Weekend in the Columbia River Gorge

A few weeks ago Jana and I drove down to the Columbia River Gorge for the weekend. We'd never visited the area before, but we'd heard about the amazing scenery and the waterfalls. The weekend didn't disappoint.

We stayed at the Columbia Gorge Riverside Lodge in Stevenson, WA. It is a collection of cabins sandwiched between two parks, right on the riverfront. The rooms feature outdoor hot tubs with great views. Everything about the place is perfect except that it is right on a busy train line.

I was willing to forgive the train noise, though, because the lodge is also a 30-second walk from the Walking Man Brewery. We made our way to the pub the first night for dinner and drinks. The pizza was forgettable, but the beer was exceptional. I had a sampler tray with all 10 brews that they had on tap. My favorites were High Road Scotch Ale, Homo Erectus, and the Black Cherry Stout. Some really good (and strong) stuff.

The next morning we went out for a serious hike. Because we had Lyra with us, we decided to hike up Dog Mountain. It was a steep hike, with almost 3000 feet of elevation gain and snow at the top, but we had a good time. The views of the river were exceptional, and the forest had the sort of Northwest trees that pulled me back to Washington. I've read that the hike is even better in the spring, when the mountain is covered in wild flowers, but we couldn't complain. Standing at the top of our peak, we could see Mt. Hood to our south and Mt. St. Helen's to our north. Great hike.

The next day we decided to see waterfalls on the Oregon side of the river. We drove across the Bridge of the Gods (love that name) and headed for Highway 30. There are amazing waterfalls all along the road, some that you can see from your car and some that require a couple miles of hiking. The most famous (and the biggest) of the falls are the Multnomah Falls. We saw those falls and at last a half dozen more spectacular drops. I'm particularly fond of waterfalls, so I was in heaven. This collection of falls rivals Yosemite's.

After taking in all the waterfalls, we headed back north on 5. We had good views of Mt. Rainier as we made our way north. It was a great weekend. I love traveling in this part of the country.

Bonus: For once, I actually took some pictures!