Location: The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area spans southern Washington and northern Oregon, encompassing 292,500 acres between the Sandy and the Deschutes River.
North America’s second largest river, the Columbia winds through a spectacular geological wonder replete with countless gorgeous waterfalls, including two-tiered Multnomah Falls at over 600 feet in height. The area offers year-round recreation such as camping, hiking, biking, golf, whitewater rafting and kayaking, windsurfing, boating, skiing and riverboat cruises. Visitors can also enjoy wine tasting, superb dining and shopping, and world-class museums such as the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center in The Dalles, Oregon and the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center in Stevenson, Washington.
2016 marked the 100th anniversary of the Historic Columbia River Highway, modeled after the great scenic roads of Europe and designed with an elegance that took full advantage of the natural beauty along the route. The highway began as a way to join mid-1800 wagon roads with a 1913 temporary road constructed as a safer wagon alternative.
The 24 westernmost miles starting at the eastern edge of urban Portland provide access to dozens of hiking trails, Crown Point Vista House and numerous waterfalls. This section forms a loop with the Mount Hood Scenic Byway.
When the United States highway system was officially established in 1926, the highway became the part of U.S. Route 30. Since then, modern Interstate 84 has been built parallel to the highway between Portland and The Dalles, replacing it as the main travel route and resulting in the loss of some of the original sections of road.
Once complete, the highway will serve as a scenic and alternative bicycle route for I-84 and US 30 between The Dalles and Portland. Currently, cyclists wishing to travel between these two towns must ride on the shoulders of I-84 for much of the distance, or the much more dangerous and narrow State Route 14 on the Washington side of the river.
