10 snowy getaways near Crater Lake get you close to free ranger tours

Are you ready to be whisked off on snowshoes to explore corners of Crater Lake? Rangers offer free tours and equipment, but you'll need to get there first since the Crater Lake Lodge and all park campgrounds are closed until late May.

There are winter lodging options near and far like Diamond Lake Resort. Here are 10 snowy getaways.

The entrance road to park headquarters and Rim Village usually remains open year-round, and a discounted $15 entrance fee allows you to explore on your own or go on a free ranger-led snowshoe tour, says Oregonian/OregonLive travel writer Jamie Hale. For tour dates, visit nps.gov/crla or call 541-594-3000.

--Janet Eastman | 503-294-4072

jeastman@oregonian.com | @janeteastman

Sun Mountain Ranch BunkHouse/Airbnb

Sun Mountain Ranch BunkHouse near Crater Lake

The 280-acre private property, elevated more than 4,000 feet, is close to Crater Lake.

A 5,000-square-foot bunk house has six semi-private rooms (three solid walls with a blanketed fourth wall), one private room and four beds.

The fireplace is the only source of heat and the kitchen has a restored 1940s range and custom barbecue.

The closest grocery stores are approximately an hour away.

Sun Mountain Ranch BunkHouse/Airbnb

Sun Mountain Ranch BunkHouse near Crater Lake

Details:

• Accommodates 16 guests

• Seven bedrooms

• Two full and two half bathrooms

• Around $365 a night on average, depending on travel dates

More info

Prospect Historic Hotel Bed and Breakfast Inn

Prospect Historic Hotel Bed and Breakfast Inn

The handsome Prospect Historic Hotel Bed and Breakfast Inn, at 391 Mill Creek Drive off Highway 62, is  28 miles from Crater Lake National Park.

The restored 1880s hotel with a wraparound veranda has 10 classically decorated rooms with period furniture, hand-made bed quilts and private bathrooms in the main house.

Sharing the five-acre property are 14 modern motel  rooms with a TV, microwave, coffee maker, small refrigerator and WiFi. One room is wheelchair accessible.

Prospect Historic Hotel Bed and Breakfast Inn

Prospect Historic Hotel Bed and Breakfast Inn

Winter rates are from $150 to $250 and include a made-to-order breakfast.

Lodging is available all year while the Dinner House, famous for its prime rib, is closed November through April, except for special events, weddings, parties, meetings and private groups.

President Theodore Roosevelt, politician William Jennings Bryan and writers Zane Grey and Jack London are among the visitors to the historic stage coach stop.

More info

For more lodging around Prospect, which is 32 miles west of Crater Lake park headquarters, go to nps.gov/crla/planyourvisit/upload/Lodging-and-Camping-Winter-508-Compliant.pdf

Sunriver Riverfront Retreat/Vacasa

Sunriver Riverfront Retreat

The secluded three-acre riverfront property on the Deschutes River, about a 90-minute drive to Crater Lake, has a private dock, hot tub, sledding hill and yard games like ladder ball, bocce ball, croquet, Kubb and disc golf.

The contemporary, 4,000-square-foot lodge has two living areas, a dining room that can seat up to 24 people, six bedrooms, five bathrooms and a wraparound covered deck with a gas grill.

An updated 1960s logging cabin has an open living area with a wood stove, five small bedrooms and one bathroom. Both dwellings have a full kitchen.

Sunriver is five miles away and Sunriver Homeowners Aquatic and Recreation Center (SHARC) passes can be purchased at the facility.

Sunriver Riverfront Retreat/Vacasa

Sunriver Riverfront Retreat

Details:

• Accommodates 32 guests

• 11 bedrooms

• Six bathrooms

• Around $629-$4,448 a night on average, depending on travel dates

More info

Poplar 12/Vacasa

Poplar 12 in Sunriver

This family-friendly vacation house, at the north end of Sunriver, has a stone fireplace, flatscreen TV, courtyard with an indoor hot tub plus an upstairs ping-pong table and 10 passes to the SHARC facility.

The deck has patio furniture and a gas grill and the garage has a NEMA 14-50, 240 volt outlet for charging electric vehicles.

There are restaurants, shops, cafes and locally brewed beer two miles away at the Village at Sunriver. Mount Bachelor's ski slopes are 20 miles away and there are other snow parks with miles of trails for Nordic skiing and snowshoeing.

Poplar 12/Vacasa

Poplar 12 in Sunriver

Details:

• Accommodates 10 guests

• Four bedrooms

• Three bathrooms

• Around $199-$651 a night on average, depending on travel dates

More info

Caldera Lodge/Vacasa

Caldera Lodge on Fireglass Pond in Sunriver

This lodge on Fireglass Pond has heated slate floors, a great room with a fireplace and exposed wooden trusses, and a private hot tub plus access to the resort's lakefront infinity pool and basketball and tennis courts.

