Mount Ashland, Ashland OR

Although the mountain is in the state of Oregon it is only three miles south of theborder it shares with California. Mount Ashland is the highest peak in the Siskiyou Mountains which is part of the Klamath Mountain range in the northwestern part of California and the southwestern part of Oregon. The city that the mountain was named for is about eighteen miles away.

One of the prime things to do on Mount Ashland is ski. The area has about twenty three trails with four lifts. They have a run called appropriately The Bowl. About fifty percent of the terrain is for a more advanced skier, fifteen percent for the beginner and the remaining thirty five percent is intermediate. They can receive at least three hundred inches of snow during the ski season. Although there is downhill skiing today it began as a cross country ski area. There is night skiing since lights were added after new owners bought the property. The ski area offers ski packages and "learn to ski'' schools.

Mount Ashland is more than just a ski area, however. Summer time brings out the hikers, sightseers and mountain bikers. There are many cycling events that take place on the mountain trails as well as races. The Siskiyou Out Back is a thirty one mile ultra marathon trail run. It begins at the Mount Ashland ski area parking lot and finishes in the same place.

The community of Ashland offers great restaurants, an art community, Shakespeare Festival and several Bed and Breakfasts to stay in. Southern Oregon University is located in Ashland. It has been conducting classes since 1872 although then it was known as Ashland Academy.

Portland, Oregon to the north was part of the railroads expansion from San Francisco, California in 1887 and Ashland is where the two rails joined each other. For many years they survived on the railroad. The city hailed their peaches to market on the rails. In 1926 though the trains started to take a less steep route so Ashland wasn't as busy.

The Columbia Hotel is the oldest hotel in Ashland and many of the skiers, hikers and cyclists stay there. It was built in 1910 and contains the oldest working telephone booth. The Shakespeare Festival began in 1935 during an Independence Day celebration. It has become quite famous and is an internationally known theater company.

Other forms of entertainment that keep visitors to Mount Ashland busy are the Oregon Stageworks that performs several Broadway plays. A cabaret has been featuring musicals in an old church. The town hosts an Independent Film Festival in April every year. A National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Lab is in the city of Ashland. It appears to be the only crime lab of its kind.

Lithia Park covers one hundred acres which goes from town to the foothills of Mount Ashland. It has two ponds, tennis, Japanese gardens, public greens, hiking trails and a band shell for concerts. Mount Ashland provides the beautiful landscape for many outdoor activities.