Weekender: Columbia River Gorge

Missoula Floods left us an epic playground

Story and Photos by Rebecca Agiewich

Photo at right: The view from the Mosier Twin Tunnels Trail.

Created by the epic Missoula Floods at the end of the last ice age, and navigated by Lewis and Clark in the early 1800s, the Columbia River Gorge offers up geologic and historic treasures galore.
Best of all, the Gorge offers endless amounts of outdoor recreation.

A windsurfing and kiteboarding playground

Windsurfers flock here by the thousands each summer to play in the Gorge’s natural wind tunnel, where their colorful sails and kites carpet the Columbia River like a field of exotic flowers.

To ogle the aerial acrobatics of the kiteboarders, check out the Bridge of the Gods Kiteboarding Festival, the country’s longest-running amateur kiteboarding contest, Aug. 4 –5. The pros will go at it July 28 –29.

Catherine Creek Trail

On our trip in early May, Gorge wildflowers were abundant as we drove along the Washington side of the Columbia River on Highway 14 on our way to hike the Catherine Creek Trail. It’s a semi-arid area that boasts more than 90 different wildflower species.  We were greeted with sunshine, wind, and astonishing river views as we climbed up a wide-open hillside.

The Columbia shimmered and snaked below. Fields of grass rippled in the famous Gorge wind. Wildflowers like Indian paintbrush, Baby stars, and Oregon sunshine danced across the hillsides and decorated the niches of cliffs with red, pink, and yellow. It was a good day.

Cooling down on the Lower Falls Creek Trail

We retraced our route west on Highway 14 and headed into the rainforest in the Washington Cascades. One of the unique features of the Gorge is its densely packed microclimates; you can drive from desert to rainforest within an hour.

Our hike along Lower Falls Creek Trail was nestled in a lush forest of alders, maple, and Douglas firs. This trail was built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), and it meanders above rushing Falls Creek, which frothed and frolicked with spring runoff on this early May day.

At about 1.5 miles, we reached a picturesque suspension bridge that provided a great view of the falls pouring off the hillside above and tumbling into the ravine below.

Though the Oregon side of the Gorge lays claim to the more famous cascades in the area—like Multnomah Falls, at a whopping 620 feet high—plenty of cool cataracts beckon hikers on the Washington side too.

Mosier Twin Tunnels Trail

You can’t visit the Columbia River Gorge without a stop in the town of Hood River, Ore., where Mt. Hood looms like a startling vision in white on the southern horizon.

From Hood River, we did a unique ride known locally as the “Mosier Twin Tunnels” trail because of the two restored tunnels that you pass through. This paved, 8.2 mile round-trip trail follows a segment of the historic Columbia River Highway that has been converted into a recreation trail, highlighted by incredible views into the Gorge surrounded by shimmering twisted basalt cliffs lining the Gorge.

If you go:

General information:

Columbia River Gorge Visitor’s Association: www.crgva.org

Where to stay on the Oregon side:

Hood River Vacation Rentals: www.hrvacations.com

Where to stay on the Washington side:

Bonneville Hot Springs Resort & Spa: www.bonnevilleresort.com

Carson Ridge Luxury Cabins: carsonridgecabins.com

Skamania Lodge: www.skamania.com

Timberlake Campground: www.timberlakecampgroundandrvpark.com

Where to eat:

Skamania Lodge, Stevenson, Wash.

Whistle Stop Espresso, Home Valley, Wash.

Big River Grill, Stevenson, Wash.

Locks Waterfront Café, Cascade Locks, Ore.

What to do:

Catherine Creek Trail and Lower Falls Creek Trail: www.wta.org

Mosier Twin Tunnels Trail: www.oregonstateparks.org

Bridge of the Gods Kiteboarding Festival: www.botgkitefest.com

Rebecca Agiewich is a regular contributor to Outdoors NW.

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