The 5,000-square-foot home has a gourmet kitchen with double ovens, five-burner gas stove, knotty alder cabinets, slab granite counters, breakfast bar and island.

Caldera Lodge/Vacasa

Caldera Lodge on Fireglass Pond in Sunriver

Details:

• Accommodates 16 guests

• Six bedrooms

• 6.5 bathrooms

• Around $280-$2,149 a night on average, depending on travel dates

More info

Your New Favorite Get-A-Way/Airbnb

Your New Favorite Get-A-Way: Cabin in the Woods in Klamath Falls

The cabin in Fort Klamath, which is 20 miles south of Crater Lake park headquarters, is near hundreds of miles of snowmobile trails plus Lake of the Woods Resort, Rocky Point Resort, Harriman Springs Lodge and Crater Lake Zipline.

The rustic-style home has open beam ceilings, three decks and a hammock.

Your New Favorite Get-A-Way: Cabin in the Woods in Klamath Falls

Details:

• Accommodates five guests

• One bedroom

• One bathroom

• Around $89 a night on average, depending on travel dates

More info

Crater Lake Resort

Crater Lake Resort near Fort Klamath

Crater Lake Resort, which is two miles south of Fort Klamath on Highway 62, has nine cabins with kitchenettes.

This is Cabin 11, which accommodates two guests or a small family, with a galley kitchenette, bedroom and queen-size sleeper sofa in the living area next to a picture window overlooking Fort Creek. The creekside patio has a gas grill.

Crater Lake Resort

Crater Lake Resort near Fort Klamath

Details:

• Each cabin accommodates one to six guests, depending on size

• One to two bedrooms

• One to two bathrooms

• Around $110-$160 a night on average, depending on travel dates

There are also RV sites.

More info

For more lodging around Fort Klamath, which is 20 miles south of Crater Lake park headquarters, go to nps.gov/crla/planyourvisit/upload/Lodging-and-Camping-Winter-508-Compliant.pdf

Union Creek Resort

Union Creek Resort, which is 23 miles west of Crater Lake park headquarters, has private rooms in the historic lodge, authentic log cabins and vacation rentals.

Some of the dwellings in the 1920s resort are newly remodeled while others remain rustic. Each dwelling has a distinct layout, furnishings, amenities and accessible, ADA-compliant features.

Cabin 21 on Union Creek has not been updated but it has a great view. Remodeled Cabin 6 has an electric fireplace and king-size bed.

The Cabin 11 vacation rental, one of the largest accommodations, was the residence of Ed Becklehymer, who built Beckie’s Café here in 1926. It's a four-minute walk to the Rogue River Gorge overlook.

Cabin rates start at $129 and vacation rentals start at $300.

The property at 56484 Highway 62 in Prospect in the Rogue River National Forest also has a general store, Beckie's Cafe with home-style meals and desserts, and cross-country ski and snowshoe rentals plus sno-park permits for sale.

For more lodging around Union Creek, which is 21 miles west of Crater Lake park headquarters, go to nps.gov/crla/planyourvisit/upload/Lodging-and-Camping-Winter-508-Compliant.pdf

Sportsman's River Retreat/Airbnb

Sportsman's River Retreat cabins in Chiloquin

Sportsman's River Retreat cabins in Chiloquin is on the Williamson River, which is 45 minutes to Crater Lake, four miles to Kla-Mo-Ya Casino and 20 minutes to Klamath Falls.

The RV sites have 30/50 amp electric, sewer and water plus picnic tables.

Rates are $35 per night, $150 per week or $375 per month plus electricity.

The cabins sleep four and rates are $80 Sunday through Thursday and $100 Friday and Saturday.

For more lodging around Chiloquin, which is 33 miles south of Crater Lake park headquarters, go to nps.gov/crla/planyourvisit/upload/Lodging-and-Camping-Winter-508-Compliant.pdf

Hillstead Apartment/Airbnb

Hillstead Apartment in La Pine

The modern, rustic apartment over a shop has a living room with two sleeper chairs and electric fireplace plus a large bedroom, kitchenette, bathroom with a cast-iron tub and shower, and a private enclosed patio.

Hillstead Apartment/Airbnb

Hillstead Apartment in La Pine

Details:

• Accommodates four guests

• One bedroom

• One bathroom

• Around $45 a night on average, depending on travel dates

More info

Skylight Suite/Airbnb

Looking for more ideas?

