Everything You Need to Know About Visiting Columbia River Gorge

If you’re planning on visiting Columbia River Gorge, you may be expecting to do mostly outdoor activities. But did you know Columbia Gorge is the perfect trip for foodies, beer and wine lovers, and spa/self care enthusiasts, too?

Thanks to the area’s volcanic soil and climate, crops thrive. As a result, the Columbia Gorge is home to a lot of orchards, farms, vineyards, and breweries. So if you’re a foodie like me, visiting Columbia River Gorge is just as worthwhile for the culinary scene as it is for the breathtaking scenery!

To help you plan your trip to Columbia River Gorge, I put together this really thorough guide to the area. You’ll find things to do, tips on how to avoid crowds, and everything else you need to know before visiting Columbia River Gorge.

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What You Need to Know About Visiting Columbia River Gorge

Get ready to plan the ultimate trip to the most GORGEous area of the Pacific Northwest (get it?).

Where is Columbia River Gorge?

The Columbia River Gorge is a 90-mile stretch of canyon separating Washington and Oregon state. The area begins about 30 minutes east of Portland. Many people do a day trip from Portland to visit the Columbia River Gorge, but I recommend spending a few days regardless of if you’re coming from PDX or Seattle.

Mount Hood is about 45 minutes south of Columbia River Gorge. It’s another national forest area known for having great ski areas and hiking/biking trails, so you can easily tack on a trip here when visiting the Gorge.

What is Columbia River Gorge known for?

The Columbia River Gorge is known for rock climbing and hiking, particularly to see waterfalls. In fact, it has more waterfalls than most other areas in the United States.

The Gorge was formed by lava flows millions of years ago and then further carved during the Ice Age. The Columbia River runs through it and the cliffs along its bank range from 0 – 4,000 feet above water level.

Because the area is so scenic, it’s a popular road trip destination. About 2 million people make the scenic drive along the Historic Columbia River Highway each year.

Is Columbia River Gorge a national park?

Surprisingly, no. It is, however, one of the largest national forest recreation areas in the US, boasting more than a million acres of forest. While it hasn’t been designated a national park, the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area has federally protected status.

Does it cost money to visit Columbia River Gorge?

No! Because it’s not a national park, it’s completely free to visit. The only expenses will be tolls crossing bridges and some trails require permits during certain times of year.

Best time to visit Columbia Gorge

The weather is pretty mild in the Columbia River Gorge so you can technically visit anytime of year. However, each season has its pros and cons.

Summer is one of the most popular times to go to the Columbia River Gorge because the days are long, it’s likely not raining, and it’s prime harvest season…meaning there are a lot of farm stands and u-pick options.

However, with school break and nice weather comes more people. Traffic and parking at trailheads can be a nightmare in summer, especially on the weekends.

Fall is my favorite time to visit Columbia River Gorge. Through October the weather is usually still nice, but there are less people…especially on weekdays. There are still u-pick apple orchards open, grape harvests, and gorgeous autumn colors.

However, fall can come with rain. Plus the days start getting shorter, making it difficult to pack as much into your trip.

Winter is a great time to visit if you want to avoid crowds. However, farms won’t be open and you’ll definitely be met with dreary weather. Moreover the days are shortest so you’ll have to be judicious with your itinerary. And while it usually doesn’t snow, you should always check road conditions.

Spring is another really popular time for visiting Columbia River Gorge because the weather starts getting a bit better and the landscape explodes with wildflowers. It’s so popular, in fact, that some hikes require permits to see the wildflowers! So while it may be less crowded in some cases, there are attractions that will be just as crowded in spring as they are in summer.

Where to stay in Columbia River Gorge

Here are the main towns to stay in when visiting Columbia River Gorge.

Hood River, Oregon sits on the Columbia River right in the heart of the Columbia River Gorge. It’s about an hour east of Portland and is known for its breweries and being a good jumping off point to the Gorge wineries. When people say they’re staying in Columbia River Gorge, this is likely the town they’re near.

White Salmon is a quaint town across the river in Washington. I like staying here because it’s a bit quieter and gives you closer access to visiting the Gorge wineries on the other side of the river.

Cascade Locks is another area in Oregon a bit closer to Portland that people stay in when visiting Columbia River Gorge. It’s home of the Bridge of the Gods, one of the bridges that let you cross between Oregon and Washington.

Here are some options of places to stay in these areas when visiting Columbia River Gorge.

