Depending on your route, it takes from 90 minutes to two hours to drive to the town of Mount Hood and neighboring Parkdale from Portland and the Portland International Airport (PDX). You’ll want a car to visit the mountains, national forest, and valley orchards. From town, it’s only a 20-minute drive to the Cooper Spur Ski and Tubing Area, the closest designated winter recreation area. If you’re heading up to Mt. Hood Meadows during ski season, you can catch the Gorge-to-Mountain Express Service from Portland, which stops in Parkdale.

A few different calendars define the pace of life in these parts. Up in the mountain, ski season peaks in winter and early spring — though at the highest elevations, you can even ski into the summer. The Hood River Valley beats to the rhythm of harvest seasons, which span late spring for berries, mid- to late summer for apricots and peaches, and fall for pears. Set in the valley, the town of Mount Hood has a temperate climate, so you can enjoy the outdoors any time of year, depending on your tolerance for rainfall in the colder months of late fall and winter.

To get a taste for Hood River Valley’s renowned wines and produce, take a spin along the Hood River Fruit Loop, a scenic route that spotlights over two dozen family-owned fruit stands, orchards, wineries, and cideries. The views along the drive are gobsmacking, with the peak of Mount Hood shimmering on the horizon and fields of fruit trees, grapes, and lavender in the foreground.

Zig-zagging down the slopes of Mount Hood ranks among the top snowsports experiences in the American West. Its five distinct ski areas cater to a range of skills and pastimes, from newbie skiers to experienced snowboarders. Mt. Hood Meadows has plenty of steep, adrenaline-pumping slopes. Mt. Hood Ski Bowl, which has 69 day runs, keeps the action going late with dozens of lit runs and a cosmic tubing park with LED lights and music. For families and beginners, the nearby Cooper Spur and Summit ski areas offer gentler terrain.

Alpine hikes abound on the mountain’s slopes and throughout the sprawling Mt. Hood National Forest, with trails leading to astounding viewpoints, reflective lakes, and scenic waterfalls. On the eastern base of Mount Hood, Tamanawas Falls Trail is an easy trek that takes you along bubbling Cold Spring Creek to a 100-foot-tall curtain of water tumbling into a mossy canyon.