10 Oregon coast getaways to see Shore Acres' stunning holiday light display: If you're looking for a place that's all aglow for the holidays, Shore Acres State Park's display of 325,000 decorative lights on the southern Oregon coast will blow you away.

Volunteers and park rangers have been hosting Holiday Lights at Shore Acres since 1987.

The free event takes place daily from 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve at the park, which is three miles south of the small fishing town of Charleston and 12 miles southwest of the city of Coos Bay.

Here are 10 vacation stays, from a camper to a midcentury modern house, near the  stunning holiday light display, which continues through Dec. 31.

Skiing Bear Chalet/Vacasa

10 vacation getaways to join Mount Hood's New Year's Eve parties: Are you searching for a memorable way to watch the dawn of a new decade? How about ringing in 2020 from Oregon's tallest mountain?

All three of Mount Hood's major ski resorts -- Mt. Hood Meadows, Mt. Hood Skibowl and Timberline Lodge -- host New Year's Eve parties, each with night skiing, entertainment, food and fireworks, reports Oregonian/OregonLive travel writer Jamie Hale.

In this week's vacation roundup, we look at 10 different ways to stay near the slopes, from a luxury chalet to a ski-in cabin.

Heceta Lighthouse B&B

10 Oregon coast getaways to enjoy a Victorian-style Christmas at the Heceta Head Lighthouse: Lighthouses are a beacon to captains and people curious about these rare, old navigational towers.

If you've never gazed out to sea from a 200-foot-tall vantage point at night, here's your chance: You can enter the Heceta Head Lightstation on Oregon's central coast during the 24th Annual Victorian Christmas Open House from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. on Dec. 7, 8, 14 and 15.

The festive event starts at the Heceta Lighthouse B&B, in the 125-year-old Queen Anne-style keeper's quarters, which is decorated for the holidays. Santa Claus, music and goodies will fill the scene.

Bundle up and stay overnight. Here are 10 vacation homes for rent, from a vintage Airstream to a contemporary house, near Florence and Yachats.

Dome Sweet Dome -- a must experience!

Bend ranks 4th in U.S. as a vacation rental hot spot. Here are 10 getaways, from funky to fancy: Bend residents may feel as if at least one person in their neighbor is renting out a room or a whole house to tourists. And they may be right.

A study released Wednesday found that Bend has 1,658 Airbnb listings per 50,000 people, which vaults the city on the Deschutes River to the fourth most saturated vacation rental market among more than 750 U.S. cities, according to IPX1031, an investment property exchange service.

When active home rental listings were compared to the population, three Florida cities took top place: Miami Beach came in first with 3,416 listings per 50,000 people. Kissimme, near the Walt Disney World Resort, came in second with 2,880 listings per 50,000 residents and third-place Sarasota, on Florida’s Gulf Coast, has 2,234 listings per 50,000 people.

Across the continent in Bend, there are places to rent through Airbnb, Vacasa or VRBO near the river and close to downtown, from massive estates to tiny houses.

Monroe Studio~Modern Cozy Gem!/Airbnb

Airbnb picks the West Coast's top destination, and it's Eugene: These are the most wish-listed rentals Of Airbnb's more than 7 million homestays scattered across the world, which West Coast city rose to the top as a destination more people want to visit in 2020?

Eugene.

The reasons? Travelers like to be around nature and big events, says the lodging company. Green-thinking Eugene has both hiking trails and the University of Oregon's constant activities.

Sunny studio with private deck/Vacasa

Here are 10 ideal Airbnb rentals for sweet Cannon Beach getaways: For people who dream of having a beach house, an Oregon Coast vacation rental is a sweet substitute.

In addition to hotels and B&B, Cannon Beach visitors can check into a cottage or condo, wrapped in classic cedar shingles and equipped with a kitchenette and patio, that's operated by hospitality professionals as well as homeowners with space to spare.

Airbnb's research found visitors book their Cannon Beach getaway at least two months before their trip. Nightly rentals are restricted and people devoted to special events like the crowd-pleasing Sandcastle Contest and hilarious corgi run race to reserve a place.

Lovely new cottage/Airbnb

10 accessible Airbnb rentals in Portland, Palm Springs and London: Srin Madipalli is a devoted world traveler who uses a wheelchair. To make it easier to find accessible lodging when booking online, he co-created Accomable, an online resource that was acquired by Airbnb in 2017.

Since then, Madipalli, who heads Airbnb's accessibility team, has refined the homestay rental company's search filters to help people with disabilities and their families find places that can be easily enjoyed without steps or stairs, and other accommodations.

"No two people with a disability are the same, so we offer 27 accessibility filters for a spectrum of needs, and we're working on more," says Madipalli.