The Society Hotel

When visiting the Columbia River Gorge, one of my favorite places to to stay is The Society Hotel. I was invited to check out this new hotel in Bingen, WA about 15 minutes away from Hood River, and let me tell you…this place is dope.

The Society Hotel has a Portland, Oregon location and basically what they do is restore historical buildings and turn them into hostels. But these aren’t the hostels of your nightmares. These hostels are clean and posh, with beautiful decor, plenty of gathering spaces, options to stay in dorms or private ensuite rooms, and a cafe serving really good coffee, alcoholic drinks, and bites.

I got a tour from one of the five owners, Ceb, who was in charge of the property’s restoration. He explained that the main entrance to the hotel used to actually be a classroom. The cafe area used to be the admin and principal’s offices while the hallways where the rooms are used to be classrooms.

The first thing they did was open it up and remove the carpeting. They kept the gymnasium pretty much as is, minus removing a stage. That wood from that stage is now the flooring throughout the hotel. Ceb explained that they tried to keep as much original materials as possible.

For example, most of the windows are original and just have plexiglass over them to provide better insulation. All the blackboards throughout the hotel are from the school. The school’s exterior siding is original.

Most of the furniture in the lobby, like the tables, chairs, couches, books, and card catalog, are from a college that closed and auctioned off their stuff. All the wildflowers on the property are native, which Ceb explained was a decision to make the grounds fit into the landscape as much as possible.

They adorned the hotel with beautiful pieces like vintage Iranian rugs and envy-inducing lightning to make the space feel modern. No decor detail was left unnoticed, making this hotel in Columbia River Gorge feel like a posh escape.

You have choices when you stay at The Society Hotel.

You can decide to stay in one of their 24-bunk rooms, which is made up of floor-to-ceiling bunks with privacy screens. If that’s not your scene, you can stay in one of the “classrooms“, which are named after different school subjects and have a private room with a sink and shared, single-person bathrooms.

We stayed in the “Science” room, which is the biggest classroom. The windows are unbelievable and the bed comfortable. I liked how there were so many thoughtful touches, like school desks with openings for your laptop, complimentary iPhone cables, AC, and robes.

If sharing any space isn’t for you, there are brand new cabins surrounding the spa with slanted roofs so your eye is drawn up to the beautiful mountains above. This cabin and spa area was built on the old baseball and soccer field, and it might be my favorite space.

It has a Scandinavian-vibe, with minimalist wood throughout the spa, pools with different temperatures, and a sauna. You can get massages or spend the day relaxing in the hot tub with a drink in hand from the snack bar.

I love the “third place” vibe of The Society Hotel. It’s the perfect base for visiting Columbia River Gorge given it’s ample parking and central location. If you’re looking for a Columbia Gorge hotel, make this one it!

Book The Society Hotel

For more ideas of where to stay near Columbia River Gorge, check out my guide to the best winter cabins all over Oregon.

Crossing between Oregon and Washington

There are only two bridges to cross between Oregon and Washington when driving Columbia River Gorge: The Bridge of the Gods in Cascade Locks and the Hood River Bridge.

Both of these bridges require tolls and are cash only. You can also get a prepaid electronic pass called BreezBy that lets you add money online to a wallet that will get deducted each time you cross the bridge. If you plan to stay a few days crossing between the two states, I recommend going the BreezBy route so you don’t get slowed down in the cash lanes.

It’ll cost $2 each time you cross the bridge, so plan to bring enough cash or load enough on your BreezBy account before you arrive.

What to do when visiting Columbia River Gorge

If you don’t want to figure out how to fit in all there is to do in Columbia Rive Gorge into an itinerary, let me plan a custom trip plan for you. All you have to do is show up!

For those who prefer to do their own travel planning, here are all the things to do in Columbia River Gorge.

Hunt for Columbia River Gorge waterfalls

Columbia River Gorge boasts 90 waterfalls on the Oregon side alone. While there are even more when you count Washington, the majority of the most popular falls to see are in Oregon along the Historic Columbia River Highway.

I created a whole Columbia River Gorge waterfalls map, but here are some you shouldn’t miss.

Multnomah Falls

Multnomah Falls is the largest of the waterfalls and, as a result, the most popular one to go to when visiting Columbia River Gorge. It’s so big you’ll actually see it from the highway! There are two viewpoints for experiencing the falls: a platform about 1/4 up a paved path and another viewpoint that takes you across the bridge that spans the lower falls. I recommend coming early or right at sunset to beat crowds.

Note, you need to book a reservation to visit May – September.

