ROADTRIP FOR THE COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE (OREGÓN)

We leave Seattle and its unmistakable skyline to start this roadtrip by the state of Oregon. Although for this we have to suck some good traffic jams, and it is that we are on the weekend of Memorial Day, that the Americans take very seriously. Before leaving the state of Washington (not to be confused with the city of Washington D.C.) we set aside Portland, and now yes, Oregon he welcomes us with a downpour that would accompany us just until the moment we arrived at the accommodation (without pussies).

In Oregon they are famous 7 Wonders, in this roadtrip we will go through four of them, and the first one is not long in coming. We talk about Columbia River Gorge, east of Portland, an immense canyon sculpted by the Columbia River and that acts as a natural border between the states of WA and OR. It is a panoramic tour with a handful of interesting points, this is how we traveled it.

This is the map of tour of the Columbia River Gorge:

The approach will be done on Hwy 84, but as soon as you can turn to the old Historic Columbia River Hwy. Some parts of this road coincide with the historic Oregon Trail, a route followed by many travelers back in the 1800s in search of land and fortune. The first who came to "repopulate" these lands were the so-called "Pionners", among which were curiously a handful of Spanish merchants.

The first place you have to stop is the Portland Women's Forum viewpoint, where you can see before you the magnificent surroundings of the Columbia River Gorge. In the distance, on the mound of Crown Point and fighting in the fog, you will see how the Vista House.

This curious circular building turned 100 in 2018, and was built almost alongside the Columbia River Hwy to accommodate the exhausted travelers and give them rest, in one of the best panoramic points of the road. If you follow the road a couple of km you will reach it and you can visit it inside. For almost 40 years, the association of "Friends of Vista House" has been responsible for serving visitors and managing facilities (bathrooms, souvenir shop, cafeteria, exhibitions ...). A highly recommended and didactic visit.

But what really attracts tourists on this route are its natural beauties. And it is that without hardly realizing it you will see yourself surrounded in a lush forest of giant trees and huge basalt rocks from where a good number of waterfalls fall. So nature lovers will enjoy the trails that are scattered throughout the tour, and photography lovers will have excellent options to capture good snapshots.

The 3 waterfalls that you can not miss and that are very easy to access from the road are:

• Latourell Falls, although it does not have a very powerful water fall, the height of almost 70 meters is quite impressive. You can see it perfectly from a viewpoint that is about 300 meters from the parking lot. If you want to reach the base, there is a path that goes to the right.
• Multnomah falls, is the most famous waterfall on this historic road, and the image of the “Benson Bridge” bridge of 1914, with the huge fall of 190 meters (as they say here, the second highest in the USA with constant water) is iconic. From the parking lot you will pass by a restaurant, a souvenir shop and at its back, about 200 meters away, there will be the viewpoint at the base of the second waterfall. You can also climb the famous bridge, about halfway up, along the path that goes from the right.
• Horsetail falls, which can be seen from the road itself, although as in the previous ones you will have a parking lot to leave the car and contemplate it more calmly.

There are some more like Bridal Veil Falls or those of Oneonta Gorge, but it is necessary to travel trails of several km to reach.

We always recommend to shop around Visitor Centers, and in the United States more! We love to pick up maps, read curiosities about the area and ask workers for the most prominent places. But Bradford Island Visitor Center It also has two extra gifts: from its terrace you can have great views of the Bonneville Dam, which at the time of its construction in 1930, was the largest project of this type in the country.

And if you go down to the underground floor of the visitor center, you will find yourself in a underwater room with windows from where, with a little luck, you can see salmon and other fish species. By the way, in order to access this island (yes, it is an island in the river!), You will have to pass a security check where they will ask you if you carry weapons!

We continue the journey through the Columbia River along the Bridge of the Gods bridge, built in 1926. There is a toll of $ 2 per car that is paid directly upon entering, interestingly the price increased after the impact of the film Wild, in which the final scene is recorded precisely on this bridge, and as you know, this gives it even more fame to take advantage of.

On the other side of the river we will be again in the state of Washington, and there we take Highway 14, which continues along the entire canyon, to end this first day of roadtrip through Oregon in the town of Hood River (beware that you have to cross a new bridge, with another toll of $ 2). If you want to avoid the bridges, from the Visitor Center take I-84, which is also faster and in 30 minutes you will reach Hood River.

Hood River is known for being one of the world capitals of windsurfing and kitesurfing. And it is that seen from the front, the river looks like a sea, and its waterfront a promenade of any coastal city. On top of that, it has a couple of craft breweries and a handful of good restaurants. To have breakfast the next day, it is best to catch something to take and go to one of the parks in front of the river, there is no better way to start a new road day!

This was ours roadtrip by the Columbia River Gorge, the first stage of our car trip through the state of Oregon!