Things to Do in The Dalles

Indian Creek Golf Course's layout snakes through the Hood River Valley between a network of sprawling orchards and wineries with panoramic views of Mount Hood and Mount Adams creating a dramatic backdrop. Water comes into play on 11 holes, including three creeks that bisect fairways to disrupt play and tempt players to take fairway naps to the melodic babbling of their playing partners. On the par 5 fourth hole, precision is paramount, as the dogleg right is entirely fortified by water to the right and the small, narrow green make short putts strenuous with hard-to-read-breaks.

Indian Creek Golf Course won an Environmental Excellence award from Audubon International for its efforts in areas of wildlife and habitat management, chemical-use reduction, and water-quality management. The course and its surrounding land act as a sanctuary to a variety of wildlife, including several species of caddies now endangered because rampant cart use. Course at a Glance:

• Par 72
• Three sets of tees
• 6,150 yards from the back tees
• Rating of 71.3 and slope of 129 from the back tees

With more than 960 acres on the face of Mount Hood, many visitors to Mt. Hood Skibowl rarely glide past the same tree twice. Named for the bowl-like shape of the mountain's upper portion, the resort uses the natural landscape to its advantage on two terrain parks and 65 trails that descend the mountain's 1,500-foot vertical drop—34 of which are fully lit, and no more than 10 of which attract slaloming polar bears at any one time.

Though there's much to explore on the trails—the longest of which runs 3 miles—visitors can also cavort in an indoor playground filled with climbing structures and slides that entertain children as young as 3. Seven on-mountain lodges and restaurants provide places for visitors to refuel or change into ghost-prospector costumes to scare off meddling kids. During warmer months, the slopes transform into the Mt. Hood Adventure Park at Skibowl, which boasts a variety of attractions where you are in control, such as bungee trampolines, a concrete luge track, and a mountain-biking park.