Hiking in Mount Hood National Forest – Oregon
I finally got to visit a place that has been on my list for ages – the pacific northwest! At the beginning of the month, my sister and I flew from Newark, New Jersey to Portland, Oregon for a week of vacation. We arrived in Portland on Saturday night, picked up our car at the Portland Airport, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, and drove about an hour to Mount Hood Village. Our Air BnB was a tiny cabin in the most magical forest!
It looked like something straight out of Instagram. It was nestled in Mount Hood National Forest. The next day, we hiked to Mirror Lake. The trailhead parking is located right next to the Mount Hood Ski Bowl. Since we were at high elevation, there was still ice and snow on the trail! Despite the ice, the sun was shining! The hike itself was fairly easy, just a 3.7 mile loop around Mirror Lake with fabulous views of Mount Hood.
Following our hike, we drove a few minutes down the road to Mount Hood Brewing Company for some tasty beers and delicious food. Next, we drove through Government Camp to get to Timberline Lodge, which was still open for ski season, as the lifts were turning. It’s the same lodge that was featured in The Shining! The drive up to the road was winding but offered some gorgeous views of the neighboring mountains.
That night, we drove into Portland. We didn’t spend much time in the city, but we had to stop at the famous Voodoo Doughnut!
We ordered a half dozen to-go in the iconic pink box to share throughout the rest of our trip and they did not disappoint. After indulging in a sugar bomb, we walked to Powell’s bookstore, a three-story “city of books” that that claims it is the “world’s largest independent bookstore”. It was incredible and I could have spent hours there. Wandering around the shelves, I was transported back to the days when I used to browse bookstores back in college– nowadays bookstores are almost a thing of the past!
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