Un-crowded slopes and beautiful surroundings provide excellent downhill and cross-country skiing and snow-mobiling. Crater Lake National Park, world famous for its beauty, offers fantastic cross-country skiing. Snowmobile runs and downhill or alpine skiing is available at Mt. Shasta, Mt. Bachelor, Crater Lake, Mt. Ashland and various other locations.

Crater Lake. The circumnavigation of the rim of Crater Lake is one of the classic cross-country ski routes in the US. The circuit follows the snow-covered Rim Drive, which generally stays within sight of the edge of the rim, except for a few sections on the south and east sides where it must detour far from the lake. The route is generally done in about 2-3 days, although cross-country racers have done it in less than 8 hours. Many parts of the road are difficult to follow when snow-covered, so this is definitely a backcountry tour. For the ski mountaineer, there are many steeper slopes dropping from the various high points along the rim which would provide enough good turns to make the loop worthwhile (as if the scenery alone wasn't enough!).

Link to Crater Lake

The Mt. Ashland Ski Area is nestled in the magnificent Siskiyou Mountains, the alpine gateway to the Pacific Northwest. Mount Ashland is conveniently located halfway between San Francisco and Portland; just 8 miles off Interstate 5. There is an annual snowfall of over 300 inches; plenty of snow for powder hounds and plenty of sun all winter long. The ski area has 23 trails in addition to chute skiing in a glacial cirque called the 'bowl'. The mountain, the people, and the quaint City of Ashland make a winning combination.

Links for Mt. Bachelor

http://www.mtbachelor.com/

http://www.finetravel.com/skiing/ski_usa/mt.bachelor.htm