Explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark saw the Columbia River mostly from water level, paying particular attention to portaging, foraging and surviving pot-boiling rapids.
But what a view they would have had from the top of Beacon Rock, a volcanic core on Washington’s river’s edge near North Bonneville with sweeping views of today’s Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.
The 80-mile-long Gorge has evolved through about 17 million years of geologic activity, including catastrophic floods, earthquakes, lava flows and giant slides that created natural dams.
A loop drive through the Gorge on both sides of the Columbia takes about five hours but there are attractions off S.R. 14 in Washington and I-84 and S.R. 30 in Oregon that could keep visitors busy for a week.
Hiking and Walking
Although the Lewis & Clark expedition named Beacon Rock in 1805, another expedition called it Inoshoack Castle, a name used until 1916 when its official name became Beacon Rock.
Today the monolith is a must-do moderate climb for first-time visitors to the Gorge. The two-mile round-trip gains 600 feet in elevation (15 percent grade) to the 848-foot-high summit.
More than 50 handrail-edged switchbacks, sometimes literally stacked above each other, are testimony to human determination and dynamite to create a trail that scales sheer-sided Beacon Rock on three sides.
A new day-use area at the park was dedicated in June. It includes 230 acres, river access, restricted-access wildlife habitat and a 1.1-mile ADA-accessible interpretive trail.
While Beacon Rock is the choice of those who have only time for one hike, there are many others, including:
• Multnomah Falls. While the majority of visitors soak in the magnificence of this 620-foot Oregon falls from below and on the bridge, don’t get back in your vehicle too soon. Options from the parking lot include the Larch Mountain Trail past Weisendanger and Ecola falls. If you like loops, skip the last section to Larch Mountain and come back to Multnomah Falls past Fairy and Wahkeena falls.
• Catherine Creek Universal Access Trail. The trail, near Bingen (Wash.) on the east end of the scenic area, offers dramatic views of the river and Mount Hood. The easy quarter-mile route also overlooks Catherine Creek Falls. There’s a moderate loop (up to 1.25 miles), too.
• Dog Mountain. This moderately difficult (2,400-foot elevation gain, 3.5 miles to summit) — yet heavily used trail 10 miles east of Stevenson — offers views of St. Helens, Adams and Hood. Watch out for rattlesnakes in the summer. Once past the strenuous first half-mile, this is a beautiful hike, especially in late spring when the wildflowers escort you to the top.
• Lodge hikes. If you’re staying at Skamania Lodge near Stevenson, Wash., take advantage of three loop trails (moderate 1.5-mile Creek Loop, moderate 1.75-mile Lake Loop, more challenging 1-mile Gorge Loop) that start on the grounds.
Two trails (North Bonneville and Table Mountain) out of Bonneville Hot Springs Resort offer two totally different experiences. An easy two-mile trail to North Bonneville connects with more trails that can be packaged together for up to 12 miles.
Windsurfing, Kiteboarding
Facing challenging 20–50 mph winds is an adrenalin-pumping activity that draws windsurfers and kiteboarders by the thousands to the Columbia Gorge. And it’s not bad for spectators, too, as windsurfers catch incredible air and turn 360-degree flips thanks to the strong west winds in the summer.
There are about 30 public-access launch sites in and outside of the Gorge, which means that conditions, somewhere, are usually right for your skill level.
Conditions are a bit different than usual in Hood River, Ore., windsurfing center of the universe. Winter rains and floods brought down 26 acres of sediment, creating a large sandbar where the Columbia Gorge Windsurfing Association stages events.
Hot Springs
What a way to end the day: Soak your tired muscles in a hot tub of healing mineral water. Choose from the more upscale Bonneville Hot Springs Resort & Spa or soak the traditional way at Carson Mineral Hot Springs.
At Carson, the mineral water is pumped directly from its source, under the riverbed of Wind River. Bathhouses were added to the 1901 St. Martin Hotel in 1923 and are still in use, although new units were added this year.
Bonneville Hot Springs Resort owner Peter Cam has reason to believe in the healing power of mineral baths because, before he built the resort about five years ago, the springs helped him recover from debilitating arthritis.
A day-use facility soon will be added, although to our minds, coming back after a day of recreation to a hot tub of mineral water on the room’s balcony is about as good as it gets.
Other Explorations
If Beacon Rock is a must-hike, then Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center near Stevenson is a must-see.
A wall of glass allows natural light to pour through a wonderful multi-level collection in this first-rate building that guides visitors through 40 million years of change in the Columbia Gorge area.
Trace the changes both culturally and geologically along the Columbia through words in an eclectic collection: 37-foot-high replica of a 19th-century fish wheel, Native American artifacts and stories, a biplane, a Corliss steam engine that powered mills starting in 1926, an Asian room and a Spiritual Quests exhibit that includes the world’s largest rosary collection.
For a short cruise on the Columbia River that comes with the captain’s history and geology lessons, take the Sternwheeler Columbia Gorge at Cascade Locks on the Oregon side.
The trip includes the sights of shoreline platforms and dip nets used by Native Americans who have kept their right to fish the Columbia.
Maggie Savage and Sharon Wootton were recent visitors to the Columbia River Gorge. They are travel writers living on Shaw Island. Contact Maggie and Sharon at songandword@rockisland.com
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