Day 9 - Government Camp, OR (USA)

(original date June 24, 2026. Almost all caught up. This backlog is taking up all of my Resource Credits, so I’m excited to get up to date so I can start Hive’ing fr (smiley face))

Tucked off of Highway 26, right at the bottom of the Timberline access road of Mount Hood, lies a roughly one mile “loop” that hosts an unincorporated community called Government Camp. With a population of 179, the tiny town known as “Govy” is home to many of the year round Timberline employees and some deep pocket second homes. On any given day you’ll likely find the tourists and campers strongly outnumber the locals.

If you’ve never lived in a mountain town or another location similar in terms of it’s economic survival relying on tourism, the lack of housing, second home buyers, and low wages create rather unique living situations for the local employees. I lived in a similar town back on the east coast. In that scenario, due to extreme weather conditions and stricter DMV regulations, car living is less popular for the workers- although by no means unheard of. Instead, it wouldn’t be uncommon to find 8-10 people living in a 3-bedroom place; with people sleeping in the living room being a common occurrence. In Govy’s case, on the other hand, car/camper/rig living is much more common.

the local Chevron welcomes visitors at the top of the loop. It is known as the “Bev’ron” by locals, for obvious reasons

Resources are hard to come by in this area. There is a general store in Govy. It is a great little store but the prices definitely reflect the tourism and if you’re stuck relying on it for groceries… well, you’re cooked. The next “town” is down a substantial hill about 8 miles away, which used to have a store. Said store has closed within the last year, however, so all you’ll find there is a dispensary, a coffee shop, a pizza place, a Dairy Queen(never understood this one), and a small motel. Continue down a little farther, and you’ll find a shopping center with the Thriftway grocery store. Unless you want to burn a bunch of gas to continue down the road to Sandy, this is where you’ll be buying groceries. And it ain’t cheap, either.

There’s no real point to all of this. I’m just trying to provide a general feel for the area. Because it really is quite unique. Given that most of my day was spent similar to yesterday- doing boring stuff on my phone in the electricity hub, I decided to make a little post about this tiny mountain town that I have spent oh so much time in.

The summers bring on the campers and training athletes. The town becomes filled with everyone from little kids getting sent to summer skiing/snowboarding camp to hundreds of seasonal transplants from all over the northern hemisphere to seasoned Olympic athletes and professional company teams. You’ll see someone you recognize from a Wheatie’s box buying coffee from Fernie’s right before almost getting run over by a mob of 12 year olds from the Midwest on bikes.

It also creates a surprisingly lively night life for such a small remote place. Music sets ranging all the way from country to rap to punk will occasionally happen in Charlie’s, the local’s choice dive bar that has everything from pub fare to a horseshoe pit to a cigarette vending machine. Or there could be a metal show across the street at the Ratskellar, a cool little basement bar that hosts a large outdoor seating area and two levels of arcade.

the outside of the Ratskellar, or simply the Rat, attached to an amazing cafe that unfortunately has shut down since the last time I was here. RIP to the best breakfast sandwiches in the area

About halfway down the loop you’ll find a bridge across highway 26 to a small neighborhood and Govy’s other local ski area, Ski Bowl. In the summer they have an outdoor adventure park, including go karts, bungee jumping, mini golf, alpine slides, etc. I wanted to go check it out for myself because it had been years since I’ve seen it but they weren’t open yet when I walked over and they don’t take kindly to people walking around over there that aren’t customers. I tried to go for a hike one evening a few years ago and I got chased down by security. It’s the only time I think I’ve ever been told i cant hike on a ski resort in the summer.

This whole area has a direct historical tie to the Oregon trail and the odd town name comes from an event in the 19th century when militia carts and supplies were found abandoned here by travelers of the Barlow trail. You can walk much of the trail around here and although I have only ever gone a couple miles on various stretches it would be really cool to take a long haul. The road I was previously camping on exists because of said trail, and there’s some very cool abandoned stretches of road from prior to the construction of the highway at the end of it.

I think I’ll probably spend a few days van camping up here in town. The forest road has been a little isolating so it’s nice being around some folk and also having unlimited access to water, etc. The water is thanks to the rest area at the top, right next to the Bev’ron. Rarely a day goes by I don’t visit this rest area while I’m out here 😂 Right from the parking lot of the rest stop is yet another small ski area, that lies on the run out from Mt Hood. During years where there is more snow you can ski/ride all the way to town up until some time in May. It’s a really fun thing to do at the end of the day, and I would frequently leave my car in the loop and take the bus up to the mountain just for the ride down.

Hope this finds everyone well and that you are finding some way today to enjoy yourself, even if it’s the smallest thing. Keep on thriving and keep on keeping on. The world’s a mess and all we can do is try :)