Oregon – Columbia River Gorge 8.29.21

Day 1 – 29 miles. We met our three Backroads leaders and 18 fellow cyclists at 9 a.m. on Friday in Portland and shuttled east into the beautiful Columbia River Gorge. The Gorge is a dramatic canyon that is 4,000 feet deep in some places and stretches for over eighty miles as the river winds westward through the Cascade Mountains, forming the boundary between the state of Washington to the north and Oregon to the south. The River and the gorge form the only navigable route through the Cascades and to the Pacific Ocean, which is why Lewis and Clark followed this route during the early 1800s to find the Pacific Ocean. 

The Columbia River Gorge began forming roughly 17 to 12 million years ago. However, the biggest change occurred at the end of the last Ice Age when a frozen ice damn broke in present day Montana and the resulting rushing water full of huge icebergs cut steep, dramatic walls, leaving many layers of volcanic rock exposed, creating the dramatic backdrop that we would enjoy for the next few days.

We were able to see much of this as we cycled The Dalles, where the landscape transitioned from temperate rain forest to dry grasslands along a car-free section of the historic highway 30 that takes us through the picturesque Mosier Twin Tunnels. Designed to rival the great mountain roads of Europe, highway 30 was constructed between 1913 and 1922 as America’s first scenic highway. Along its course, this spectacular thoroughfare clings to sheer cliffs and traverses rushing rivers and tunnels. 

We stopped for lunch at the beautiful Analemma winery, known for their sustainability practices and world class wine, where we had a catered lunch.Afterwards, we cycled along the iconic Rowena Crest with views of the Columbia River below before a 7 mile descent known as the Rowena Loops and finished up in the town of Hood River, where we would spend the next two nights. We enjoyed a group dinner at one of the amazing restaurants in town.

Day 2 – 32 miles. The next day (Sunday) we cycled a route known as the Fruit Loop, a network of quiet scenic cycling roads that took us through the fertile farmland of the Columbia River Valley, offering views of Mt. Hood in Oregon and Mt. Adams in Washington.  Close to harvest time, Pete and I commented on how the trees “were swollen with fruit”.  

We stopped at Stave and Stone winery, where we had such a good time, most of us spent over and hour and a half there enjoying the relaxed atmosphere and the incredible Pinot Noir Blanca that is produced there.  They also have a lavender farm and raise goats. And they were holding a lavender festival the day we were there, where I brought some gifts to take home.  The lunch stop was definitely the highlight of the day.

Day 3 – 42 miles. On our last day in the Columbia River Gorge, we started at the western end of the nearly 75-mile-long Columbia River Highway. We cycled along a portion of the historic highway known as Waterfall Alley, one of the highest concentration of waterfalls in North America.

After stopping at two higher waterfalls, we had a picnic at Latourell Falls, which plunges 224 feet.  This was my favorite waterfall during our ride and was a highlight of the day.

After lunch, we cycled past double-tiered Multnomah Falls, the tallest in Oregon, at 620 feet, pedaled on to the Bridge of the Gods, an impressive steel cantilever bridge that spans the mighty Columbia and ended up at Skamania Lodge, a magnificent mountain resort nestled on 175 wooded acres on the Washington State side of the river offering spectacular views of the Columbia River and Cascade Mountains. A bonus was that we were able to observe a wedding on the lawn while waiting for our table for dinner.

We had dinner on the outdoor veranda with incredible views of the Cascades.

The next morning we begin the final chapter of our vacation – cycling and drinking wine in Northern Willamette Valley.