Timberline Parks, Oregon, Announces Closing Date

Timberline, Oregon, is known for having one of the longest lift-served ski seasons in North America. In early July, the ski resort announced that it was aiming to remain open through August 20 this year. The announcement was confirmed by John Burton, Timberline’s director of marketing and public affairs, to Powder Magazine. Burton did say that the August 20 date is a target, not a guarantee.

Timberline has now confirmed that it will spin the lat lifts at its Palmer Snowfield on August 17. The resort announced on Monday, August 11, that the terrain parks were closed.

Timberline is home to one of the few places in the country where skiers and snowboarders can ski in August. In the past, it was known for hosting Olympic athletes, up-and-coming racers, and freestyle enthusiasts who descended on its Palmer Snowfield between June and September.

• Related: Farmers’ Almanac Fall 2025 Outlook: When and Where to Expect the First Snow

Until August 17, the Magic Mile and Palmer lifts will be open daily from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., which provides access to the Palmer Snowfield. Due to extreme weather throughout the winter, the Palmer Chair is not in operation. Frequent and heavy winter storms coat the lift towers in thick snow and ice. These storms often have wind speeds exceeding 100 mph and brutally cold temperatures, making de-icing the lift virtually impossible. In the spring, the Palmer Chairlift gets a full maintenance check to prepare it for summer operations.

Although much of the terrain is reserved by various camps and organizations, the resort tries to maintain open areas to the public so intermediate and more advanced skiers and riders can enjoy summertime turns on the south slopes of Mt. Hood. Timberline has been a freestyle leader from the start, and the Palmer Snowfield was a testing ground for many of the types of features now seen in freestyle terrain parks around the globe.

During the summer months, the freestyle terrain parks move up the mountain to follow the snowpack. In the early to mid-summer, Timberline builds a park in what’s known as the Mile Canyon that is accessible via our Magic Mile Chairlift. Later in the summer, it moves again up to the Palmer snowfield to open the Freestyle Training Center. The Freestyle Terrain contains jumps, hits, ramps, banks, fun boxes, jibs, rails, halfpipes, quarterpipes, snowcross, bump terrain, and other constructed or natural terrain features.

While Timberline has historically operated into September, recent years have seen earlier closures due to changing snow conditions. The resort relies entirely on natural snowfall, with no snowmaking infrastructure. “It is the perfect example of climate change. We used to always stay open until Labor Day, but those days are long gone,” Gordon Garlock, a ski instructor at Timberline for 50 years, told SnowBrains.

Timberline is the last outdoor ski resort in North America to offer lift-served skiing this summer. If you still want to go skiing in the United States now that Timberline is closed, there is only one place left: Big SNOW American Dream in New Jersey, an indoor ski facility open 365 days a year.

For more information about summer and fall activities at the Oregon mountain, visit Timberline’s website.