Hilltop Treehouse Retreat in Lopez Island/Airbnb

10 cool treehouses: These elevated vacation getaways are for rent

Do we really ever grow out of wanting a treehouse? A vacation rental might answer that question.

In this week's getaway roundup, we look at 10 vacation rentals, near and far, designed to elevate your point of view.

These modern dwellings in mostly remote forests are perfect perches for birdwatchers and nature lovers, but they're not always easy to reach. They're rustic and may offer waterfront views but not indoor running water.

What unifies them? They're cozy.

Swedish Stuga/Vacasa

10 cozy, cool, crazy cabin vacation getaways: Escape to Oregon mountains and lakes or the California desert

The need to be in nature may be strong, but there are so many ways to relax amid towering trees in the mountains or next to a lake.

In this week's vacation getaway roundup, we look at cabins of all kinds, from a classic A-frame in a forest to a modern dwelling in the desert.

Rustic or luxury? Cozy or expansive? It's up to you to decide: Are you dreaming of a romantic escape or group reunion?

Mountain View Paradise/Airbnb

Where to stay for Willamette Valley’s Wine Country Thanksgiving: From a tiny house to vineyard villa

Thanksgiving weekend in Oregon's wine-growing regions is an action-packed chance for patrons of pinot noir and other varietals to barrel taste this year's vintage as flavors mature and to enjoy food pairings with bottles that have been released (and perhaps are on sale).

More than 140 Willamette Valley wineries will host events in tasting rooms and cellars during Wine Country Thanksgiving, Friday, Nov. 29, through Sunday, Dec. 1.

After stops at scenic vineyards to swirl, sniff and sip, you might want to stay over a night or two. Here are 10 vacation homes for rent, from a tiny abode to a contemporary villa.

Luxury Wine Country Retreat/VRBO

10 luxury home rentals let you dream big on vacation: Vacations are supposed to be a fantasy come true. Yet, most of us stick somewhat to a budget. But ... we can dream.

Here are 10 luxury home rentals that cost more for one day than most people's monthly housing expenses. Still, there's something appealing about looking at perfect scenery from a secluded perch surrounded by nature and deluxe perks (yes, a butler).

In time for holiday giving – or making plans for a wedding or family reunion – we spotlight off-the-charts, Neiman Marcus fantasy gift level of getaways to rent, in Oregon and once-in-a-lifetime, fabulous destinations.

Katama Woods/Vacasa

These 5 vacation rentals are hauntingly close to scary movie locations: In the chilling days leading to Halloween, horror movie fans might want to linger on a dead-end street and other places that cinematically spooked them, and then turn their nightmares into dream vacations.

For this week's vacation getaway roundup, we turned to Portland-based Vacasa to find five places to stay that are hauntingly close to scary film locations, in Oregon and spots for those who may want to creep over state lines.

Twilight Swan House/HomeAway

10 spirited vacation rentals to stay in St. Helens as HalloweenTown takes over

Portland is only 30 miles south of St. Helens, making day-tripping easy. But during the October-long Spirit of HalloweenTown festival, which starts Saturday, Oct. 5, visitors may want to linger into the chill of the night, when costumed characters re-enact scenes from movies filmed here, like the "Twilight" vampire saga and the bewitching "HalloweenTown."

Visitors will also learn about space alien invasions and see creepy stuff in the Museum of Peculiarities & Oddities.

The festival is packed with lively activities and most fans know to book lodging early, says Tina Curry of Discover Columbia County. But there are still offbeat and conventional places to stay if you want to join the nightly ghostly walk.

Getaway

Tiny new cabin in the Mount Adams Outpost

Getaway has tiny cabins in nature to rent outside of Portland as well as Los Angeles, New York City, Washington D.C., Boston, Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Cleveland.

The Mount Adams Outpost is an 80-acre property with handcrafted, dog-friendly hideaways for two to four people. Each one has a fire pit, grilling grate and a picnic table.

Inside the 140 to 200 square feet of living space are either one or two queen-size beds plus a mini kitchen, electric toilet, shower and a cellphone lockbox.

Details:

• Cabin that accommodates two to four guests

• $99-$209 a night depending on travel dates

More info

Luxury Retreat with Natural Hot Tub/HomeAway

10 vacation rentals with closeup views of Oregon’s fabulous fall colors

If you live in Oregon, you can look out almost any window and see greenery. Starting now through mid-October, you'll also see bronze, crimson and golden autumn leaves.

The Little Owl Cabin/Airbnb

Where are you heading? What's your favorite home rental?

--Janet Eastman | 503-294-4072

jeastman@oregonian.com | @janeteastman

Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox.

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