's Head Bar starts around $20.00. The Blue Ox serves pizza when open. Breakfast and lunch are also served across the street at the Black Iron Grill and Market Café in the ski lodge. Breakfast buffet is served in the Cascade Dining Room. When staying at the Lodge, we suggest you consider one of the package deals that includes breakfast, if available.
Other Lodging Options: There are other accommodations available in the nearby town of Government Camp.
Day Visits/Tours: Timberline Lodge is open to the public between the hours of 7AM - 11PM. Tours of the hotel are offered on most days. There is a small public museum on the ground floor of the Lodge. If you can't arrange to stay at the Lodge we suggest stopping by to look at the museum, take a tour, and have lunch. Allow at least 1 hour.
Getting There: Timberline Lodge is located just outside of the town of Government Camp, at 6000 foot elevation. It takes about 1 hour and 45 minutes MINIMUM to get from the Portland International Airport (PDX) to Timberline Lodge. In winter it will take longer. The last 5 miles is a steep road up to the lodge that is plowed, but not snow-free, in winter. If you are uncomfortable with driving in snow conditions we strongly recommend asking the hotel about public transportation options available. Snow tires or chains are often required for the last 5 miles, carry chains with you. For a visit during snow season it is strongly advised that you have Oregon-approved snow tires. If renting a vehicle for a winter visit, we suggest renting an SUV with 4x4 and snow tires, several rental agencies at PDX have these available. From the Portland area you take State route 26 (Mt Hood Hwy) to the town of Government Camp. Just past Government Camp take the Timberline Highway up to the Lodge.
Special thanks for assistance in preparing the article and tour go to:
Jeff Kohnstamm, President, RLK & Company- Timberline Lodge
Linny Adamson, Hotel Curator, RLK & Company- Timberline Lodge
Brian Reed, Marketing Director, RLK & Company- Timberline Lodge
Jon Tullis, Director of Public Affairs, RLK & Company- Timberline Lodge
Randi Black, Friends of Timberline
and of course my wife Julie, who puts up with my love of old hotels,
and the enormous amount of time it takes to photograph them and write these articles and tours.
References for Additional Information:
- Books on Timberline:
- Wikipedia - Timberline Lodge
- Timberline Lodge, A Guided Tour. Friends of Timberline, 2005. I highly recommend you get a copy of this small booklet when you visit Timberline. It is available at the Lodge gift shop. Their tour is much better than mine! -Jess
- Timberline Lodge, by Rachael Griffin and Sarah Munro.
This book is out of print, but available used. It is excellent.
- Timberline Lodge, A Place in History Excellent article by Jon Tullis on the history of Timberline Lodge. Jon is Director of Public Affairs for the lodge, but in keeping with a long tradition of hiring artists at Timberline, Jon is also a singer/songwriter/poet. Be sure to also check out Jon's great songs and poems about Timberline; Living on the Mountain, This Old Mountain, First Snow, When the Pheasants Fly.
- University of Michigan photos of Timberline, includes some historic photos.
- History of Development on Mt Hood from pdxhistory.com Includes great photos of the Skiway Tram, an aerial tram made from old city buses that once ran up the mountain from Govt. Camp to Timberline Lodge.
- The William Joseph Gallery has a number of historic photos of Timberline Lodge
- The Builders of Timberline: Official History of Timberline Lodge, Mt. Hood, Oregon (VHS Video)
- Books on similar Lodges:
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