The Olympic Winter Games come around once every four years, so now’s the perfect time to use them as inspiration to get your kids into a winter sport. Luckily, Oregon has a plethora of options to pass the time during dreary gray days and cold evenings when the sun sets at 5:30 p.m. See below for our top picks.
Skiing & Snowboarding
With beautiful Mt. Hood less than two hours east of Portland, Oregon residents and their kiddos have ample opportunities to enjoy fun, Olympic-inspired sports — like skiing. Mt. Hood Meadows provides clinics and camps introducing folks to winter sports, claiming on their website to have “introduced the sports of skiing and snowboarding to more Oregonians than any other ski resort.” The resort operates under a special-use permit in the Mt. Hood National Forest and offers courses for beginners through experts. There’s also a certified daycare center for kids from 6 weeks old all the way up to 11 — bonus points for parents with multiples!
The Meadows offers the following lessons: private and semi-private, adult, youth, ‘Parent and Me,’ beginner, and many more! There are also programs for consecutive weeks based on your child’s grade level.
For more information, visit their website.
Other notable ski and snowboard instructor shoutouts include: Timberline Lodge, the Portland Oregon Nordic Club, and PTO Ski. PTO is an interesting option, as it’s an indoor facility offering ski and snowboard lessons in Beaverton, OR, if you don’t want to trek up the mountain! They also offer fun-looking summer camps at competitive rates.
Ice Skating
You already know I’m going to suggest the Lloyd Center rink as my go-to for ice skating lessons (although Tonya Harding notably trained at the Clackamas Town Center ice rink — when it existed — Lloyd Center is the mall option for would-be ice skaters!)! Ice skating lessons, while a bit spendy, are a great way to get your kid exercising and working out their Winter Olympics dreams!
The Lloyd Center rink is even hosting its own version of the Winter Olympics on February 22nd.
Another option for ice skating lessons is located within the Winterhawks ICE Center in Sherwood. The facility offers public skating, skating lessons, ice hockey, figure skating, and more. The ice center even hosts birthday parties and events.
Curling
Ah, curling. I remember the first time I ever saw a curling event on TV — it had to have been during a Winter Olympics one year…maybe around 1998? I thought it seemed like the silliest thing to chase a stone around on some ice while sweeping. But then I became fascinated with it. I think many of us had the same reaction, because now curling seems almost…cool?
If you want to be like the cool kids — or more accurately, have your kids be one of the cool kids — have them join up with the Evergreen Curling Club PDX! This club offers intro lessons, Curling 101, and group events as options to feed your curling fever. They even have a program for the smallest curlers (ages 6—9) called the “Little Rockers.” The cost for a 2-hour introductory lesson is only $23 for youth, usually ages 10+.
Of course, there are many other winter sports options for kids, but these are the most readily accessible. Which one will you and your family try in 2026?
Anna Giles has written about parenting, her kids, cats, and other things for over 10 years now (the math is easy when your oldest kid is 10). Fancy companies she’s written for include Delta, IHG, Bravo, NBC, E!, Syfy, and Disney. Parenting publications she’s written for include Romper, Time Out New York Kids, and Mommy Nearest. She’s really good at procrastinating on writing her Great American Novel. She has two kids and a perfect golden retriever. A born-and-raised Southerner, she’s learning to love her new PNW home in Portland but would really like to join a sauna during the winters, so please read her articles!!!
