Covering more than 4,300 acres with 360 degrees of runs racing down a spectacular 9,000-foot volcanic summit, Mt. Bachelor has a decade-worth of slopes to explore. So where do you go first? Do you spend precious powder time studying the map or do you just go for it and hope for the best? The solution: use this to find the best runs, no matter the weather, the snow conditions, and your skill level. 

Why should you trust me? I started skiing Mt. Bachelor about the same time I learned to walk and then spent 12 years ski racing every weekend with my dad as my coach. I know my way around the mountain better than my own neighborhood. While I won’t divulge all of my favorite spots—good things come to those who seek them out—I am here to help you find some of the best places on our volcano, many of which don’t even appear on the trail map.

Ready to log some of the best days of the season? Read on to find the best ways to experience Mt. Bachelor. But first, some basics:

What are some great ski vacation deals happening this winter?

Mt. Bachelor is one of the largest ski areas in the country but costs a fraction of many Colorado resorts.

• Kids ski free! Lift tickets for children ages 6-12 cost $0 for the same number of days their parents ski with the advance online purchase of a special “Kids Ski Free” ticket. Kids 5 and under ski free, period.
• Plan ahead, pay less: Buying lift tickets online in advance will save you big time. Score single-day tickets for as low as $99 (vs. $150 or more) and multiday tickets for as low as $85 a day. 
• Easy to rent skis: Mt. Bachelor’s rental shop offers new skis from Salomon and snowboards from Burton, with junior sizes for the kids. Leave the equipment at the mountain for a hassle-free experience.
• Free season pass with lessons: Sign up for the “Ski or Board in 4” and you’ll get four, five-hour long lessons, rental equipment, and a season pass good for the rest of the year so you can hone your skills—as if you needed an excuse to come back.
• Find a place to stay that fits your budget with great deals in Bend, where you’ll also have a wide range of breweries, restaurants, and family-friendly activities to do on rest days. 
• Don’t forget! Mt. Bachelor is on the Ikon Pass, too, with some of the most reliable snow in the West. 

What slopes have the best views at Bachelor?

On bluebird days, when the entirety of Central Oregon and the High Cascades splay out before you, Mt. Bachelor’s summit offers unbeatable views, vibes, and runs, but be forewarned, this is extreme, high-alpine country and conditions can change quickly. (Read: experts only, please). From the top of the Summit Lift, you can find fast, intermediate groomed runs like Beverly Hills and Healy Heights. If you’re an excellent skier ready to navigate challenging, variable conditions, I highly recommend taking advantage of the 360-degree terrain by dropping into the wide-open wonderland known as Cow’s Face or traverse into the steep Cirque Bowl—both of which require expert skills. If you don’t mind shouldering your equipment and hiking uphill about 130 vertical feet from the top Summit lift station toward the true summit, you’ll find some rock features called “the Pinnacles” that offer some of the steepest slopes on the mountain. No matter where you drop in, if conditions permit, you won’t regret the thigh-burning runs soaked in breathtaking views. Have your camera ready.  

If Summit isn’t open, try the runs off Outback and Northwest lifts for stellar views of the 10,300-foot Three Sisters and 9,177-foot Broken Top. For the best dining views (and best french fries, in my opinion), head to the lodge at the top of Pine Marten. If the weather is cooperating, you can sit outside on the terrace, and it feels like you can reach out and touch the other mountains.   

Where’s the best place to go for powder?

Everyone—and I mean everyone—will be heading up to Mt. Bachelor to hit the runs off the Cloudchaser, Northwest, and Outback lifts on a pow day. Crews often need to work through the night to de-ice those lifts so delays are common. The first lifts to open will likely be Pine Marten, Red Chair, and Skyliner on the more northerly aspects of the mountain, as well as Sunrise to the northeast, but Sunrise is mostly a beginner area. My tip: when everyone hightails it east (Cloudchaser) and northwest (Outback and Northwest), stay in the middle. The runs off Pine Marten and Skyliner will have plenty of tracks by then but those areas will also be less crowded. You’ll log more runs and have more time to find pockets of fresh snow, which you will certainly find. Don’t be afraid to ask lift operators when they think lifts will open and keep your eye on the digital maps for your best chances of getting top-to-bottom untracked runs. 

