Historic
Columbia River Highway
Welcome to my Website
One
of my favorite things to do is to take a drive out the Historic
Columbia River Highway up the Columbia River Gorge. As a scenic
drive, the Historic Columbia River Highway cannot be beat.
It is beautiful any time of year. I have probably driven it
a thousand times and each time I see something new. It may
be historic, but it never gets old.
Oneonta
Tunnel Reopening
In
August of 2006 daylight was seen through the Historic Columbia
River Highway's Oneonta Tunnel for the first time since 1948.
You can see the pictures of the newly cleared Oneonta
Tunnnel here. Over the next two and a half years Oneonta
Tunnel was restored to a very faithful reproduciton of it's
early, but not earliest, appearance, with the wood lining
that had been added in the 1920s to keep rocks from falling
from the roof of the tunnel. Those pictures of the Oneonta
Tunnel are here.
It's Spring in the Columbia River
Gorge!
Spring
is the best time to drive the Historic Columbia River Highway
in the Columbia River Gorge. On the western section of the
Historic Columbia River Highway between Troutdale and Dodson
the waterfalls are at their maximum flow and there are many
seasonal waterfalls that appear only in spring. You can enjoy
the beautiful wildflowers that bloom from April to June on
a relaxing hike.
On
the Eastern sections of the Historic Columbia River Highway
between Hood River and The Dalles the hillsides are covered
with green. Enjoy the green now, because in a couple of short
months those hillsides will be brown as temperatures rise
and the eastern part of the Columbia River Gorge along the
Columbia River Highway dies out. Spring is an ideal time to
hike the trails along the eastern section of the Historic
Columbia River Highway. It's a little chilly, but the beautiful
wildflowers are out and it's better than hiking in the sweltering
summer heat.
If
you're hiking, treat yourself to a "sick day" and
go during the middle of the week. There are no crowds.
WARNING:
If
you take your dog(s) hiking, as I do, PLEASE KEEP THEM ON
A LEASH! It's more than simple courtesy, it's the safest thing
for your dog. Last fall an unleashed dog fell 100 feet off
Angel's Rest. It took emergency responders six hours to rescue
the dog. The dog was taken to Dove Lewis animal hospital where
the owner found out that the Dove Lewis claim that they never
refuse treatment to an animal really means that if you haven't
got the thousands of dollars they demand up front for treatment,
your dog will be put down.
The Good Stuff:
Plan a drive along the Historic Columbia River Highway
this weekend with this map of the Highway from Corbett to
Dodson.
Historic
Columbia River Highway Map (Corbett to Dodson)
(requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
For a longer drive, try the Mount Hood Scenic Loop.
Mount
Hood Scenic Loop Map
(requires
Adobe Acrobat Reader)
Cool off with a Columbia River Gorge hike through the
rainforest this weekend
Hiking
Trails in the Columbia River Gorge
Multnomah
Falls Areas Hiking Map
(requires
Adobe Acrobat Reader)
Make a weekend of it and camp out
in one of the many campsites along the Historic Columbia River
Highway or in the Columbia River Gorge.
Check out the new additions to the History section under
the About menu:
Highway
Bridges
Shepperd's
Dell Bridge
Benson
(Multnomah Falls) Footbridge
Multnomah
Falls Lodge
Oneonta Tunnel
Latourell
Creek Bridge
Sandy
River Bridge
Stark
Street Bridge
Recreational
opportunities abound along the Historic Columbia River Highway.
Hiking, biking,
sailing, windsurfing, fishing, photography...the list is virtually
endless.
There
are also many fine museums,
shops, restaurants and lodgings along the Historic Columbia
River Highway.
Slowly
but surely (well, slowly anyway) I'll be adding information
on the Historic Columbia River Highway, the Columbia River
Gorge and activities associated with them to this site.
A
few years ago I bought a set of 1920's vintage Columbia River
Highway (it wasn't yet historic) Postcards on eBay. Little
did I know the enormous piles of Postcards, books, maps, brochures,
ephemera and artwork that one set of Postcards would grow
into. You can see some of this stuff in the Historic
Columbia River Highway Postcards and Historic
Columbia River Highway Ephemera areas. I'll be adding
more from my collection as time and initiative permit.
If
you have a suggestion to improve the site you can email
me here.
About the Historic Columbia River
Highway
History
History
of the Columbia River Highway
Geologic History
of the Columbia River Gorge
Historic
Columbia River Highway Photos
Historic
Columbia River Highway Postcards
Historic
Columbia River Highway Ephemera
Historic
Columbia River Highway Links
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