Ziplining, mountain biking, and scenic chairlift rides draw summer visitors to Mt. Bachelor
Jillian Fortner
(update: adding comments from Mt. Bachelor, Visit Bend, and visitors)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Although the ski season has come to end, visitors are driving up to Mt. Bachelor for its summer attractions.
The resort reopened Thursday, offering mountain biking, zip lining, and scenic chairlift rides throughout the season.
“We closed for about a month to do snow removal, to do maintenance on our lifts, to onboard summer employees. And we’re really excited to kick things off,” said Presley Quon, Mt. Bachelor’s Communications & Community Relations Manager.
Visitors were eager to return to the mountain.
“I just love being out here. I couldn’t wait for the season start,” said mountain biker, Carlos Abascal.
Visit Bend took a look at the numbers regarding summer visitation at the resort. They can estimate that visitation up there grew from 82,229 “visitor days” in 2018 to 170,937 “visitor days” in 2024, a 108 percent leap.
“We estimate that the increase is most likely due to population growth and/or a growing popularity among locals. If it were tourism related, our overnight lodging data would likely capture that but that is not the case,” said Tim Neville from Visit Bend.
Visit Bend says the numbers show that Mt. Bachelor is a solid summertime destination that’s getting more and more popular. That’s a big reason why the tourism group redirected $245,000 of lodging taxes in 2022 to help them expand their summer trail system.
It added 11 miles of mixed-use trails (hiking and biking).
“The grant from Bend’s Sustainability Fund did not go to Powdr, but to Discover Your Forest, a non-profit for the Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests,” Neville added.
Mountain biking and zip tours are the resort’s most popular summer attractions. Rider Katie Tomala, visiting from Minnesota, said she was ready to get out on the zipline for the first time.
“I’m feeling pretty good. I’m really excited,” said Katie Tomala. “The short one is a little bit jerky, but they said once you get up, it’s going to be really pretty view. And it’s going to be really nice and fast.
As temperatures rise, so does fire danger. That’s why Mt. Bachelor teams check weather conditions daily to keep guests safe.
“We have protocols for fire, for smoke, for lightning, and we kind of just have to take every day as it comes because the weather can change really quickly,” Quon said.
It’s a slower pace at the resort in the summer with reduced staff. The shift creates opportunities for seasonal workers to stay on year-round by moving from winter roles to summer positions.