TAKING THE LONG WAY
UP THE COLUMBIA GORGE

  By Fred Delkin

 The vast majority of people driving the Columbia Gorge travel the four lanes and straight lines of Interstate 84.  These people don’t know what they’re missing.  Just across the river, Washington State Highway 14 winds more slowly through superior scenery—and leads to some rewarding, uncrowded destinations.

The Highway 14 route begins in Vancouver, at the nortrhern end of the Interstate 5 bridge, offering four lanes for several miles through Clark County’s most popular real estate.  Once Camas is reached, 14 becomes two lanes with river’s-edge views—and a Mt. Hood backdrop as the road skirts Washougal.  Then you climb the heights above the Columbia shore, culminating in an eye-popping Gorge view from the roadside at Cape Horn (frankly, I think it beats the oft-photographed vista from Crown Point on the Oregon side).  

Some 17 miles east of Washougal, a stae park honors the 800-foot monolith of Beacon Rock, where a steep railed trail winds its way to the summit.  It’s worth the hike—the 30-40 minute round trip takes your breath away, but grandly rewards your eyes.

A few miles eastward, Bonneville Dam’s Washington visitor center displays some powerhouse facilities.  Just around the bend, past the Bridge of the Gods to Oregon, is an entry road to Skamania Resort and the Skamania County Historical Museum on the western border of Stevenson, seat of one of Washington’s least populous counties (8,700 souls).

Ever eastward

Eastward, snaking along the water’s edge, Highway 14 takes you to Bingen, 60 miles from Vancouver.  Although the residents are constanly mispronouncing the town’s namesake (located on the most scenic stretch of Germany’s Rhine), the little hamlet offers very similar scenery.  There’s even an attempt at traditional German village architecture in Mont Elise winery, with a tasting room open daily.  There are  couple of palatable lunch stops in Bingen and Loafers Bakery is well worth a visit.

Moving east, out of the forested confines of the Gorge and into the barren hills of a suddenly drier climate, a 10-mile drive brings you to the metropolis of Lyle, a windsurfing port and manufacturing site for “Lyle Style” Bloody Mary cocktail mix, a potent potion now in regional distribution.

At Lyle, leave Highway 14 and the Columbia River, turning left on Highway 142 at the mouth of the Klickitat River.  Meander up the rugged river canyon while admirign the white water rafting, kayaking and fishing possibilities largely ignored by (or unknown to) Portland area residents.  The Klickitat is a large and bloisterous stream flowing undammed from the glaciers of Mt. Adams and protected by the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.  Thirteen miles upriver, the company mill town of Klickitat clings to either side of the road, a quiet shadow of its former self.  Five miles past this monument to our region’sw former economic base, Highway 142 leaves the river and climbs onto an open, grassy plateau to take you to Goldendale, 34 miles from where you left the Columbia.

An early admirer

This seat of Klickitat County claims a population of 3,700 under a big, clear sky.   Nineteenth century traveler Nicholas Murray Butler, who toured the west to support establishment of national parks, claimed that the Grand Canyon, Oregon’s Gold Beach and Goldendale were “the most wonderful…impressive sites of all my experience.”  Butler was clearly startled by the “grandeur and beauty of a site where one may see…four snowclad mountains”—Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, Mt. Rainier and Mt. Baker.

The ability to see those mountains, one (Baker) 200 miles to the north, is a tribute to the clarity of Goldendale’s atmosphere, which earlier this century inspired the placement of one of the nation’s largest public telescopes.  Goldendale Observatory is a public facility, a state park open ear-round on a hilltop just north of town.  It has an international reputation among amateur astronomers.  The assortment of scopes are best used at night, and are available until 11 p.m.

You’ve now driven 103 miles from Vancouver to reach Goldendale.  It’s time to see some local sights, consider lodging and dinner, and wait for night viewing at the Observatory.

Goldendale has maintained a relatively isolated, economically stable existence since shortly after Dale Golden founded it in 1870 to serve local farms and ranches.   There are a dozen notable, well-preserved residences in town hovering around the century mark in age.  Grandest of these  is the Presby Mansion, a late Victorian now housing the county museum.  It displays antique furnishings and housewares from the 19th century.  You can also find one of the nation’s few remaining Carnegie Libraries, built in 1912 and designed by architects Doyle and Patterson, who also created Portland’s central library.

Sleeping quarters

There are three adequate and inexpensive motels in Goldendale, but you’ll find more charm if you rest at either of the local bed and breakfast establishments.  The Victorian House is in the center of town.  The very reasonable rates for this historic hostelry include a choice of full or continental breakfast.  The Timberframe Country Inn is nestled among the pines of the Simcoe mountains four miles north of downtown.  This is an authentic recreation of a German farmhouse, using pegs, dowels and interlocking wooden beams instead of nails.  Each guest room offers a private spa; one includes a fully furnished kitchen.  The moderate rates include a “full country breakfast.”

Goldendale dining choices are, admittedly, limited and the local attempt at nightlife can be found at the Simcoe Café & Desert Room.  Frankly, the best nightly entertainment is at the observatory.

Lonely museum beckons

Next morning, time your departure to drive 11 miles south on U.S. 97 to its juncture with Highway 14, then turn right two miles and head to Maryhill Museum (open daily from 9-5, March 15 through November 15).  This massive concrete structure was completed in 1907 to serve as the lonely home of Samuel Hill, a millionaire lawyer associated with the railroad conquest of the West.  His fomer residence, perched on a bluff hundreds of feet above the Columbia, stands in dramatic contrast to the many miles of barren land surrounding its site.  

This is one of our continent’s more eclectic museums.  It originally displayed Hill’s invaluable European art acquisitions, including original Augiste Rodin sculpturesand drawings.  Over the eyars the Maryhill collection has grown to include extensive Native American artifacts, a display of over 100 unusual chess sets from around the globe, and a dramatic gallery of the Romanian Queen Marie’s possessions (she granted a royal dedication to the museum in 1926).  You’ll need a minimum of two hours to browse the displays; should hunger strike, there’s a minimal café on the premises.

Maryhill isn’t all Sam Hill left us to remember him by.  Three miles east of the museum off 14, you’ll find Stonehenge—a replica of Britain’s original ancient site, built by Hill to commemorate the dead of World War I.

Return routing

Heading back to Vancouver on Highway 14, I recommend a stop at Wishram, the terminus of a side road coiling down the bluff four miles west of Maryhill.  This is a railroad town 600 residents strong that serves a switching yard.  You’ll see some bizarre yard ornamentation and a café right out of Norman Rockwell.  Cascade Cliffs winery claims Wisharm as its address, and operates a tasting room from 11 to 5 on weekends, 
April through October.

Just west of Wishram, a turnoff at The Dalles Dam reveals a visitor’s center that includes a free train tour of powerhosues, fish ladders and Indian petroglyphs.  And if you’re not “museumed out” by this point, proceed across the dam to the Oregon side and tour the new and rather stunning Columbia Gorge Discover Center.

The Oregon side of the river is the most expeditious way to return to urban lands.  Interstate 84 whisks you the 84 miles through Hood River, past Cascade Locks to Portland.  We do recommend pausing at the Columbia Gorge Hotel, situated very scenically high above the river just west of Hood River.  Here you’ll find sophisticated food and beverages to accompany the memorable vista of one of the world’s premier windsurfing arenas.