Latourell Falls

Latourell Falls is closed for construction. Check here for updates.

Latourell Falls is the closest waterfall to Portland so it makes for a great day trip. You can choose to do a 2.4-mile loop hike to the base of the falls or simply walk about a 1/4 mile up the path to view the falls from afar.

Horsetail Falls

Horsetail Falls is my favorite waterfall in Columbia River Gorge. It has an upper and lower falls, but most people only ever stop at the lower falls near the parking lot. I like to do the easy 0.8 mile hike to the upper falls because you can walk behind the cascading water!

Catch the views at Vista House

There are plenty of awesome views of the Columbia River Gorge that don’t include waterfalls. One of the best ones is Vista House at Crown Point, and it’s luckily the landmark closest to downtown Portland.

The Vista house was built in the early 1900s as a way to attract visitors to the area. The building is dome shaped and has three levels. You can climb to the top and enjoy views from the wraparound deck.

It’s completely free too visit year round. You don’t need to go inside the building to enjoy the area, which is good because then you don’t have to worry about it being open. But if visiting the gift shop or functioning toilets is important to you, make sure to time things appropriately.

Go on the best hikes in Columbia Gorge

While many of the waterfalls require hikes or can be turned into a hike, there are a few other places I like to visit for hiking trails in the Columbia River Gorge. You can also find more in my map below.

Catherine’s Creek Trail

Catherine’s Creek Trail is a series of mostly flat paved trails overlooking the Columbia River. I was obsessed with the views of the gorge with its fall colors reflecting in the water. This is a really easy hike that you can cut off at anytime, so if you’re short on time this is the perfect hike near Hood River.

Klickitat Trail access

Klickitat Trail Access is 31 miles of old railways turned into a trail. Obviously I didn’t walk 31 miles, but rather picked an access point and meandered for a bit. I loved how the area I went was as if you were on mars: there were desolate, red and gray hills for as far as the eye could see. There were definitely some murder vibes, but if you want a Hood River hike that has no other people on the trail, this is it!

Explore Columbia Gorge by bike

While I’m not personally a biker, the Columbia River Gorge is a popular biking destination. This map shows all the routes if you are interested in road biking along the Historic Columbia River Highway.

If you’re more interested in mountain bike trails, you can peruse the USDA website for a list of trails or use MTB Project as your guide.

Visit Columbia River Gorge wineries

The Columbia River Gorge wineries sit within the Gorge Wine AVA, a volcanic-soil area about an hour east of Portland nestled between Mt. Adams in Washington and Mt. Hood in Oregon. This AVA has more than 1,300 acres of grapes stretching 40-miles along the Oregon/Washington border. The Columbia River cuts through it, which is the only sea-level passage between the Arctic Circle and San Francisco.

Since the vineyards range from river level to 2,000 feet elevation, you’ll find more than 50 different varietals grown among the region’s 90+ vineyards. There are more than 25 wineries, some of which also grow their own grapes.

You can see all of the wineries near Hood River I want to try on my map below, ranging from big names like Cathedral Ridge Winery to small mom and pop wineries. Belo are some of my favorites I’ve visited so far.

Le Doubblé Troubblé Wine COmpany

Le Doubblé Troubblé Wine Company is a small boutique winery with a tasting room in White Salmon, WA just minutes from The Society Hotel. It was founded by two ski-loving friends who decided to move closer to Mt. Hood and make money through wine. They source their grapes from Willamette Valley and Columbia Gorge vineyards to create 600 cases a year of structured wines. I absolutely love their easy, breezy tasting room ambiance, and their pinot noir is some of the best I’ve had.

Idiot’s Grace

Idiot’s Grace is an organic, estate-grown Columbia River Gorge winery I read about in Food & Wine. The magazine said to get their award-winning cabernet franc and I whole-heartedly agree…it’s so friggin’ good. The winery is owned by a father and son, and it was named after an old song lyric the son heard. They also grow pears and cherries on their property, which they open for u-pick when the fruit are in season.

Hawkins Cellars

Hawkins Cellars is a small winery on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge. They make great reds and have a really nice outdoor area overlooking their vineyards. On a sunny day you’ll get unobstructed views of Mt. Hood.

tetrahedron Wines

Tetrahedron Wines is another small Columbia River Gorge winery. They’re located in a tiny tasting room in downtown Lyle, WA and they make wines leveraging scientific experimentation in their lab. We were told to go here by the employee at Idiot’s Grace, and were so glad we did. We loved our conversation with the winemaker and really enjoyed her chardonnay and rose.

