Sharing is caring!

 

The Best Places to Eat & Stay with Kids at Mt Hood, Oregon

Mt Hood Territory in Oregon is one of our favorite places to visit because it has such a wealth of outdoor activities that are perfect for families with kids of any age. You can visit during any season at Mt Hood and find plenty of activities to keep kids active, learning new skills & having unique experiences in this gorgeous area of the Northwest. It is so accessible and easy to drive to as it’s just a little over an hour from downtown Portland and just 3 1/2 hours from Seattle to Government Camp, located right on the south slope of Mt Hood at 4000 feet.

Not only does Mt Hood have a wealth of outdoor activities, but the unique aspect to Mt Hood as compared to other mountain areas in the Northwest is that there are a variety of places to stay & eat all right on or near the mountain, so you don’t have to drive an hour or more to find great restaurants & you can stay close to the mountain to make it a fun weekend or even week-long getaway. This makes it so ideal for families to have plenty of options to enjoy without having to leave the general mountain area to commute back & forth.

We are sharing our favorite places to eat & stay with kids when you visit Mt Hood & we’d love to hear your suggestions, too!

Make sure to check out more Mt Hood posts to plan your trip to Mt Hood:

• 10 Winter Activities with Kids at Mt Hood Oregon
• Mt Hood Tiny House Village in Welches OR (just 20 minutes from Mt Hood)
• Mt Hood Oregon Resort (formerly Resort at the Mountain)
• Family Friendly Activities at Mt Hood during any Season

8 Best Places for Families to Eat at Mt Hood

Mt Hood Brewing Company 

Across the street from SkiBowl and right at the entrance to Government Camp is one of our favorite Mt Hood restaurants  – the Mt Hood Brewing Company. This is definitely a fun place to head for lunch or dinner after a busy day on the slopes or a day out hiking & exploring.

What we love the most is the ambiance at the Mt Hood Brewing Company – casual and cozy with a large fireplace & cozy chairs to warm up while you wait for your table. You’ll find plenty of folks still in their ski gear & a number of families making this a nice, family-friendly location. In the warmer months, they have patio seating, which is also dog friendly (they even offer a dog menu for treats for your pup!)

The food is definitely more upscale & unique than your typical apres ski fare with freshly prepared appetizers such as poutine fries with pulled pork (these were addictive) & greek lamb meatballs and entrees such as schnitzel sandwich, Alaskan Halibut burger & more. And you can take a peek right into the brewery to see the process from the large windows in the dining room, which is intriguing for kids & adults alike.

Ratskeller Pizzeria

If you’re looking for a casual place to head for lunch or dinner right in Government Camp, Ratskeller Pizzeria is quite popular with tourists & locals alike, especially on weekends with the jumbo tv’s for sports viewing (we were there on an NFL playoff day & it was packed with football fans). This is somewhere you can take kids, any age, and not worry about noise level. The food is your typical pub type of fare (burgers & sandwiches) as well as a variety of pizzas, which is what we enjoyed for an affordable lunch option for a family.

Kids (& kids at heart) will especially love this restaurant as they have an upstairs arcade room where you can eat in that room if you’d like or they have video cameras to keep an eye on the arcade room for older kids. {They share this arcade with the High Mountain Cafe during the lunch hour, too}

High Mountain Cafe 

If you’re looking for a fast, grab & go breakfast or lunch option to bring with you for a day outdoors, High Mountain Cafe in Government Camp offers tasty & healthy breakfast sandwiches and hearty entrees, as well as a variety of sandwich options for lunch. There are also a variety of baked goods & big cinnamon rolls too. I love the cozy couches you can relax on, too.

As I mentioned, they share space with Ratskeller pizza, so we ate our lunch there in the arcade which our girls loved (& dad might have loved it even more!) But we have also grabbed sandwiches in the past & eaten them outside on picnic tables in warmer weather or  you could grab some deli meat & cheese & crackers for a picnic lunch on a sledding or snowshoeing outing.

Coffee House 26 

If you’re headed to Mt Hood for a day trip or staying down in the foothills in Welches, Coffee House 26 makes a great stop on your way to the mountain for a quick grab & go breakfast. We stopped in for coffee for my husband (their coffee is from local roaster, Hoodland Coffee Company) and hot cocoa for our girls and grabbed bagel sandwiches & breakfast burritos for the road on our way to Mt Hood for morning ski lessons.

