Winter Van Life: Willamette Pass

Time of Our Visit: Mid-February 2023

Willamette Pass is located in Oregon and sits within the Willamette and Deschutes National Forests. Most locals we talked to on the lift were coming from Eugene and split their ski and ride season between Willamette Pass and Hoodoo Ski area near Sisters, Oregon. Willamette is about 75 minutes from Eugene and less than 2 hours from Bend.

What We Love About Willamette Pass

We rushed over to Willamette Pass at the end of our ski day at Mt. Shasta Ski Park because they received 23 inches of snow during a Monday and Tuesday. Willamette Pass is always closed on Monday and Tuesday setting up Wednesday to be a great powder day. Any fresh snow goes untouched from closing on Sunday to their reopening on Wednesday.

I was thinking our Wednesday visit would be a less busy day, but I completely underestimated the amount of enthusiasm the locals would have. Apparently, they hadn’t seen a storm of this magnitude all year, which I found surprising since they average 430 inches of snow annually. The day was certainly worthy of calling in sick to work or skipping school.

The line for the main Eagle Peak Accelerator chair was longer than we’d grown accustomed to at smaller ski areas. We quickly accepted that we weren’t going to get fresh lines but that conditions would still be soft and great for taking advantage of all of their terrain. The sun was out and every person we talked to was ecstatic to be there. Willamette has some of the most spirited and devoted locals.

We were able to ski/ride Willamette using our Loveland season pass partner perks, but it was interesting to note that their day tickets start as low as $19. Willamette is part of Power Pass and we’ve definitely seen other resorts that are part of the same family with tickets under $50. Something to keep in mind if you want to try other ski areas that aren’t on multi-resort passes like Epic, Ikon, or Indy.

Plan Your RV/Van Life Road Trip to Willamette Pass

willamettepass.com
Highway 58 – Mile Marker 62, Cascade Summit, Oregon
customerservice@willamettepass.ski

Pass affiliation: Power Pass 2023/24

Lift operations: Typically Wednesday through Sunday, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Check Willamette’s Operating Schedule for updates (scroll down).

Mountain Stats

• Lift-served trails: 555 acres
• Vertical rise: 1,563 feet
• Average annual snowfall: 430 inches

Driving to Willamette Pass

If you’re coming from Bend or Klamath Falls, you’ll gain elevation on Oregon Highway 58 W to Willamette Pass once you leave US Highway 97. It’s a pretty mellow drive and only mildly windy. No scary drop offs for being a mountain road. The only thing I’d note is the number of semis. There were several stopped at Crescent Junction chaining up, so give them plenty of space. If you have time, stop at the turnout for Odell Lake.

My unofficial lift chair survey says that most people were traveling OR-58 E from Eugene, so I would anticipate more people speeding up the highway from that direction.

From OR-58, you’ll turn into the ski area at this sign:

Parking at Willamette Pass

Unlike a lot of other Oregon ski areas, you don’t need an Oregon Sno-Park permit to park at Willamette Pass.

When you enter the ski area, ski patrol and overnight RV parking will be on your right designated by a sign and some orange cones. There are a few open parking spots directly to the left. If you continue forward, you’ll pass the lodge on your right and then you’ll enter the main parking area.

We were fortunate to get an end spot next to some cones almost directly across from the lodge after arriving more than an hour before Willamette opened.

We’re so glad that we did because there was a steady stream of cars arriving for about an hour and many ended up having to park across the highway in another lot. Also, some people started what I’ll call an illegal parking row making it difficult or impossible for vehicles to maneuver through the main parking area on one side. Others could not leave. We watched a brand new Sprinter van, still with its temporarily plates, bravely squeeze through cars with only centimeters of wiggle room on each side.

The poor parking attendant was doing his best to guide people with a smile, but a few failed to follow his instructions making his job that much harder. He was still so polite when he had to ask people to move their vehicle. I don’t think their parking lot is like that all of the time, but if you intend on leaving in a hurry, make sure you park strategically so that you don’t get sardined.

If you’re oversized and you only intend on being there for the day, talk to the parking attendant. They seem to go out of their way to make sure you fit. They even parked a guy towing a trailer with a very large cylinder strapped to it. Not sure why he brought it to the ski area but Willamette didn’t turn him away.

Redeeming Reciprocal Season Pass Benefits at Willamette

During this 2022/23 season, we had Loveland season passes which gives us 3 free days at Willamette Pass. We went to Guest Services inside the lodge with our season passes and photo IDs. The person helping us had a lot of trouble figuring out how to issue our tickets. It might’ve been because Willamette was a new Loveland partner this season. It took help from a few other staff members to figure out a workaround after 20 minutes of being at the Guest Services window. On our second day it was a little bit faster but still not straightforward. Everyone at Willamette was super nice and helpful, but go with some patience if you’re trying to redeem reciprocal partner benefits.

