Mt. Hood Meadows Off Season

I was just checking out the Meadows website and came across this comment:

"We’d like to discourage you from hiking and riding within the permit area, although we will allow it." ( www.skihood.com/The-Mountain/Conditions )

Am I mistaken in believing that Meadows operates on public land and has no authority to restrict or allow hiking and riding in the permit area outside of their operating season? The impression from Meadows seems to be that the permit area is their property and I would like to know exactly what the Forest Service rules are for access and use.

Additionally, since their parking lots are snoparks why do they always have the parking lot gated if I have payed to be able to park in that public lot?

OCCUPY MT. HOOD MEADOWS!!!!!
It's public land right?????????....you can do whatever you like!!!

Just like Bangor Naval Base.... or MRNP( when the road gate is closed at Longmire)... ALL PUBLIC LAND. How dare they fence us out and close the gate.

Don't forget your black hoody and bandanna!!!= cameras!

I was just checking out the Meadows website and came across this comment:

"We’d like to discourage you from hiking and riding within the permit area, although we will allow it."

Your excerpt omits some rather important context (emphasis added, in underlined italics):

General Comments: Thanks for joining us for the 2011-2012 ski season. It was a great one, with 165 days of riding, 550"+ of snowfall, and a few powder days that were beyond belief. There's still a deep snowpack on Mt. Hood and there's lots of great backcountry terrain around here. We’d like to discourage you from hiking and riding within the permit area, although we will allow it. However, sledding is not allowed. We'll have maintenance equipment out on the slopes, and unmarked large digging projects to get ready for summer, so please be aware. If you are up here riding, you’re on your own. There are no patrollers or any other staff to assist you. There will be no avalanche mitigation efforts, so please remember that avalanche danger and other hazards may exist throughout the permit area. Make sure you have backcountry knowledge and practice backcountry safety. That said, we wish you a wonderful summer of fun. Season passes for next season go on sale in September!

I did not mean to sound angry. I do not want to make Meadows the bad guy, my mistake. But the reality is the Meadows base area is a very convenient parking lot for multiple routes on Hood and I would like to know for certain what the rules are since I found the language on the website misleading.

I was just checking out the Meadows website and came across this comment:

"We’d like to discourage you from hiking and riding within the permit area, although we will allow it." ( www.skihood.com/The-Mountain/Conditions )

Am I mistaken in believing that Meadows operates on public land and has no authority to restrict or allow hiking and riding in the permit area outside of their operating season?  The impression from Meadows seems to be that the permit area is their property and I would like to know exactly what the Forest Service rules are for access and use. 

Additionally, since their parking lots are snoparks why do they always have the parking lot gated if I have payed to be able to park in that public lot?

I think MJS has a valid question. I don't think a naval base or national park is a fair comparison. While I appreciate Meadows informing the public of the hazards and maintenance activities its a pretty bold statement to claim they "will allow it" after the season is over.

What are the Forest Service rules for access? What are the snowpark rules? ...they will tow your car if you park overnight in the HRM lot even if you have a snowpark pass. The lot is plowed by the state, and there is no signage stating it is not open to overnight use like other snowparks in the area.

The broader public policy questions are potentially interesting (although the lease probably just gives MHM broad discretion as to safety concerns), but from the viewpoint of a skier accessing those routes, we all already know that:
1. You can park anytime immediately outside the gate.
2. You can skin up the ski area.
3. You should be aware that all sorts of off-season work could be going on at anytime, both on the mountain and in the parking lot.
The website statement is both a useful reminder to backcountry skiers using MHM to access higher elevations, and a valuable warning to non-bc skiers that they shouldn't be lulled into a false sense of security as it were still operating with patrol, etc. -- I don't see what the objections are to such a reminder?