I recommend the Hippie bagel sandwich with avocado, cream cheese, tomato, spinach & onion, for a unique spin on avocado toast but on a bagel. Such a filling breakfast for a day spent outdoors in the cold!

Huckleberry Inn 

The Huckleberry Inn in Government Camp is a classic diner style restaurant that is known for their huckleberry specialties. This is a great option for breakfast as they serve a hearty portion of huckleberry pancakes (my girls opted for this meal for dinner & loved them) & they have delicious pastries.  Their huckleberry milkshakes are also a must whether you are eating at the Huckleberry Inn or just grabbing a milkshake to go. And if you’re looking for a sweet treat after a long day on the slopes, a slice of huckleberry pie will hit the spot. They are also open 24 hours a day if you’re looking for a late night snack in town.

Timberline Lodge

A visit to Mt Hood’s famed, historic Timberline Lodge right at the 6000′ level on Mt Hood is definitely something that should be on your list any time of year when you visit Mt Hood. On a clear day, the views will wow you as you eat in one of their two restaurants and even on those blustery or rainy days, the lodge just has so much character & charm to sit & enjoy a good meal with the cozy fire nearby.

There are 2 different options for dining at Timberline – both the Cascade Dining Room & the Ram’s Head Bar & Restaurant. We visited on a very blustery, cold, snowy day and so we checked out the lodge & then headed up to the Ram’s Head for some hot cocoa and snacks to warm up before our long drive home. I loved the Ram’s Head as it’s on the 2nd floor of the 2 story open lobby area with a large stone chimney right in the middle. When seated at the restaurant, you are situated around this circular open area with either floor to ceiling, panoramic views of the stunning Mt Hood & mountain terrain or looking down & around the cozy lodge.

Even if you don’t have time for a meal, a hot cocoa at Timberline is a must! Order a Snowcap Dream Hot Chocolate, which is topped with an abundance of whipped cream, toffee bits, caramel & chocolate syrup. It truly was heavenly – and now we are intent on trying to replicate it at home, but our attempts definitely do not do it justice. There’s just something about sipping that amazing hot cocoa in that lodge with those snowy mountain views!

If you’re wanting a fresh, farm to table meal while enjoying the beautiful views of Mt Hood, the Cascade Dining Room offers a breakfast buffet, famous “Taste of Oregon” lunch buffet & fine dining for dinner.  For families, make sure to dine during the first hour of dinner service (5:30 or 6pm) & kids 11 & under eat free from the kids menu with purchase of an adult entree.

Wraptitude

Wraptitude is a restaurant & bar located in Welches and they offer a nice variety of fresh, healthy & filling meals, whether you order a breakfast or lunch wrap for something easy to grab & go on the road to Mt Hood or stop in for a burger or sandwich. For lighter fare, they offer several salads & smoothies, too. We’ve ordered their breakfast wraps as a quick option on our way to the mountain & they are a very filling option for a busy day outdoors.

In the summer months, they feature a large patio that seats up to 50, horseshoe pits, 2 stages & a fenced grassy area for families to relax & enjoy their meals while listening to live music, too. This place has a fun vibe & a great place to enjoy the beautiful weather up in the mountains in the summer.

Skyway Bar & Grill

If you love good BBQ, head on over to Skyway Bar & Grill in Zigzag, Oregon, located in the foothills between Welches and Government Camp near Mt Hood. This is a roadhouse style NW BBQ restaurant with meats that they smoke & cure on-site. Sit near the cozy vintage fireplace in the winter or hang out by their outdoor campfires around the fire pits in the summer. It’s a fun environment with family games and live music most weekends.

Plus More Must-Visit Spots on your Way to Mt Hood:

Joe’s Donuts  – if you’re headed up to Mt Hood for the day or want to stock up for some goodies for breakfast while you’re staying at Mt Hood, stop at Joe’s Donuts in Sandy on your way to Mt Hood. It’s a bright red & white checkered donut shop that’s right along Hwy 26 (it’s on the other side of the highway). This donut shop has been a staple in Mt Hood Territory since 1974, with quite the variety of fresh baked donuts.

