Spout Springs

Spout Springs is located in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon, just off Highway 204 between Weston and Elgin, inside the Umatilla National Forest. For a long time, this was a classic little home slope in the area – with a focus on beginner and intermediate skiing, and a clear "come here and go" feeling rather than any big destination.

The ski area was operated with two fixed double-chair lifts and a compact system that made it easy to grind laps without any hassle. With a vertical drop of about 524.9 feet, Spout Springs was more about flow, turns and repetitions than about big mountains – exactly the kind of facility that many learn to ride on and later remember with warmth.

The story goes way back. As early as 1938, the Blue Mountain Ski Club was formed, and much of the skiing in the area was built up thanks to volunteer involvement and early lift infrastructure such as rope pulls and T-bars. Spout Springs became a gathering point for skiers from both northeast Oregon and southeastern Washington, and by the mid-1900s, this was a place where ski culture was literally created by those who skied there.

Spout Springs closed after the 2017/2018 season, and has since then not started again. This means that the facility today is mostly a name that pops up in conversations with people who remember it – a small forest facility with a strong local touch and a lot of history in the walls.