Spend a day in the mountains exploring and learning about the winter landscape in the Deschutes National Forest and Mt. Bachelor this season.
Discover Your Forest, a nonprofit that partners with the Forest Service in Central Oregon, will be offering winter interpretive programs in collaboration with the Deschutes National Forest and Mt. Bachelor Ski Area. The programs will focus on the ecology, geology and wildlife of the Cascades and are led by volunteer rangers who interpret the winter landscape.
The “Snowshoe with a Ranger” program runs December 17 through March 26. Snowshoe tours are offered on weekends and during school breaks except for Christmas and New Year’s Day. Tours start at 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. and last 90 minutes.
Those who are interested can meet at the Forest Service snowshoe hut located in the parking lot of Mt. Bachelor’s West Village. Snowshoes are provided free of charge. No prior experience is needed. Participants must be eight years or older and should dress appropriately for cold weather.
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Interpretive ski and snowboard tours are offered on the slopes of Mt. Bachelor. Tours take place on weekends from January 7 through March 26. Tours begin at 12:00 p.m. and last one hour. Participants must have their own lift tickets and appropriate equipment, have competence on groomed, intermediate runs and be 18 years of age or older.
Both programs are free, but donations are suggested to support Discover Your Forest in providing educational programs and volunteer support to the Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests and the Crooked River National Grassland.
Reservations are not required for individual participants; however, tour size is limited and first-come, first-served. Group tours for schools, youth, or other organizations may be scheduled for weekdays. Pets are not allowed.
If you have any questions or would like to make a reservation, contact Karen Walsh at (541) 383-4771 or karen.walsh@discovernw.org. To see a calendar with all of Discover Your Forest’s upcoming programs visit www.discoveryourforest.org/all-programs.
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