Hood River County

The county in brief

A traveler's read on Hood River County

Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood's south slope runs ski lifts year-round (the Palmer Glacier T-bar operates June through Labor Day for racing camps and freestyle clinics per Timberline 2024 summer schedule) — the only commercial ski operation in the lower 48 states with continuous summer lift service. Mount Hood at 11,249 ft is Oregon's high point and an active stratovolcano per USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory monitoring (last confirmed eruption around 1865; current activity classified as 'Normal' on the USGS five-color alert scale). Hood River County's 533 sq mi wrap the entire east slope of Mount Hood, the Hood River Valley (the largest commercial pear-growing valley in the United States per USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service — Anjou, Bartlett, Bosc, Comice, and Forelle pears combine to over 25,000 acres of orchard per the Hood River Grower-Shipper Association), and the Columbia River's southern shore where the river constricts into the western Columbia River Gorge.

The Fruit Loop Highway (a 35-mile self-guided agritourism route signed by Hood River County) loops through Parkdale, Mount Hood town, Dee, and back to Hood River past 25+ U-pick orchards, cideries, and farm stands; the loop accommodates rigs to 35 ft on its OR-35 spine but the Lost Lake Road spur narrows to 22 ft beyond mile 8. Mt. Hood National Forest dispersed-camping density is high on Lolo Pass Road, Forest Service Road 18 to Lost Lake, and the East Fork Hood River corridor — all with 14-day stay limits under standard USFS Region 6 regulations. Tucker Park (Hood River County Parks, 25 sites on the Hood River) accepts rigs to 40 ft with full hookups. The City of Hood River (population 7,884, the county seat) enforces a no-overnight-RV street parking ordinance citywide (Municipal Code §5.16.040), and the East Fork Hood River and Sherwood Forest Service campgrounds (rigs to 30 ft, no hookups) are the closest dispersed-alternative bases. Hood River is the windsurfing capital of North America — the Columbia River Gorge venturi compresses Pacific air at 20-35 mph from May through September per the Hood River Marina wind-monitoring station.