One-Horse Open Sleigh Helps Keep Odell Lodge Riding High This Winter

As Odell Lake Lodge has adjusted to survive during the pandemic, some hard-working former Budweiser Clydesdales have come galloping to the rescue

By DOUG BATES/Editor, The Herald

Like just about every other business in the hospitality sector, Odell Lake Lodge and Resort has struggled to survive during the pandemic. Fortunately for owner Jon Ditgen, some former Budweiser Clydesdale horses have come galloping to the rescue.

Ditgen has acquired four of them to help lure the young at heart to his historic lodge for romantic horse-drawn sleigh rides in the deep winter snows of the Willamette Pass east of Oakridge.

COVID-19 restrictions have put the crimp on every such resort in the world this winter, but the skiers, snowboarders and snow-shoe adventurers have kept coming along with a new influx of less-adventurous visitors who come for snowy encounters with Miss Hot Cocoa. Purchased by Ditgen in Sandpoint, Idaho, she is a retired Budweiser Clydesdale who no longer pulls those red beer wagons with a full team of draft horses. She now pulls a red one-horse sleigh carrying delighted families.

The Anheuser-Busch Brewing Co. uses several teams of Clydesdales to promote its Budweiser products. The company famously pampers these gentle giants and retires them young.

For $95 the sturdy Miss Hot Cocoa will take up to six bundled-up visitors on a 35-to-45-minute ride through the snowy meadows, hills and trails around the 118-year-old lodge. Bedecked with twinkly Christmas lights all winter long, the rustic venue sits at the east end of Odell Lake about 35 miles east of Oakridge.

Ditgen’s lodge has remained open throughout the pandemic. The dining room is open now, although with a 12-person limit.

Sleigh-riders don’t have to be staying at the lodge, but they do need to make reservations by calling 541-433-2540. Riders should bundle up for the cold and bring warm blankets for the open sleigh.

After each chilly excursion, Ditgen serves complimentary hot beverages to sleigh riders beside a blazing fire in the lodge’s charming Fireside Room.

And if you ask nicely, he’ll even make yours hot cocoa.

Herald Editor Doug Bates is a retired newspaper editor who lives in Oakridge.