You’ll find everything from your classic doughnuts & cronuts to bear claws, apple fritters, strudels & much more. Prices are very reasonable & low cost, too, so you can grab extras for the road. Just beware that once you stop, your kids will be wanting to stop every time you head to the mountain for those delicious donuts!

Tollgate Inn Restaurant & Bakery – Another popular spot to stop in Sandy, the gateway to Mt Hood, is Tollgate Inn restaurant & bakery. This is the cutest little old-fashioned restaurant & shop you can’t miss on your way to Mt Hood with the covered wagon out front & it’s built like a pioneer mini town. They have a variety of family-friendly options for any meal in their restaurant & the bakery is full-service, made-from-scratch, with homemade pastries, breads, cakes & pies. We enjoyed having dinner there & then splitting a piece of fresh fruit pie when we visited during the summer a few years ago.

AntFarm Cafe & Bakery – Another restaurant located in Sandy, AntFarm cafe & bakery is unique as it not only a cafe focused on natural & organic, farm to table menu items, but they also offer a non-profit Cultural Arts Center adjacent to the cafe for connecting youth with mentors to build job skills & also help the elders in the community too. When you stop at this cafe, you may want to pop over next door as they frequently feature public art shows, poetry reading, musicians singing & playing music & more.

The menu focuses on local sustainable items & much of the produce is grown at their Community Garden & Farmer’s Market. They offer everything from salads, sandwiches & soups, to fresh pastries, artisan gelato made onsite & more. This is a great option for those who have a specific diet, as they have options for meat eaters, vegetarians, vegans, and gluten free, so you should find enough variety for everyone in your family.

6 Best Places for Families to Stay in Mt Hood

Here are a variety of different options for families to stay when visiting Mt Hood during any season. Another option is to look for vacation rentals & cozy cabins through AirBNB as there are quite a few different places with cabins all around Mt Hood Territory.

Mt Hood Tiny House Village

We recently stayed at the Mt Hood Tiny House Village at a Thousand Trails campground in Welches, OR. There are 5 tiny houses in the village & they are a great way to experience the beauty & fun experiences of camping with the comforts of home. Glamping at its finest in these cute tiny homes that sleep up to 5.  There are loft style beds & beds on the main floor, along with a tiny bathroom, kitchen & living space to have everything you need in this tiny, compact space.

Sit by the fire & cook s’mores or relax in the indoor pool or hot tub by enjoying all the campground has to offer, but then you’ll be snug & comfortable in the tiny house whether it’s sunny & warm or cold with snow on the ground. The Mt Hood Tiny House Village is located in Welches, so it’s just 20 minutes from Government Camp & the first of the ski resorts. So, you’ll have close access to the wealth of activities on the mountain during any season. Everything from ski resorts, snowshoe trails & sno parks to hiking trails, fly fishing opportunities & more.

If you need more space than a tiny house, the Mt Hood Village RV Resort / Thousand Trails campground also offers 300 wooded RV sites, different sizes of rustic cabins and even yurts that sleep up to 5, too. We loved that it had so much variety in options for families for lodging.  It’s located right off Highway 26, so keep that in mind that although it is a pretty, wooded campground, you may hear a little bit of highway noise, depending on where your site is located.

Mt Hood Resort

The Mt Hood Oregon resort (formerly known as the Resort at the Mountain) is also located in Welches, 20 minutes away from Mt Hood’s Government Camp. We have stayed here several times & we always enjoy our stay here. It feels so private & secluded at this resort, even though it’s minutes off Highway 26. But it’s away from the crowds of Mt Hood, especially during the winter busy ski season. It’s perfect for both families and couples wanting a quiet getaway in this peaceful  spot. {See our review here!}

The resort is nestled in the woods and at the foothills of the mountains next to the Salmon River. It has views of the mountains from various spots all around the resort & it’s so pretty to relax in the pool with the views of the foothills & woods surrounding the pool & resort.  This is a full-scale resort with a variety of activities to keep families busy. The highlight for my family is the heated outdoor pool & hot tub. There’s just something exciting about relaxing in the pool & hot tub with snow on the ground around you. There is also a full-service spa for pampering as well as a gorgeous 27 hole golf course on site at the resort, too.  The resort is older on the outside, but it’s had current updating inside, so it’s fresh & modern with comfortable, cozy beds.

