Making Tracks

Snowshoeing is the fastest-growing winter participation sport, and Teri Smith knows why. “If you can walk, you can snowshoe,” says the Wilsonville, Ore., resident, who has blazed the trail for hundreds of first-time snowshoers, teaching workshops and leading tours throughout the West Coast for the Atlas Snowshoe Company. “It’s a wonderful way to experience the beauty of the woods in winter.”

Technology has transformed this 6,000-year-old form of winter transportation. Gone are the oversized, webbed snowshoes of the past. Thanks to new materials and advanced engineering, modern snowshoes are lightweight and compact, enabling even first-timers to make their own tracks.

White River Canyon, Mt. Hood – 3 miles
One of Smith’s favorite places to snowshoe is at Mt. Hood’s White River Canyon. This three-mile hike features stunning views of Oregon’s highest peak.
From the Sno-Park at White River West, the trail leads northeast across a flat, open meadow toward Mt. Hood’s imposing 11,239-foot summit. To the right lies a broad canyon gouged by the White River, which parallels the hiking route.

A quarter-mile into the trail is one of the mountain’s most popular sledding spots, known as “the pit” because it was once used as a rock quarry. Families flock here on winter weekends to plunge down the steep bowl on the left.

Beyond this point, snowshoers are left alone to enjoy the majesty of the mountain. After a mile, the trail leads up a short but steep hill and follows the ridgeline for another half-mile to a set of power lines passing overhead, marking the turnaround for this three-mile hike.

On the way back, hikers can simply retrace their steps or, for a more secluded experience, keep right and follow the tree-lined ridge through a dense pine forest trail marked with blue diamonds back to the trailhead.

Getting there: From Portland, travel east on Highway 26 for 54 miles, then turn north on Highway 35 toward Hood River. Continue four miles to White River West Sno-Park on the left. Sno-Park permit ($3/day; $15/year) required. For more information call the Zigzag Ranger District, 503.668.1700.

Nordeen Loop, Bend – 4.9 miles
Pack a lunch and spend the day hiking Central Oregon’s Cascades to a warming hut named in honor of Emil Nordeen, the rugged Swede who moved to Bend in 1920 and became one of the Northwest’s Nordic pioneers. He co-founded Bend’s first ski club and was twice victorious in the arduous 42-mile Klamath ski race to Crater Lake.

The Nordeen Loop is accessible from Swampy Lakes Sno-Park via a half-mile uphill hike along the Tangent Loop. Signs of winter wildlife abound as the tracks of deer and snowshoe hares crisscross the trail. A quarter-mile later, at the split in the Nordeen Loop trail, follow the north loop to the left and descend gradually two miles to the shelter, which sits on a bluff with views to the south and east, including Newberry Crater and the city of Bend.

The shelter is stocked with wood for a fire, and is the perfect place to enjoy a picnic lunch before continuing on the south loop, which leads through a secluded forest 2.4 miles back to the trailhead.

Getting there: From Bend, travel west 16 miles along
Century Drive to Swampy Lakes Sno-Park (permit required). For more information call Bend/Fort Rock Ranger District, 541.383.4000.

Silent Creek Trail, Diamond Lake – 4 to 5 miles
A snowshoe trip along the Silent Creek Trail at Diamond Lake in Southern Oregon offers a magical mix of scenery and silence as the trail wanders through a lodgepole pine forest, then parallels picturesque Silent Creek to the lakefront.

From Three Lakes Sno-Park, hikers follow a main road shared with snowmobiles for 50 yards before turning right onto Silent Creek Trail. The route meanders through sun-dappled woods, descending gently for a mile. Below a high ridge, Silent Creek suddenly appears on the left. The trail follows the east bank of the creek, playing peek-a-boo as it snakes through the woods, affording a series of magical views. Beavers have been busy along the banks, clogging the creek with felled trees and leaving a patchwork of gnawed trunks.

At 1.5 miles, the trail crosses a main road and resumes 100 yards to the west, continuing on to Rainbow Bridge, which delicately frames the creek.
Turn around here for a four- to five-mile hike or cross the bridge and follow the creek another half-mile to the lake’s edge, where sharp-peaked Mt. Thielsen reflects in Diamond Lake.

Getting There: From Medford, follow Highway 62 east for 55 miles to Highway 230 east, the Diamond Lake Highway. Three Lakes Sno-Park is three miles before Diamond Lake on Highway 230 (Sno-Park permit required). For more information call Diamond Lake Ranger District, 541.498.2531.