18 Best Sights in The Columbia River Gorge, Oregon

Either by car or bicycle, tour the quiet country highways of Hood River Valley, which abounds with fruit stands, U-pick berry farms, wineries, and cideries. You can visit nearly 30 businesses along this picturesque, pastoral 35-mile route. Shop for juicy apples, pears, cherries, and peaches fertilized by volcanic soil, pure glacier water, and a conducive harvesting climate. And visit superb wineries and cider houses with sunny patios for tasting, as well as vendors of delicious baked goods, honeys and jams, fresh flowers, and fragrant lavender. While on the loop, consider stopping in the small town of Parkdale for lunch at Apple Valley BBQ, to taste beer at Solera Brewery, and to snap a photo of Mt. Hood's north face.

You'll find pretty much everything the Hood River Valley is famous for growing and producing at this picturesque, century-old farm anchored by a Dutch Colonial farmhouse and surrounded by acres of U-pick flowers, apple and peach trees, and blackberry and blueberry bushes. After strolling through the farm fields, stop inside the main house to sample local wines from Kennedy Family Farms and Cellars. Out back, there's a farm store, another tasting room serving local craft cider, and a garden patio with seating and a food-truck-style café serving delicious burgers, pear-goat cheese quesadillas, cherry-bacon flatbread pizzas, and other light fare.

One of the most-photographed spots in the region, this lake's waters reflect towering Mt. Hood and the thick forests that line its shore. Open May through mid-October, the blissfully quiet 240-acre wilderness resort in Mt. Hood National Forest, 25 miles southwest of Hood River, offers cabins and campsites for overnight stays, but it's also a popular destination for day-use recreation, offering miles of hiking trails, as well as fishing for rainbow trout, kayaking, rowboating, stand-up paddling, swimming, canoeing, and other non-motorized boating. There's also a camp store and a grill offering burgers, ice cream, and other light fare.

Somewhat unusual for the Pacific Northwest, this boutique winery with a small, airy tasting room and a verdant garden patio specializes in Italian varietals—Moscato, Dolcetto, Sangiovese, Barbera, Nebbiolo, and a few others. Owner Franco Marchesi hails from Italy's Piemonte region, and he's earned serious kudos for his finesse as a winemaker.

A 620-foot-high double-decker torrent, the second-highest year-round waterfall in the nation, Multnomah is by far the most spectacular of the Gorge cataracts east of Troutdale. It's also incredibly popular, drawing some 2.5 million visitors annually. To help manage the sometimes excessive crowds, U.S. Forest Service has begun requiring visitors to obtain timed-use permits to visit the falls and drive the Waterfall corridor between late May and early September; you can reserve your ticket, which costs $2, at  recreation.gov. Access to the falls and Multnomah Lodge is via a parking lot at Exit 31 off Interstate 84, or via the Historic Columbia River Highway; from the parking area, a paved path winds to a bridge over the lower falls. A much steeper, also paved, 1.1-mile trail climbs to a viewing point overlooking the upper falls, and from here, unpaved but well-groomed trails join with others, allowing for hours of hiking in the rugged mountains above the Gorge. Even the paved ramble to the top will get your blood pumping.

The most famous beach lining the Columbia River is right below Crown Point. Three miles of sandy beaches, panoramic cascades, and a large swimming area make this a popular spot for lazing on the sand, picnicking, and hanging out with friends. Naturists appreciate that one of Oregon's two designated nude beaches is at the east end of Rooster Rock, and that it's completely secluded and clearly marked—the area has a bit of a party vibe and is hugely popular with the LGBTQ+ community, but all are welcome. The other section of the park, where nudity is not permitted, is also beautiful and draws a good number of families. Rooster Rock is 9 miles east of Troutdale, accessible only via the interstate.

Views from atop Rowena Crest bluff are a knockout, especially during the March and April wildflower season, and there are a couple of fairly short and wonderfully scenic hikes that lead from the bluff parking lot through a pristine nature preserve operated by the Nature Conservancy. The 3½-mile (round-trip) trek up to McCall Point is especially scenic—it affords great views of Mt. Hood.

