Cloud Cap Inn
Early History (1884 - 1954)
In 1884, four Hood River settlers
and their workers cut a primitive road through the thick forest in the foothills of Mt Hood, and eventually established a summer tent camp at 6,000 feet near the Eliot Glacier. The camp was hosted by Mrs. David Cooper, of the Cooper Family which gave its name to the distinctive ridge above the inn.
Several years later, two Portlanders acquired the rights and began to improve the road and build a timber lodge on a rock promontory near the old tent camp. Giant firs were felled from a site 2.5 miles below and hauled up the road by teams of horses. Rock was blasted from nearby cliffs to build two great fireplaces. Water was piped in from Tilly Jane Creek, 1,200 feet away.
Upon completion, the structure was anchored against the severe winter storms by steel cables. Cloud Cap Inn opened to the public on August 6, 1889. Business was slow in the beginning. The Inn closed down in 1890 and the original developers turned over operation of the Inn to Sarah Langille, in 1891. Sarah ran Cloud Cap at a much simpler level and was able to operate at a profit. Her two sons Will and Doug worked at the Inn as mountain guides. In February 1890, Will and Doug Langille skied to the Inn on homemade skis. This trip was followed by many other successful winter trips and this early exploration enticed others to make the same journey.
Summer access was via horse-drawn stage up the 1889 wagon road, which is mostly used for the snowcat today. The road was difficult to build, and hard to drive. Chinese laborers dug and filled the grade of the road by hand all the way to the timberline level. Just below Cloud Cap Inn there is a spot with a 22-percent grade on a curve over a small ravine. This was named “China Fill,” which proved to be very challenging. The grade was so steep that the stages would usually have to change horses at the livery stable ¾ mile below Cloud Cap.
The trip to Cloud Cap Inn usually started with a 40-mile train ride from Portland to Hood River. The horse-drawn Cloud Cap Stage took passengers from Hood River to Cloud Cap, where they arrived five and a half hours later after a stop for lunch and several horse changes at livery stables along the way.
In 1906, the Mt. Hood Railroad was built, taking passengers 15 miles to the town of Dee. In 1910, it was extended to Parkdale for a 22-mile trip. The first automobile, a one-cylinder Cadillac, drove up to Cloud Cap in 1907.
Sarah retired in 1907 from successfully operating the Inn, turning the operation over to Horace and Olive Mecklem. Mecklem used a Pierce Arrow as a stage from Hood River to the Inn. The auto could only reach China Fill, but it cut the time from Hood River from eight hours to three.
Homer Rogers, who ran a lodge in Parkdale, bought the Inn in 1919 for $5,000, and a long-term contract from the Forest Service was made. In 1925 the government was planning the Mt. Hood Loop Highway and considering building a newer and bigger Inn, similar to Rainier’s Paradise Hotel. They pressured Rodgers to make improvements to the road or lose his permit. Homer ended up selling the Inn to a group of people headed by J.C. Ainsworth. The plans for a new Grand Lodge didn’t bring the funds needed by private investors.
In 1927 Noyes Tyrell took over the Inn’s operation, and ran it until 1932, when it stood empty for about a year. Boyd French Sr. leased it around 1934 until the war caused it to close its operation. The Mt. Hood Road and Wagon Company sold the Inn in 1942 to the Forest Service for $2,000.
Attempts to operate the Inn failed after that. Hunters and vandals took their toll, as did the weather. In 1950, the Forest Service considered burning or tearing down the Cloud Cap Inn.
Crag Rats ski to the rescue
Instead of letting the Forest Service demolish Cloud Cap, in 1954 the Hood River Crag Rats offered to fix it up and maintain it if they were given a permit to use the Inn as a base for their snow survey program and mountain rescue. The Rats have been the custodians for Cloud Cap ever since. The Crag Rats most recently renewed their Special Use Permit in 2023, this time for 30 years.
In 2023, Cloud Cap Inn was reroofed!
In 2021 the Crag Rats, the Inn’s stewards since 1954, began the project of replacing Cloud Cap’s leaky roof. Step one was to raise enough money. We needed a lot: The final cost came to almost $215,000. We raised $60,000 from our membership and most of the rest came from grants and from you, the community. The actual work was done during the summer of 2023. We hired Wells Construction, a Hood River contractor that has done almost all the renovation work at Cloud Cap over the last 30 years. Many in the Wells family have also been important members of the Crag Rats over the years. We also hired Cedar Tech, Inc., a Portland-based roofing company that specializes in cedar roofs.
The building was reroofed with Heavy Class B fire-treated ¾” Tapersawn Cedar Shakes. This very high-quality material is consistent with the historical integrity of the structure. The end result is a beautiful, secure, and long-lasting roof. The Inn should be well protected for decades. This is the roof that Cloud Cap deserves.
We offer special thanks to our roofing contractors, to Scott Russell who organized two of our major fundraisers, to Donald R. Nelson who donated the proceeds from the sale of his book Cloud Cap Inn on Mt. Hood, and to our partners at the USFS. We also thank all of you who have contributed. Please come visit what you made possible and let us know that you helped.
While the roof project is complete for the next decades, our work at the Inn will never be done. Maintaining a 130-year-old building that lives at 6,000 feet, is subject to winds as high as 100 miles per hour, and is regularly blasted by winter blizzards, is an ongoing task. Your continuing financial contributions will be most appreciated and put to great use.
All donations of $500 or more will receive a special thank you gift of the limited edition (300 copies only!) signed and numbered hard copy edition of Cloud Cap Inn on Mt. Hood, by Donald R. Nelson. This 160-page, 8.5 x 11" book is chock full of historical images and stories from Cloud Cap's colorful past.
(Note: At this time, the book Cloud Cap Inn is only available for a $500 donation to Crag Rats search and rescue operations or a dedicated donation to Cloud Cap Inn upkeep and maintenance. At some time in the future, a cheaper paperback version will also become available.)