What are the best slopes on low visibility days?

The good news? Mt. Bachelor on average gets about 35 feet of snow a year. The bad news? That’s a lot of stormy days. Visibility can plummet. Sometimes the flat light can even make you dizzy. On those “thick viz” days, the woods are your new best friend but you’ll need to take extra care. Deep holes of unconsolidated snow can form around the base of trees to create perilous “tree wells’’ that can trap skiers and snowboarders, suffocating them to death. Always ski with a buddy in sight and know your limits. A buddy who sees you fall into a tree well will be the only one who can save you in time. 

When you’re ready, there’s a section of forest you won’t find on the map called Pecker Woods that stretches between Outback Lift and Northwest Lift that holds loads of great lines. The chairlift ride back up can be blustery but the epic turns you get through this giant old growth-forest will make it worth it. Similarly, there are some great shots through the trees off of Cloudchaser and Red Chair. Off of the Skyliner Lift, you will find another great section of forest not named on the map called the Foster Woods, which you can drop into off of Cliffhanger, a blue run. 

Another tip: storms tend to blow in from the northwest. The Cloudchaser lift sits in the southeast. It’s often much calmer on that side of the mountain. 

What are the best runs to ski at Bachelor first thing in the morning?

Mt. Bachelor’s east slopes off Cloudchaser are the best spots to find softer in the morning, especially as the season goes on. In spring, that’s where you’ll first find “corn snow,” that silky, soft layer of snow that often forms atop a harder layer of compacted snow when the sunlight hits it. As the sun moves, work your way west throughout the day. On extra-cold days, consider fast groomers like Cliffhanger, Jet Stream, Convergence Zone to warm up your legs. In the spring, head to Cow’s Face in the morning, and then save the backside or bowls for the later half of the day when the sun softens them up. The Cinder Cone off of Pine Marten is great for hitting some accessible off-piste turns. Pick up a free “uphill” permit from the ticket office first.

What are the best terrain parks at Mt. Bachelor? 

For beginners, there are a whopping seven terrain parks off of Sunrise ranging from extra-small to medium. Intermediate to advanced park rats should head to Skyliner, since there are five more parks with small to large terrain options there. I am by no means a daredevil, but I like dropping into Peace Park off of Cliffhanger since it has small to medium jumps and boxes that are fun to hit from time to time. The half pipe on Pine Marten is also open to skiers and snowboarders when it’s not being used for an event.  

I’m taking a lesson. Where should I go after?

All lessons start at the West Village, so afterward, you could stick to greens but I suggest you try Leeway. Why? It’s a true blue run at the start but gives way to an easier green section down low. That means you can begin with a challenge and then ease your way down before your legs flame out. Best of all, Leeway is often much quieter than other blues like Olympian, Coffee, or Canyon, and it’ll take you right by “the Cone,” a scenic mini volcano-on-a-volcano that’s popular place for backcountry skiers. For other runs that start blue and end green, I recommend Avalanche to Marshmallow off the Skyliner Lift and Sunrise Lift, or Flying Dutchman to Bluebird on the Cloudchaser Lift. 

Does Mt. Bachelor have any “secret” spots? 

Well, they wouldn’t be so secret then, would they? But yes! Mt. Bachelor has loads of hidden spots and features that appear on no map but that lifelong skiers of the mountain know well. Baby face? That’s a shot just above the Little Pine lift that comes into shape once there’s enough snow to bury the saplings. Here’s some good local lore for you, too: When taking the get-back toward the top Pine Marten lift station from the top of the Outback lift you’ll find a plaque on a tree called, “Tom’s Tree.” Tom was a Mt. Bachelor employee out skiing with coworkers when he skied right into the tree. Tom was completely fine, but they put a plaque up, because why not? 

If you look closely into the trees off Skyliner, Pine Marten, and Red Chair, you’ll find trees that serve as memorials to Mt. Bachelor legends like the founder of the ski resort, Bill Healy, and one for a beloved local skier, Mike Puddy.

That’s it! Hope this has inspired you to get out and explore one of the greatest ski areas in the country. No doubt you’ll find plenty of your own places along the way.