The Columbia River Gorge between Portland and Hood River, Oregon, is an iconic Pacific Northwest destination, with 80 miles of jaw-dropping scenic vistas. Quaint Hood River is internationally known for its world-class wind sports and vibrant wine and craft beer scene. But by driving just a wee bit further east and crossing the Columbia River, you can visit one of the Gorge’s hidden gems, Washington’s Columbia Hills Historical State Park. Here you’ll find rock climbing, historic petroglyphs, superb hiking trails covered in wildflowers in spring, and a protected lake for swimming, paddling, and fishing.
East of Hood River, the gorge’s lush forests and waterfalls give way to the blue skies, grasslands, and open buttes you’ll see here. Columbia Hills Historical State Park is a sunny respite from the Northwest’s typical rain. While the western gorge gets up to 80 inches of rain per year, the eastern gorge, where Columbia Hills is located, gets only around 10 inches (per the Trust for Public Land). The state park is 92 miles from Portland, or about a 1.5-hour drive.
The Lewis & Clark Expedition sojourned here, stopping at the historic native village that occupied the site of what is now Horsethief Lake. The 90-acre lake, formed when the dam was built, has a shallow entry with a soft, sandy bottom, and is ideal for launching a kayak or having a refreshing swim after climbing or hiking all day. You can camp here, too, at a small first-come, first-served campground with a handful of partial RV hookups.
Hiking and climbing in Columbia Hills State Park
Portland-area rock climbers love to escape their city’s damp shoulder season weather by traveling east to Columbia Hills’ Horsethief Butte. Formed by dramatic columns of basalt jutting out of the Columbia River basin, the butte is woven with trails through steep-sided corridors of rock that provide opportunities for both roped climbs and bouldering problems on well-worn routes. Conditions here are ideal for beginners and kids to learn, and many outfitters offer classes if you’d like to take a beginning climbing lesson. It’s also a perfect place to try out the skills you learned in the climbing gym on natural rock for the first time…