Backyard Ends Where the National Forest Begins

Three bedrooms, each with a queen bed, two full bathrooms, and a loft with a single bed for a seventh guest or a kid who wants their own perch.

Main floor: one queen bedroom, a full bathroom, and the main room with a 70" smart TV, a dining table for seven, and a kitchen that comes stocked for real cooking, not just coffee and toast. Washer and dryer in the laundry room.

Upstairs: two more queen bedrooms, one with its own bathroom attached, and the loft.

Heat is wall units with a thermostat in each room. Wi-Fi is fiber and fast, with the one caveat that mountain internet can go down in a storm.

Out back, the lot runs straight into the national forest.

The whole cabin and the lot are yours. The lockbox is at the door and the code comes by message before arrival. Bags can be left inside from noon. Keep trash in the bear-proof bins by the road.

Check-in is self-guided, so you can arrive on your own schedule. I'm a message away whenever you need anything during your stay.

Welches is the last real town before the mountain, with a grocery store (Hoodland Thriftway, five minutes), a few restaurants and the Mt Hood Oregon Resort golf course nearby. The Salmon River runs through the valley, with riverside trails a short drive from the cabin. Skyway Bar & Grill in Zigzag does barbecue with live music on weekends. Mt Hood Skibowl is 19 minutes by car, Timberline Lodge 28, and Trillium Lake about 30. Portland is an hour west for anyone splitting a trip between the city and the mountain.

Parking is on the property, with room for several cars. You'll want a car: there's no transit, and the nearest shops are a five-minute drive. Winter driving on US-26 to the ski areas calls for chains or traction tires per Oregon rules. Portland is about an hour, PDX airport about the same.

It's a forest cabin, which cuts both ways: bears and elk pass through, cell signal depends on your carrier, and a storm can knock the internet out for a while. The loft bed is a single. Towels are provided, washcloths aren't.

Parties and extra guests aren't allowed, and the booking ends if one starts.