From Portland we took the Historic Columbia River Highway (U.S. Route 30) which snakes along the Columbia River. This stretch of highway was completed in 1915 and still relies on some of the original stone bridges and ancient guardrails. One of the best viewpoints of the Gorge is at Chanticleer Point. From here you can see the rotunda of the Vista House at Crown Point (the next stop along the road). The pre-1920’s-era building is now the Visitor’s Center.
Further down the highway is Multnomah Falls. It is the second-highest (620 feet) continuously running waterfall in the U.S. (The highest is Yosemite Falls at 2,425 feet).
Before we called it a day, we decided to hike the Eagle Creek Trail along a side canyon of the Gorge. When the trail was cut in 1915, workers blasted ledges into vertical cliffs and installed steel-cable safety handrails. Our guidebook warned us, “This isn’t a good trail for unsupervised children or unleashed pets.” Gee, why on earth not?
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