How to Visit the Columbia Gorge

Millions of people visit the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon annually. It is an area of breathtaking beauty any tme of year, with its many waterfalls, rivers, forests and stark basalt cliffs. The Columbia River Gorge is a world-class center for outdoor recreation and offers something for everybody.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Put on your hiking boots and spend a day hiking any of the Columbia River Gorge's numerous hiking trails. It doesn't matter if you are a brand new hiker looking for a stroll or a seasoned professional into strenuous climbing, you will find a hiking trail that will suit you. Many of the area's beautiful waterfalls can only be viewed form hiking trails. The area also offers numerous camping sites and designated campgrounds.
2. Cast your fishing pole into some of the many rivers running through the Columbia Gorge. The Sandy River is one of the best steelhead rivers in Oregon. If fishing for bass or sturgeon is your thing, you will love the Columbia River and the Deschutes River is a salmon-angler's paradise. There are also numerous lakes for the trout angler.
3. Grab your sailboard and visit the Hood River area, famour worldwide for it's outstanding windsurfing. The gorge functions as a wind tunnel and commonly generates 30-knot winds. If you would like to enjoy the river in a more leisurely fashion, get down close and personal in a canoe or kayak. Watch for Native American pictographs along the way.
4. Plan a driving tour along one of the Gorge's three scenic routes. Highway I-84 runs parallel to the Columbia River and will give you an almost river-level view, the Old Columbia River Highway will get you closer to many waterfalls and small towns, and SR14 runs along the river on the Washington state side. Each route offers a very different, but equally spectacular, viewing experience.
5. Remember to bring your binoculars. The combinaton of Douglas fir, alder and maple forests, rivers and the many wetlands, are home to hundreds of varieties of birds.
6. Visit a few of the area's many waterfalls. The drop from the Mount Hood forest to the Columbia River results in one of the highest concentration of waterfalls in the world with 77 on the Oregon side of the river alone. Multnomah Falls, easily visible from Highway I-84, is Oregon's most often-visited natural attraction.
7. Bicycle on the Old Columbia River Highway. This route will take you through quaint small villages and up close to numerous waterfalls and recreation areas.