The Tilly Jane Guard Station was built some time between 1931 and 1934, and initially received summer use as a guard residence by the US Forest Service. An unusual arrangement allowed for winter use by the Hood River-based Crag Rats and Hood River Ski Club. It has been used over the years for backcountry access, a search and rescue base, and fire protection. The Tilly Jane A-Frame (originally known as the Ski Warming Hut) was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1939. Other remaining features from this early Mt. Hood recreation area include the Amphitheater and the American Legion Cook Shed. These were both constructed in the 1920s. Together, they have been designated part of the Cloud Cap – Tilly Jane Historic District that is under the supervision of the U.S. Forest Service. The Oregon Nordic Club’s Columbia Gorge and Portland Chapters have been responsible for the maintenance, upkeep, and administration of the A-Frame and Guard Station for many years, until the permit and responsibility were transferred to Friends of Tilly Jane in 2024. The Amphitheater was restored in 2023, and is still used occasionally for events, but the cook shed is boarded up and posted unsafe – no entry permitted. 

Many wonder where the name Tilly Jane originated. Tilly Jane was the jaunty nickname of Caroline Ames Elliott Ladd of Portland. The forest around the cabins and the stream that runs between them was reportedly named after her because of her love for the area. Her husband William Ladd, along with C.E.S. Wood of Portland, bought the Mt. Hood Trail and Wagon Road Co. in the Spring of 1889. They renamed the firm The Mt. Hood Stage Co., and promptly began improvements that led to a brushed out and improved wagon road, which still exists today as a skiers trail.

Long after the era of the early tent camps in the area, the Tilly Jane area was a popular place to camp. The Tilly Jane Guard Station was built on the north side of Tilly Jane Creek between 1931 and 1934, during the time when the Hood River American Legion was running their famous north side summit climbs. The trail into the creek canyon emerged on the south side to a side hill where they built the American Legion Cookhouse in 1924. Below and to the west, they built benches in an amphitheater style where people could sit and eat. In the evening, Legionnaires conducted an early program before the climbers went to bed. These functions attracted crowds by the hundreds. Hood River Valley resident and trail building legend Bus Gibson recalls a pre-climb evening after World War II, when about a thousand people partied in the area. Meanwhile, the hundred or so climbers lay in their sleeping bags, desperately trying to get a little sleep before the cruel march up the mountain began.

Just east of the Legion Cookhouse is the A-Frame shelter built by the CCC in 1939. This building, about 24’x48’, had a kitchen and dining hall on the ground floor and a sleeping area above in a loft. The pit toilets were unique in that they are built into the structure, flanking the front entrance. Currently, the A-Frame contains a wood stove, tables and benches on the ground floor, but the sleeping loft (an expansive wooden floor) is likely little changed. A modern but simple conveyor-driven decompose-style toilet was installed in 2019, still enclosed by the alcove.

The Tilly Jane Ski trail runs past the door of the A-Frame on its 2.5 mile route, which climbs about 2000 vertical feet from the Tilly Jane Sno-park, near Cooper Spur Ski Area. The trail was brushed out in the winter of 1938-39 by Percy Bucklin, Bill Cochran, Harold Wells, and Walter Applegren. Cross country skiers find the twisting and sometimes steep trail a “challenge.” Modern alpine touring ski gear, along with the Gnarl Ridge fire of 2008, has made the approach more manageable, and the descent often enjoyable, but the lower section still contains narrow, winding sections.

The Tilly Jane Ski Trail is indeed a steep climb on skis or snowshoes from near Cooper Spur Ski Area to the Tilly Jane cabins area. In summer and fall there is a road that leads up to Cloud Cap Inn, and to the Tilly Jane Campground. But the road is gated when the first snows arrive, and usually does not open back up until all the snow is gone from the road, usually early July. It is said the ski trail was sometimes used by American Legion climbing groups in the 20s, and it is very possible that it was also used earlier by native people and early settlers in the Hood River Valley. High alpine meadows were often used by valley sheepherders, and the Tilly Jane Ski Trail is dotted with open meadows that may have enticed them to make the trek.

Tilly Jane Structures

Structures of the Historic Tilly Jane Area
TJ National Register of Historic Places Nomination
TJ National Register of Historic Places Nomination Pictures