You can often find great deals on the resort, too, by checking on Groupon for discounted rates during non-peak travel times as well as check their special offers page for more discounts & specials.

Collins Lake Resort

If you are wanting to be close to the ski resorts & not have to worry about driving back & forth or dealing with busy traffic headed to the mountain on beautiful weekends, staying in Government Camp will be the most convenient for all the snow sports or hiking opportunities. Collins Lake Resort  in Government Camp offers more space if you have a larger family or multiple families who are looking to stay together with 2 & 3 bedroom vacation rentals & up to 10 guests. These offer full kitchens & spacious living quarters so you can save money by eating meals in your vacation rental & you’ll be within walking distance to Ski Bowl & the Summit Ski areas, as well as the town of Government Camp. Plus, there are heated outdoor pools & hot tubs to enjoy after a fun day outdoors. Collins Lake Resort is also a pickup location for the Skibowl and Timberline Ski Resort shuttles via the Mt Hood Express, so you truly can relax & focus on your day at the slopes.

Make sure to check out the Lodging specials page on their website. Currently they are offering a special where you can ski free Monday – Thursday nights & non-holiday times with a 2 night minimum stay. You will get both 2 lift tickets to Ski Bowl and 2 lift tickets to Timberline per reservation. So, this is another way to save when staying at this resort.

Best Western Mt Hood Inn

Right in the heart of Government Camp is the Best Western Mt Hood Inn, next to the Mt Hood Brewing Company & within walking distance to several ski resorts & all the restaurants and recreational activities surrounding Government Camp. Location is key with this hotel so that you can be close to all the winter fun & hiking opportunities in the summer without having to leave the mountain.

The Mt Hood Inn offers rooms with microwaves, small refrigerators, & coffee makers. There is a complimentary continental breakfast as well as a fitness center &  jacuzzi to soak in at the end of the night after a fun day outdoors. This is pet friendly as well if you’re wanting to take your pet along on your adventures.

Cooper Spur Mountain Resort 

Cooper Spur is about 30 minutes away from Government Camp near Mt Hood Meadows and 40 minutes from Hood River.  Cooper Spur Mountain Resort  is located in the Mt Hood National Forest at 4000 feet on Mt Hood, surrounded by pine trees & pretty meadows. This is a  small rustic resort with limited rooms, but it’s a peaceful, idyllic setting in the mountains and close to skiing at the popular Meadows resort. There are 3 condos, 6 hotel rooms & 6 standalone cabins & a log home. All but the hotel rooms feature a private fireplace.

On site there is a small ski resort with 10 runs for beginner & intermediate runs with a double chairlift & a beginner rope tow. There’s also a snow tubing hill & a snow carousel for the little ones, making this a very family-friendly location for winter sports & summer recreation opportunities. They do offer pet friendly rooms as well.

Make sure to check their website for any lodging specials. For example,  last winter they offered $10 midweek lift tickets to Mt Hood Meadows for every guest when you stay on any Monday or Tuesday in January & February, plus already discounted lodging rates.

Timberline Lodge

Timberline Lodge is Oregon’s only ski-in, ski-out resort (with skiing open almost all year round) and it’s definitely a unique experience to stay here at the highest point you can stay on Mt Hood at almost 6000 feet. You may recognize the lodge from Stephen King’s “The Shining” movie which filmed the outside of the lodge. This lodge was built in 1937 and rooms feature original, handcrafted furniture & cozy Pendleton blankets. Rooms may be smaller, but there is so much charm throughout this beautiful historic lodge. Both kids & adults will love experiencing the beauty of the heated outdoor pool & hot tub, surrounded by those breathtaking alpine views & so much snow!

Make sure to check Timberline Lodge’s website for deals & specials as they offer a number of specials throughout the year to help you save money.

Disclosure: We were hosted for meals by Mt Hood, but all of these restaurants were chosen by us & these are our honest opinions. We were also hosted for a stay at the Tiny House Village by Petite Retreats; however all opinions are our own & we only share what we love with all of you.