Tips on How to Ski/Ride Willamette Pass

See Willamette Pass’s Trail Map to follow along. I love Willamette’s map because it is a topo, which I found to be easier for navigating the mountain compared to more artistic renderings.

Beginner’s will want to stick to the Twilight Lift as there is no beginner terrain accessible from any other chair. We actually started our day over at Twilight while we waited for the powder day chaos to clear out at the main Eagle Peak Accelerator chair. While the beginner and intermediate runs were groomed, there was a lot of ungroomed powder on both sides of the runs.

By George was also ungroomed but really started to thicken up with the sun by mid-morning.

Intermediates can access blue runs from any lift. However, I’d say my favorite blues were Where’s Waldo and Boundary Pass at Peak 2.

The blues accessible from the Eagle Peak Accelerator seemed more like wide cat tracks traversing across the mountain. Inexperienced snowboarders might have to skate a bit.

If you want some warm-up runs, start at Twilight where the blues are shortest.

If you want to get your heart rate up, head to the long, ungroomed black runs that you enter from Kaleidoscope. The best views from Willamette can be found over here as you look at Odell Lake.

We rode the chair with a nice couple from Eugene and the wife mentioned that her favorite run with the best snow was RTS. On the trail map it’s marked as a single black, but the sign on the mountain shows that it is a double black. According to Wikipedia, the steepest part of its slope is 52 degrees. We were hesitating to ski RTS because it appeared icy at the top looking from the chair, and there were caution signs dotting the entry. With a local’s endorsement, we decided to give it a try. Well, it did have the best snow. However, it wasn’t good until about a third of the way down. The upper portion was icy and littered with tree tops and rocks. It wasn’t the worst conditions I’ve skied in, but at 52 degrees, I was definitely feeling shaky in my limbs.

I tried to do some tree runs in the Peak 2 area, but the snow was a little deep and the trees were a little too tight for me to ski them gracefully. I did like this section as seen from the lift to the right. It’s unmarked on the trail map.

If you want to catch some air, there is a cliff drop underneath the Peak 2 Lift. It’s marked with a caution symbol on the trail map.

Peak 2 did not open right away due to all of the fresh snow. Once it did open, the crowds thinned out at the Eagle Peak Accelerator. Skier and rider traffic really dwindled after only about an hour of the mountain opening. The parking lot was still full and there were people arriving all the way up until about 2:30 pm when the parking lot attendant stopped directing vehicles. I assume everyone’s legs were just tired and they were spending a lot of time in the lodge.

Where to Sleep in Your Van/RV

Willamette Pass – Overnight RV parking is back for the 2024/25 season.

Our notes from the 2022/23 season…Overnight RV camping is available for a fee. They have electrical hookup sites for $20 and sites without electrical for $10. (For the 2024/25 season, prices are $30 and $15, respectively.) Aside from sites with electrical hookups, there are no amenities accept restrooms that are open during normal business hours. There are no trash cans or dumpsters, so please pack it out.

You’ll see the RV parking area immediately to your right when you enter the ski area from the highway. It is blocked by cones for overnight RVers as well as ski patrol. However, the sandwich board sign that was there said SKI PATROL PARKING ONLY. RV parking is first-come, first-served, so it is best to pick an open spot before paying for your permit. You have to pay at the lodge which is only a short walk away.

We were unable to find a site when we arrived about an hour before the lifts started spinning. It seemed everyone packed the overnight RV parking area on Tuesday evening. We considered arriving Tuesday evening, but Willamette Pass’s site says, “…overnight parking is allowed by a paid permit only during the operating days only.” Since they are closed on Tuesdays, I figured showing up and parking our van would be off limits. I was also worried that with the amount of snow falling, snow removal operations would be in progress or the parking area might not be plowed at all. All of my assumptions were incorrect. Oh well!

We parked our van in the general parking area and decided we should pay for our overnight permit that morning to ensure ourselves a spot. We tried to pay in the lodge at Guest Services, but you actually need to go upstairs to the restaurant and pay there. I noticed later that there is a blue sign when you enter the parking lot that directs you where to go.

We moved over to the overnight area after the lifts stopped spinning and several RVers from the previous night had vacated. We actually chose a spot across from the coned off overnight RV and ski patrol area. Sites are unmarked so we found the flattest spot we could that offered us privacy on one side of our van. The lot is mostly unlevel so bring your levelers or plan on an awkward night of sleep.

While we weren’t in need of electrical, I was curious how to get an electrical site as nothing was marked. I finally noticed that there were electrical hookups on the backside of very tall wood poles. It was a setup we’d never seen before. Most of the electrical sites were occupied by Class As.

