Trillium Lake and Timberline Lodge: Oregon Author

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Join me as we travel to fascinating places in this beautiful state, enjoy Pacific Northwest foods and share recipes, visit Oregon sports teams, admire local flora and fauna, attend events, and talk about all things Oregon.

Trillium Lake and Timberline Lodge

Trillium Lake and Mt. Hood

Hello, Word Lovers!

Summertime and temperatures are climbing. Fortunately, I live in the beautiful state of Oregon, where you’re never far away from mountains, lakes, great rivers, the Pacific Ocean, wine country, high desert, plains, forests – including redwood forests – and lots of places to escape the heat and get away for awhile.

When I first launched the Lynne Danley, Wordsmith website, many viewers asked me about the beautiful photo of a mountain and lake on the homepage. Because it was cold and rainy then, I decided that, come summer, I’d grab my husband Terry and take a trip out to that very mountain lake. Then I could tell everyone reading Oregon Author all about it. It’s time! Come with us to

Trillium Lake

Getting to Trillium Lake

We picked a day when the forecasted high in the Portland metro area was 94. It’s about a two-hour drive east from our home in Hillsboro to Trillium Lake, which is in the Mt. Hood National Forest about 8 miles south of Mt. Hood. We took Interstate 84 to Gresham and connected with Highway 26. That took us through Sandy and Government Camp to the lake.

It was hazy and, we thought, smoky until we rose above all that into a magnificent, sunny mountain morning. We got to the lake a little after 10:00 am on a Wednesday and were able to find a place to park. That’s not always easy, especially on a weekend or holiday, when you might just have to drive around a bit until you find a pull-off where you can park. The best part is that nothing in the area is very far from the lake and the access is easy. No steep climbs or cliffs to scramble up or down. Happily, you can bring Grandma and Grandpa or small kids and pets and not have to worry about the terrain.

Trillium Lake Amenities

The Trillium Lake recreation area includes just about everything you might want for a trip to the lake. There’s a campground (reserve online well in advance of your intended stay – up to six months before is recommended). Latrines and drinking water are available. With little effort, you’ll find picnic grounds, two boat ramps, a fishing pier, a swimming area, trails, and an easy two-mile hiking trail around the 63-acre lake. 

A Morning at Trilium Lake

We walked just a short distance from our car and found a private little lakeside patch big enough for our camp chairs and a flat rock, where Terry cast a line out and eventually donated a lure to the lake – a fishing tradition for us. Originally, we’d planned to read for awhile. But the day was so beautiful and there was so much going on that we ended up just sitting in our camp chairs in the gentle breeze and enjoying the beautiful views of Mt. Hood and the lake while we watched the action.

Dozens of people came by in rafts or small fishing boats (motorboats are not allowed), but no one was yelling or carrying on. It was quiet and peaceful. Apparently, we chose a favorite place for ducks to come begging. Dozens of them came by, padded right up to us, and then went on their way. We rarely just sit and enjoy our surroundings, and it was wonderful. Behind us, hikers followed the lakeside trail. And across the lake, we could see people fishing from the wooden pier.

When we began to get hungry, we walked around a bit, then decided to take our lunch a few miles up the mountain and enjoy it at

Timberline Lodge

Timberline Lodge is one of the most famous landmarks in Oregon, drawing about two million visitors a year. It’s the place where the exterior shots in The Shining were filmed, making it, along with The Goonies house in Astoria, a favorite Oregon destination for moviegoers. Interestingly, the 55,000 square foot lodge and inn were built in 1937, and there’s a concerted effort to keep it looking like it did back then. Timberline Lodge rises out of the mountain into the landscape like an alpine lighthouse. Declared a National Historic Landmark in 1977, it’s impressive and beautiful.

We’d been to the ski area a couple times shortly after we moved to Oregon almost twenty years ago. That was in winter, when Terry went skiing and I minded our rat terrier and hiked through the snow around the half-buried lodge. We’d never been there in the summertime and weren’t quite sure what to expect.

Skiing in July? Yes!

What we didn’t expect was the number of cars in the parking lots. Hundreds of them. We had to drive around a bit until someone pulled out, and we were in the back of the lots.

On the drive up, we noticed there wasn’t a lot of snow on the mountain. To be sure, I didn’t imagine the ski area would be open. But it was, and there were plenty of skiers and boarders climbing to the lodge with us. We learned that Timberline is the only ski area in North America open all year. Often, the ski season lasts ten months. There were also lots of mountain bikers, all of them gathering for an event that was being organized as we approached the lodge. We noticed many trails in the area, including snowshoe trails and access to the Pacific Crest Trail. Lots to see and do all year!

Now hungry, we looked around for a place to eat lunch, but we didn’t see any picnic tables or places where people were hanging out. Everyone was walking up the mountain to the lodge. So we joined them and ended up on a patio, where people were sitting on Adirondack chairs eating and enjoying the view. From our chairs, we could just see some ant-sized skiers coming down what appeared to be the one open run. The lift chairs on their cables climbed up the mountain in front of us. On such a beautiful day, we took our time eating before we entered the lodge to look around.

Timberline Lodge Then and Now

Architecturally, Timberline Lodge is a veritable warren of corridors, little rooms, and cubbyholes. The walls are covered with old-time skis, poles, posters, and magazines from days gone by. The huge stone fireplace has been left blackened and the chairs and tables are scuffed and worn, but it all works.

At a large restaurant and dining room, the Cascade, people were lined up to make their selections from the impressive buffet. We checked out the menu and found lots of mouthwatering offerings at rather steep prices. There’s a cozy bar, the Blue Ox, in the basement and two other bars nearby. The lodge boasts a gift shop and a conference center as well. Lively and busy, the lodge swarmed with restaurant patrons, hotel guests, tourists being led around by docents, and day trippers edging past each other in the narrow corridors. All very atmospheric and social.

Our visit inspired a scene for my second novel in the Calder-Pace Suspense Thriller Series. I’m writing the novel now, and Mt. Hood will definitely appear. Of course, when your characters live in the Portland, OR metro area, Mt. Hood appears to them frequently. It can’t help itself.

On the drive home, we observed how close the beautiful Mt. Hood recreation areas are to us and determined we’d come to the mountain more often. That is, when we’re not going to the ocean or the wine country or the redwoods or….

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Oregon? See you next time when the Oregon Author visits McMenamins.

May the Words Be with You.