Day Trip to Mt. Hood with One Year Olds

This post contains affiliate links that I earn a commission through. Thank you for supporting Twins and Coffee!

If you’re looking for some good snow in Oregon, you need to take a trip to the Mt. Hood Territory. Especially during the winter season.

But don’t shy away just because you have a one year old or two!

My husband and I recently took a day trip to Mt. Hood with one year olds (AKA, Kendalla and Caeden, or twin nuggets) and the day went over so much better than I expected it to!

Like for starters, Kendall walked surprisingly well on the snow and ice.

I was probably standing there in front of her looking like a dummy because I was so surprised. But there she was, waddling around just like she does on the hardwood at home.

But just like any other trip with the twins, I was hesitant on going.

You never really know how one year olds, or toddlers at that, are going to react in new situations.

And let’s be honest here, the snow made me a little (a lot) anxious!

But I was eager to get out to some fresh snow myself, so I got to planning and we ended up having the perfect PNW snow day in Mt. Hood Territory!

Let’s talk what to bring, expect, surpises, and the must see’s and do’s for Mt. Hood with one year olds.

What to Bring for a Snow Day, Day Trip with One Year Olds:

Let’s talk the clothing first.

Obviously you’re going to want to dress your little(s) warm- but don’t forget the back-ups either.

Here is what the twins wore:

Tights, onesie, socks, jeans and warm long sleeve.

Then I brought a warm puffy jacket, knit hat, boots and snow mittens to put on once we got there. As well as backup pants and socks.

Warning, your littles will likely hate the mittens. They did not last long on the twins without screaming so, cold fingers we went.

Now aside from the clothes, you’re going to need to remember your car box and carriers.

Car box- you can read about here.

Essentially it is a box of must haves I keep in the car for baby emergencies and just day to day life. Snacks, diapers, blankets, ect.

The car box is my savior.

Then comes the baby carriers.

You’re going to want these just in case. I ended up wearing Caeden the whole time we were at the mountian because he was just not having it.

To be fair, the week we went he also popped SIX TEETH.

Yes. Inside of one week.

That boy had a rough week (and so did I).

But it all comes down to, you don’t know how your one year old will react. They might love the cold snow or hate it. And having the carrier with us was the only reason we didn’t turn back towards home.

Okay, now here is what you can expect when visiting the mountian with one year olds.

Since Kendall and Caeden reacted so differently to the Mt. Hood trip, I think I can offer you some great ideas for what you might be able to expect for your trip to Mt. Hood with one year olds.

• First, it’s cold. They might not like that!
• Changing places are hard to find. Make sure you can change diapers in your car.
• They might walk surprisingly well on the ice.
• Or they might hate it and want to snuggle the whole time.
• But there will be a ton of new things for them to look at.
• Expect to take regular breaks from the cold. (I’ll share places for this in a bit)
• Expect to stay in one spot for a while (constant car rides never go over well)
• And expect the day to go on their terms, not your own.

That last one is a big one. We hadn’t planned to spend our entire day up until dark out on the mountian,but that is just how the day ended up going so that we weren’t diving home with cranky crying one year olds.

You gotta do what you gotta do as a parent!

Now what surprised me about our trip.

Well, I was most surpised about how well Kendall walked on the snow and ice.

She was honestly doing better than me!

She was running straight for the big piles of snow, and living her best life.

Then there was Mr. Caeden.

I was surprised that all he wanted to do was snuggle the whole trip.

So make sure those carriers are handy to save your arms, mamas!

And the whole changing thing. That surprised me also. Which is why I brought it up in the what to expect portion.

I wasn’t super prepared to change all of the diapers inside of the car, and wish I would have been!

Maybe we went to the wrong bathrooms, but I want to make sure you are super prepared for your trip to Mt. Hood with one year olds. So, make sure your car is changing diaper friendly.

Now for the best part; what to see and do at Mt. Hood with one year olds.

There is a LOT you can do in the Mt. Hood Territory.

My personal favorite is the cosmic tubing at Skibowl.

But with one year olds, your best bet is to stop at Government Camp and Meadows!

Government camp is where you are going to find the biggest bang for your buck, with tons of trails, eateries, lodging and even sleigh rides!

So if you are planning more than a day trip, make sure you check out the lodging inside of Government Campbecause there is plenty to do.

But then Meadows is great to go and really play in the snow.

It’ll be the ultimate destination when they’re a bit older for ski lessons and such, but I loved it for the twins because of the space to let them play without worrying about getting in anyones way or being too close to the road.

What are we thinking? Are you ready to plan your trip to Mt. Hood with one year olds?

It is for sure an experience, and I hope you make the time to go this winter!

Have you been? What is your favorite part about the Mt. Hood Territory?