Three West Coast ski resorts spend summer sending chairlifts up for disc golfers instead of skiers
Snow shuts these three mountains down for exactly one thing every year: skiing. The lifts keep running anyway.
Mt. Bachelor in Oregon, Crystal Mountain near Mount Rainier, and Palisades Tahoe in California all send a chairlift, gondola, or tram up through summer so you can ride to elevation, grab a disc, and throw your way back down. Why hike to a tee box when the lift’s already running?
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Mt. Bachelor, Oregon: an 18-hole course that starts above 7,700 feet
Mt. Bachelor’s 18-hole course begins at Pine Marten Lodge, 7,775 feet up the mountain, and winds back down the front side toward the West Village base outside Bend. The Pine Marten Express chairlift — the same one that hauls skiers all winter — carries disc golfers up in summer, so the climbing part is entirely optional.
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The course has run since 2005 and opens daily in July once the snow clears, staying open through Labor Day weekend. New for 2026, Mt. Bachelor also added two courses at its Nordic Center — a free nine-hole layout and an 18-hole Black Diamond course — for anyone who’d rather skip the lift line. It’s one of the more scenic 18 holes you’ll ever throw, lift ticket or not.
Staying over? Book a room in Central Oregon before the good ones fill up — Bend gets busy in August.
Crystal Mountain, Washington: 27 baskets split between the base and the summit
Crystal Mountain, the resort tucked into Mount Rainier’s northeast corner, spreads 27 disc golf baskets across two free courses. The Lower Course is 18 holes starting at the base of the Discovery Chairlift, open dawn to dusk with no ticket required.
The Summit Course sits at the top of the Mt. Rainier Gondola, which climbs roughly 2,400 vertical feet from the base in under 10 minutes. Playing it is free, but you’ll need a gondola ticket to ride up — and the course itself doesn’t open for the season until the snowmelt clears enough to play.
Book a place to stay near the mountain if you’re making a weekend of it — Crystal sits close enough to Rainier that you can pair a round with a hike on the same trip.
Palisades Tahoe, California: a free course with a Lake Tahoe view
Palisades Tahoe, the Olympic Valley resort formerly known as Squaw Valley, runs a nine-hole course at High Camp, 8,200 feet up the mountain. The Aerial Tram gets you there from Base Camp at 6,200 feet in about 10 minutes, climbing roughly 2,000 vertical feet along the way.
The course itself is free once you’re up there — you only pay for the tram ride. Bring your own discs or buy a set at the High Camp Marketplace, and expect the kind of Lake Tahoe and Sierra Nevada views that make it easy to lose track of your score.
Pair a round with a full day lakeside — there’s a rundown of summer things to do around Lake Tahoe if you want to stretch the trip past one afternoon. Book a room on the Tahoe side before the summer rush fills the good ones.
Trip tips: grab a rental car to string all three together, or skip the driving and book a camper van instead.
Rules and fees change — always confirm current requirements before you go.
