Historic Columbia River Highway from Troutdale

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Troutdale

   Samuel Lancaster, the engineer who built the Historic Columbia River Highway between 1913 and 1922, wanted a road that would show off the gorge instead of conquering it, and Troutdale is where it begins. The town sits where the Sandy River meets the Columbia, on the eastern edge of the Portland area, with a tidy main street, an old railroad depot and a hotel that began life as a poor farm. For a rider the gateway is easy: you leave the suburban edges, cross the river, and within a few miles the road starts to climb.

   Read the complete Troutdale write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Troutdale is where the day begins. Next is Crown Point.

2. 2. Crown Point

   Crown Point is a rock buttress rising about two hundred metres above the Columbia River, and the view from the top is among the great viewpoints of the Pacific Northwest. On the summit stands the Vista House, an octagonal stone building completed in 1918, built as a memorial to the pioneers who came west along the Oregon Trail and to serve as a rest stop for motorists. Its walls are carved stone, its dome is topped with copper, and inside there are marble floors, small exhibits and a modest cafe. From the terrace you look east along the river gorge, with the cliffs falling away on both sides and the Columbia curving into the distance.

   Read the complete Crown Point write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Crown Point comes up about 15 km into the recorded legs. Next is Multnomah Falls.

3. 3. Multnomah Falls

   You hear Multnomah Falls before the trees give it up, and then it is simply there: a thin white thread dropping 620 feet in two tiers off a basalt wall, with a little stone footbridge hung across the gap between them. It is the tallest waterfall in Oregon, and the car park behind it is built to match. This is not a place you have to yourself. Come on a weekday morning, outside high summer, and it feels almost private; arrive on a sunny Saturday and you will be circling for a space beside half of Portland. The stone lodge at the foot, built in the 1920s, serves meals and is a decent spot to warm up on a wet day.

   Read the complete Multnomah Falls write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 28 km into the recorded legs you reach Multnomah Falls. Next is Hood River.

4. 4. Hood River

   Wind is the reason Hood River became what it is. Where the Columbia River Gorge narrows between the cool, wet west and the dry eastern plateau, the air funnels through with such force that windsurfers and kiteboarders gather by the hundreds, and the town has grown into a capital of outdoor sports. On a summer afternoon the river is dotted with colourful sails, and the bridge across to Washington State hums in the wind. Behind the town, Mount Hood rises to 11,249 feet, snow-covered through most of the year, and in front of it lies a valley full of orchards.

   Read the complete Hood River write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Hood River closes the day.