Getaway winter bargains in Oregon's snowy forests

ODELL LAKE, Ore. — Time stands still two miles off the highway.

At least, that's how it feels when you wind your way through the tall trees and the deep snow banks and arrive at Shelter Cove Resort.

Built in the 1930s as a fishing lodge on 3,562-acre Odell Lake, the resort still has that slow-down-and-relax feel about it. That's true especially in winter, when only a few hearty cross-country skiers and snowshoers are out and about.

Oregon doesn't have the glitzy downhill resorts of Colorado or the buffed cross-country trails of Vermont, but it is home to a broad selection of relatively inexpensive cabin resorts tucked into snowy forests. Shelter Cove, 60 miles southeast of Eugene near the center of the Oregon Cascades, stands among them.

Others can be found on Crescent Lake, Paulina Lake, Lemolo Lake, Diamond Lake and more. They are the perfect spots for winter getaways, or just about any time of year.

And not all their amenities date to the 1930s.

The group I was meeting, 14 members of the Oregon Nordic Club from Portland, rented both upstairs rooms of the Kokanee Lodge, built in 2002. The twin 1,800-square-foot rooms, with 18-foot vaulted ceilings, put a total of six bedrooms, four bathrooms and two kitchens at the group's disposal.

The premier cabin, the Eagles Nest, was built as an owner's lodge in the 1940s and has been upgraded to include an outdoor spa and dish television.

While my cabin dated to the 1950s, it was by no means uncomfortable. It had a full kitchen, bathroom and bedroom, with electric heat backed by propane.

One of the drawbacks about booking this type of lodging is that it must be partially paid in advance, with limited refund options. Renting a forest lodge is not the same as booking a motel, which often can be canceled with no penalty until the evening of arrival.

I was fighting a head cold, but Shelter Cove already had my $86 for the first night, so I decided to go ahead with the weekend. I'm glad I did.

You can reserve early

Other than an occasional train passing nearby on Oregon's main north-south line, the only noises around the cabin were the chirps of gray jays and the giggles of children as they played in the snow.

Even the rumbling freight trains weren't too annoying. With automobiles unable to drive across the tracks in winter, the train didn't have to toot its horn. And once the reverberation of the engine passed, the rhythmic clackity-clack of the wheels melodically faded in the distance.

In a word, bliss.

Shelter Cove makes reservations available two years out, and with that much lead time it's impossible to know whether the snow will be good. Trip leader Sam Digard from the Oregon Nordic Club had booked a year in advance, opting for mid-February when conditions are normally prime. He then solicited members to join the trip through the club newsletter.

Last winter proved there is no such thing as a typical winter in Oregon. While snow was abundant early on, new snow was in short supply midwinter.

We arrived during a prolonged dry spell, a situation that turns the surface to an ice sheet, the bane of skiing in Oregon.

We lingered over breakfast, hoping the sun would break through the hazy overcast and soften the surface, but the clouds proved too stubborn. We could have skied on the resort's four miles of groomed trail but decided to drive three miles to Gold Lake Sno-Park, where the volunteer ski patrol maintains a shelter.

Two miles to turnaround

The patrollers were stoking a wood stove fire inside their cramped cottage, not showing any interest in hitting the trails unless they had to. When you ski as often as they do, it's not appealing to go out when snow conditions aren't at their best.

We were determined to go skiing no matter what. We began by carrying our skis across the highway, then gingerly putting them on at the start of the icy trail to Gold Lake.

We skimmed over dozens of frozen holes punched in the snow by walkers and their dogs, finally getting far enough from the road to leave the walkers behind. Our turnaround point was two miles away at Gold Lake, a welcome snow-covered opening in the otherwise dense forest of Douglas fir and Western hemlock.

We gathered at lake's edge to take in the view, trying to decide whether the lake was frozen enough to ski across. To our relief it was, because several of our group skied out and back across its surface.

After we skied back to the highway, we walked to the ski patrol hut to warm up before heading back to Shelter Cove.

While most of the resort's cabins lack telephones and televisions, it's possible to stay connected if you want to. The store rents movies with a TV and player, has wireless Internet, and its pay phone is more reliable than a cellphone.

I opted to read a book and spend the evening listening to the rumble of an occasional train.

The sun was out the next day, with its promise of warmth. Since we had struggled with ice the previous day, we headed for the groomed cross-country ski trails at Willamette Pass Ski Area.

The grooming machines had worked their magic, turning the snow's icy crust into a pliable surface. The sun added to the softness as we climbed 700 feet in a winding loop, popping out of the woods at the top of a downhill run.

We were envious watching the lift transport skiers uphill with ease. But we were proud to have earned the downhill run that brought us back to the parking lot and on our way home.