Go to breweries in Hood River

There are 12 breweries in Hood River spread across the Oregon and Washington border. We only made it to a few of the Columbia Gorge breweries, but here were our two favorites.

Ferment Brewing Company

Ferment Brewing Company is a beautiful, modern brewery with a ton of windows overlooking the Columbia River (and plants, lots of plants). They create farmhouse-style beers but with modern brewing techniques. They also serve food, but we loved going in for just beer tastings.

Dwinell Country Ales

Dwinell Country Ales was our other favorite Hood River-area brewery. They’re located in Washington about an hour east of The Society Hotel. This may seem far, but it’s near some of the Columbia Gorge hikes we really enjoyed. They have interesting craft beers served among a bright-tasting room. With rugs and decor I wouldn’t mind having in my own house!

Seek out the best Columbia Gorge restaurants

Since the Columbia Gorge is such a fertile area full of farms and makers, restaurants near Hood River tend to focus on local ingredients. Here are some of the best Columbia Gorge restaurants we tried.

Grasslands Barbecue

Grasslands Barbecue used to be called Bootleg Barbecue and got its start in Seattle. They used to sell via DM on Instagram before doing popups at local Seattle breweries. Their popups would get hour-long lines because everyone loved them so much.

Seattle’s loss is Columbia River Gorge’s gain. The owners decided to move to Hood River and opened up a food truck outside Ferment Brewing. Make sure to stop here when you’re in town, preferably before 4 PM when they typically sell out. I recommend getting their brisket, pulled pork, and cheddar hatch sausage. SO GOOD.

White Salmon Baking Co.

White Salmon Baking Co. is a quaint bakery. They often have a line of people waiting to get their delicious baked goods. I absolutely loved the trout tartine I had. It was acidic and had the most perfect soft-boiled egg. There was a local sitting next to me smiling as I took photos, who later told me a story of how he was in the hospital and when his wife came to get pie for him, they wouldn’t let her pay.

Feast

Feast is also in White Salmon, WA. It’s a delicatessen and food goods shop by day, but a sit-down restaurant at night. I had a beautiful meal including house-smoked trout, irresistible Brussel sprouts, and a yummy Rueben sandwich. If you’re looking for a fancier restaurant in Columbia River Gorge, this is a good option without being too pricey or pretentious.

Sugar Pine Drive-In

Sugar Pine Drive-In is at the edge of Columbia River Gorge closest to Portland, so it’s a great place to visit when going to all the fun places to eat in PDX. They serve burgers, sandwiches, salads, and my beloved soft serve ice cream. Get a soft serve twist with sprinkles or chocolate dip. You won’t regret it!

Check out farmers markets and farms

Hood River Fruit Loop has about 30 farms open for various farm tours or u-pick events. There are also more than 10 farmers markets in the area.

My favorite place to stop is Hood River U-Pick. It’s an honors system orchard surrounding the owners home. You go to the stand they set up to grab bins and just start picking apples, cherries, or tomatoes depending on the season. Then you go back to the stand, weigh your goods, grab any other farm goodies they have on display, and Venmo them.

I loved how they also had all their farm animals roaming the grounds. There was a dog, tons of hens, pigs, and cute goats who have the best view of any livestock around!

Map of Columbia River Gorge

There is so much to do and see when visiting Columbia River Gorge. Here’s my map of all the things to do in Columbia River Gorge, including stops mentioned in this article and other places I still need to try.

Itinerary for your Columbia Gorge visit

If you’re curious how to fit in all these activities, check out my Columbia River Gorge itinerary. It breaks down what to do each day you’re in the area!

Other Areas to Explore in Oregon

Since visiting the Columbia River Gorge is the perfect excuse for checking out Oregon, here are other places nearby to explore.

• Eat the Most Fun Restaurants in Portland
• Explore the Nearby Mt.Hood Ski Areas
• Taste the best Willamette Valley Wineries
• Eat at the Best Restaurants in Oregon Wine Country
• Follow This Perfect Itinerary of Portland, OR
• Visit 5th Street Public Market in Eugene
• Stay at the Best Boutique Hotels in Eugene
• Head to the Oregon Coast
• Go Glamping in Oregon Wine Country

Disclaimer: The Society Hotel gave me a complimentary stay as an excuse to explore the Columbia Gorge. All opinions of the hotel and what to do when visiting Columbia River Gorge are my own. Many of these activities I discovered on trips I took before or after working with them. Thank you for supporting the brands that make The Emerald Palate possible!