A two-tier octagonal structure perched on the edge of this 730-foot-high cliff offers unparalleled 30-mile views up and down the Columbia River Gorge. The building dates to 1917, its rotunda and lower level filled with displays about the Gorge and the highway. Vista House's architect Edgar Lazarus was the brother of Emma Lazarus, author of the poem displayed at the base of the Statue of Liberty.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the first federal dam to span the Columbia in 1937. Its generators (visible from a balcony on a self-guided tour or up close during free guided tours offered daily in summer and on weekends the rest of the year) have a capacity of more than a million kilowatts, enough to supply power to more than 200,000 single-family homes. There's an extensive visitor center on Bradford Island, complete with underwater windows where gaggles of kids watch migrating salmon and steelhead as they struggle up fish ladders. The best viewing times are between April and October. In recent years the dwindling runs of wild Columbia salmon have made the dam a subject of much environmental controversy.

Built in 1909 and operated by the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife, the largest state-operated fish hatchery is next door to Bonneville Dam. Visitors can view the fishponds in which Chinook, coho, and steelhead spawn—October and November are the most prolific times. Other ponds hold rainbow trout (which visitors can feed) and mammoth Columbia River sturgeon, some exceeding 10 feet in length.

Exhibits and artwork at this expansive, contemporary museum just off Interstate 84 as you approach The Dalles from the west highlight the geological history of the Columbia Gorge, back 40 million years when volcanoes, landslides, and floods carved out the area. History exhibits focus on 10,000 years of Native American life and exploration of the region by white settlers, from Lewis and Clark to the early-20th-century engineers who developed the Historic Columbia River Highway. The paved, multi-use Dalles Riverfront Trail connects the museum to downtown and the Dalles Dam, 10 miles upriver.

The 1856-vintage Fort Dalles Surgeon's Quarters ranks among the state's oldest history museums. The first visitors came through the doors in 1905. On display in authentic hand-hewn log buildings, originally part of a military base, are the personal effects of some of the region's settlers and a collection of early automobiles. The entrance fee gains you admission to the Swedish log-style Anderson Homestead museum across the street, which also displays pioneer artifacts.

Part of the joy of visiting this organic U-pick lavender farm that harvests some 75 varieties of the plant is the beautiful drive up the hill from the village of Odell. Stroll through the fields of lavender, relax in a chair taking in mesmerizing views of Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams, or peruse the huge selection of lavender products in the gift shop—everything from lip balms and shampoo to infused teas and dried lavender bouquets. The season for picking fresh lavender yourself is June–September, but you can visit the shop Friday–Sunday the rest of the year.

Scenic passenger excursions along a small rail line established in 1906 offer a picturesque and relaxing way to survey Mt. Hood and the Hood River Valley. Chug alongside the Hood River through vast fruit orchards before climbing up steep forested canyons, glimpsing Mt. Hood along the way. There are several trip options: a four-hour excursion (serves light concessions), dinner, brunch, and several themed trips, like murder mysteries and Old West robberies, and a family-favorite holiday-inspired Train to Christmas Town runs throughout much of November and December. In summer, the railroad offers 2½-hour railbiking excursions, during which participants pedal along the tracks on tandem railbikes.

In addition to producing increasingly acclaimed wine—with particularly impressive Pinot Gris, dry Riesling, Zinfandel (which is seldom bottled in these parts), Pinot Noir, Barbera, and Tempranillo—this winery adjacent to the long-running Fruit Company (fruit and gift baskets) has a beautiful, contemporary tasting room with gorgeous Mt. Hood views from inside and the expansive patio.

You won't find many wineries situated in more unusual buildings than this early-1900s flour mill with huge grain elevators that soar over the southern end of The Dalles's downtown. Inside this dramatic old structure that once nearly fell to the wrecking ball, you'll find the tasting room for both Quenett—which produces first-rate Grenache, Viognier, Sangiovese, and others—and Oregon Mountain Estate, which is known for refined Pinot Noirs. Drive-in movies are shown many weekends.

At this hydroelectric dam 50 miles east of the Bonneville Dam, you can tour a visitor center, which is located on the Oregon side of the river at Seufert Park, with surprisingly even-handed exhibits presenting differing perspectives on the Columbia River dams, with input from farmers, utility companies, environmentalists, and indigenous tribes. There's also a live feed of salmon and sturgeon scaling the fish ladder.

Housed at Hood River's tiny airport (general aviation only), the museum's impressive, meticulously restored, propeller-driven planes are all still in flying condition, and the oldest date back to the 1910s. The antique steam cars, Model Ts, and sleek Depression-era sedans are road-worthy, too. Periodic car shows and an annual fly-in draw thousands of history buffs and spectators.