Bend, OR

First of all do you know what a hoodoo is? Read through the article and you will find out exactly why it is that Hoodoo is so aptly named. Located just over an hour from Bend and 15 minutes from Camp Sherman is Hoodoo Ski Resort where my preference to ski is. I drive this pass a lot when I visit my daughter so in that I pass the ski resort frequently so it is nothing for me to plan a stop for some skiing should I choose to do so.

Hoodoo has just the right amount of people for me. Not so overly filled with skiers that it becomes hard to ski as I am not the best skier, and not so few people that there isn’t life going on. Hoodoo, like Willamette Ski resort, offers night skiing as well and the tube park which is where I spend my time if any of the kids are with me. The tube park is probably the best tube park Oregon has to offer as it has 20 different runs. It also has a mascot named Harold who greets you at the top. Harold looks like a dragon or dinosaur. I can’t quite figure it out.

Hoodoo’s events are also like a family reunion. In February they have the winter carnival which has kid games, bbq, live music, fireworks and dummy downhill contest which I have not yet done but it lookslike it could be fun and yes does actually use a real dummy that you dress, decorate or whatever. There are rules that go along with entering the dummy contest, I can’t say I know what they are but the prizes are great and the kids say that they look like me every once in awhile when I take a tumble.

From my knowledge; unlike other ski resorts Hoodoo does try and have events year round. My favorite has been the Rodeo day in March as I cook a mean chili and they have a chili cook off and I have won day passes twice, for my family. They also have a toy which I would love in my backyard playground and that is the mechanical bull. While I never will be in a real rodeo and have no desire to, riding the mechanical bull is a past time of mine that I love. It gives me the western cowgirl feel and provides an odd mix among the skis of the mountain. If you’ve never ridden this type of bull and gone skiing afterwards it is a huge challenge as your legs will feel like jello. I would suggest the tube park for a bit.

Hoodoo offers other events which I have not gone to but just the skiing, tubing and the two events the kids and I have gone to have made for a great time. We have made friends each time and all in all it gives us something different than always snowmobiling and is easy on the kids.

Lastly a hoodoo is a pillar of rock, shaped over time by erosion which only goes to show that with no thoughts of volcanic eruption Hoodoo may just very well be the safest in which to ski on. Hoodoo also supports the protection of natural resources to include their slopes.