Overnight RV camping is in high demand at Willamette and many other ski areas, especially on weekends. We have a friendly request. When you pick your overnight spot, make sure you are maximizing the space left for others and park as close as you can to another camper. Just leave enough space so that everyone can get their doors and slides open and walk between rigs. If you want to set up a hangout area, do it in front of your rig instead of the side. That side space is valuable to another person that wants to join the party at Willamette too.

Gold Lake Sno-Park – 0.7 miles / 1 minute on OR-58 – Willamette Pass suggests this Sno-Park as an alternative option on their website. An Oregon Sno-Park permit is required for day use or to stay overnight. You can learn more here. We didn’t get a chance to check out this Sno-Park as we didn’t travel OR-58 in that direction.

Crescent Junction RV Park – 7.3 miles / 10 minutes in Crescent Lake – We tried to get a spot at this RV park for showers, but I couldn’t get a call back or email response on the same day we wanted to arrive. We went to the RV park anyway. There were definitely people staying there, most were likely long-term, and it looked like they had open sites. But the office was closed and didn’t appear to operate in the winter anyway. There appeared to be a camp host but it was getting late and I didn’t want to knock on their door. We ended up sleeping in the Junction Sno-Park down the road.

Junction Sno-Park – 7.5 miles / 10 minutes in Crescent Lake – An Oregon Sno-Park permit is required for day use or to stay overnight. You can learn more here. We bought ours at Odells Sportsman Center close to the corner of OR-58 and OR-429 (Crescent Lake Highway). The Sno-Park is less than a half-mile around the corner from Odells on the Crescent Lake Highway. It is a loop with a massive amount of parking on both sides of the loop. It was very easy to find a level spot. Signs instruct you to park in the middle and not along the side berms. While nobody was there, it appeared this Sno-Park is primarily used by snowmobilers. A vault toilet was open when we were there but there are no other amenities.

Note: Google Maps shows that the location of Junction Sno-Park is 0.1 miles sooner on OR-429 than its actual location. There are signs to the Sno-Park on OR-58 and OR-429 if your GPS is inaccurate.

Crescent Creek Cottages and RV Park – 9.1 miles / 10 minutes in Crescent Lake – I noticed this RV park online and we passed it on our way to Willamette Pass. However, we only stay at RV parks for showers and their website says nothing about them. A single review on Tripadvisor from a tent camper mentions that a shower was available to them, even though they didn’t use it. I’d have to call the RV park to verify. Willamette Pass has brochures at Guest Services for this place so perhaps it will be worth trying next time.

Beaver Marsh Rest Area – 38.6 miles / 45 minutes near Chemult – If you’re traveling north on US-97 to OR-58 and are feeling tired, this is a clean Oregon rest area with level parking. There is a 12-hour parking limit.

Where to Find Conveniences Near Willamette Pass

Aside from Odells Sportsman Center and the Sinclair fuel station at Crescent Junction, Willamette Pass is pretty remote. Depending on the direction you are coming from, Eugene (northwest), Bend (northeast), and Klamath Falls (south) will offer the most conveniences.

Sightseeing Near Willamette Pass

Crater Lake National Park – 100 miles / 2 hours to the Annie Springs Entrance Station – Even though the Rim Drive is a must-do in summer and closes with snow, winter is still a special time to visit for backcountry camping, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and backcountry skiing and snowboarding.

Note: During winter, the North Entrance Road is closed. You must enter the park at the Annie Springs Entrance Station via Oregon Highway 62. Also, The crater is often hidden by clouds, especially in winter, so check the weather and the Crater Lake webcam to avoid disappointment.

Be careful not to get too close to the edge. There was a fair amount of cornice danger.

We were at Crater Lake on the Sunday of Presidents’ Day weekend and I was worried about parking, especially since there was recent snowfall and the weather was supposed to be beautiful. We got there early and left a little after noon and there was still plenty of parking when we left.

For the best van and RV camping options in winter, check out the Sno-Parks near the Annie Springs Entrance Station. An Oregon Sno-Park permit is required.

• Annie Creek Sno-Park – 20 minutes
• Thousand Springs Sno-Park – 20 minutes
• Farewell Bend Snow-Park – 25 minutes – 1/4 mile from the junction of Crater Lake and Diamond Lake

Closest Ski Areas to Willamette Pass

• Mt. Bachelor (Ikon Pass 2024/25) – 73.6 miles / 1.5 hours in Bend
• Hoodoo Ski Area (Indy Pass 2024/25) – 113 miles / 2.25 hours near Santiam Pass
• Mt. Ashland Ski Area (Indy Pass 2024/25) – 173 miles / 3.25 hours in Ashland