Mount Ashland’s first summer of regular operations was surprisingly good, drawing more visitors than expected to the mountain on weekends to enjoy an open lodge with café and other attractions and events, the area’s top executive reported.

“We were a little surprised at how busy it got. Our goal was to test it out and seeing how the public responded,” said area General Manager Andrew Gast. A number of first-time visitors likely came to the mountain, he said.

Officers of the nonprofit Mt. Ashland Association had hoped to break even on running the operations. The organization came out a bit on the positive side, said Gast.

In previous summers, the lodge was open for special events, and youth programs have been held at various times, but there had been no regularly scheduled summer openings until this year. The lodge was open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.

Using lodge receipts as a basis, and extrapolating from that data, between 4,000 to 6,000 visitors came up over 15 summer weekends between May 27 and Sept. 3. Getting data isn’t as easy as in the winter, when lift ticket sales give a reliable count of attendance.

At an elevation of 6,500 feet for the base, the area offers cooler temperatures on days when the thermometer soars in the Rogue Valley. Views take in the valley, Mount Shasta, the Cascades and Northern California.

Gast will present a plan for next summer to the board of directors in early October for approval. “My guess is that, yes, we will continue in the future,” he said

Besides the cafe, guests found a variety of attractions and events, including three established hiking trails, bands, activities, mountain biking and a disc golf course.

The disc golf course proved to be so popular it was expanded twice. After opening with a three-hole setup in June, the course was expanded to nine holes in July. Last week, it was doubled to 18 holes and will remain in play until the snow falls.

“We saw immediately that there was a very large appetite for it,” said Gast. The disc golf community told mountain employees that there is not enough variety of places to play in the valley.

The disc golf course was open Saturdays and Sundays during summer, but now will be open seven days per week. Players are asked to make a donation to help defray expenses, and QR codes are displayed in several locations to provide online access.

Three running events that used the base area helped boost the attendance numbers. The long-established Siskiyou Outback begins and ends at the lodge. The Mt. Ashland Hillclimb, from the city of Ashland to the summit, holds its closing ceremonies at the lodge, and a new Mt. Ashland run — the Mt. Ashland Trail Race — was also based there and drew about 60 people.

Tie-dye events that saw participants create their own fashions happened three times. Mt. Ashland provided supplies and equipment for tie-dying, while guests could bring their own T-shirts or purchase one.

Musical performances were featured on seven different days, including on the last and next-to-last weekends.

“Having those kinds of events really increased the turnout,” said Gast.

A Youth Adventure program drew a low response, said Gast. Notice of the offerings may not have gotten out early enough for families to include them in their summer plans, he said. Children ages 7-12 could enroll in three-hour sessions that included hiking, nature, arts and crafts, and mountain sports.

Hikers, meanwhile, could take a three-quarter-mile nature trail with marked features, a longer hike to the mountain’s 7,533-foot summit or a trail that runs to Bull Gap.

“We saw a lot more folks on the trails in the ski area,” said Gast. Mt. Ashland will create and print a trail map for the ski area for future use.

Visitors saw a new snow fence erected between the parking lot and the adjacent ski slope during the summer. The fence will help prevent snow from moving into the parking lot, Gast said. Other work has included repairs to buildings and installation of a new haul rope — the cable that transports the chairs — on the Sonnet lift.

The 2023-24 winter operating schedule calls for a Saturday, Dec. 9, opening if there is sufficient snow. Beginning Dec. 14, the area will run for 19 consecutive days during the holidays, concluding Jan. 1. Regular season operations will resume Jan. 4, with a Thursday through Monday schedule until the end of March. The closing date is scheduled for April 14.

More announcements about features to accommodate skiers and snowboarders will be made Sept. 29, Gast said.

Mt. Ashland is a nonprofit owned and operated by the Mt. Ashland Association under a special use permit from the U.S. Forest Service. More information can be found at mtashland.com.