Columbia Gorge Day trip
/First stop: Memaloose Overlook
Overview:
Amazing opportunity to take wildflower photos in the spring
Great view of the Columbia River and Mt. Hood
Travel right beside the windmills
Play by play:
Take the Mosier exit off I-84 and head south. Stay on that road (highway 30) as it travels through the city and goes up a winding hill. Just before a 90 degree turn that is lined by a white wooden fence there is a small parking area at a pull-out named Memaloose Overlook. Directly across the street is a small trail that heads out to Memaloose hills.
We arrived at the trailhead a little later than what we wanted especially considering we woke up at 3:30 am, but we did stumble around the house in the morning to pack up plenty of drinks and snacks (most of which remained un-eaten). We also had to go to a drive through a 24 hour Starbucks (Oregon City at I-205) and a McDonalds in Hood River for a breakfast sandwich and a bathroom. However, it was still fairly dark when we started the hike to the ridge where we were heading so we were thankful for our flashlights. It took us right at 30 minutes to reach the hill at the end of the trail.
From this location you can see the Columbia River (facing NE) and Mount Hood (facing SW). There might be times in the year that the sunrises over the river, but for us it rose over another hill. It was a marvelous location for sunrise photos, and the golden light really lit up the beautiful wild flowers. A large number of flowers were blooming, but we were just a touch early for the lupine and paint brushes to be in bloom.
Things to take:
flashlight and extra batteries
wide angle lens
tri-pod
Things we’d do differently – pack the night before.
We’d possibly wait another week before going so more of the flowers would be in bloom.
Next stop: Columbia Hills State park with a quick detour to the bridge at The Dalles (Washington side)
Next planned stop for the day – after a quick bathroom break at Starbucks in Hood River was to head toward Columbia Hills State Park in Washington. We went over Bridge of the gods in Hood River. The toll is $1.00 so don’t be like us and have absolutely no cash on hand. We had to stop at the gas station to buy a candy bar and get cash back.
After you get across the river, head east (go right) on highway 14 until you reach Dalles Mountain Road.
It will be on the left. Now we got distracted and took a little side trip down to the bridge the crosses over the The Dalles (highway 197). I’m so glad we did this. At the base of the bridge, while still in Washington, there is a place you can pull off the road. Actually, if you are brave there is a road that you can drive on that follows the river. I would not take that road if it was raining or wet. I’d be afraid I’d slip off the cliff and fall on the railroad tracks. Since our day was dry we braved the road and were rewarded with some nice photos of the bridge, Mt. Hood, and the Columbia River.
Back to highway 14 and Dalles Mountain Road, this is a long high winding gravel road that leads you to the peak of the hills and eventually to the windmills. There are so many beautiful places to photograph along this road, especially if the wildflowers are blooming. Be sure to keep watch in your rear view mirror because the best shots are behind you.
Things to take:
water and snacks
Cash for the toll bridge
Things to see:
Great views of Mt. Hood
The Columbia River
beautiful meadows and rolling hills
small waterfall (no guarantee that it will be there in the summer)
wild flowers
sometimes the cattle are out
There is also a museum with antique farm equipment, barns, and a house if you choose to stop and take those photos. It costs $10 if you choose to stop at the museum.
Things we’d do differently – I can’t think of anything I’d do differently here. We stopped and took photos anytime we wanted. We didn’t spend much time at any of the stops knowing that we were going to see more pretty places ahead.
We chose not to go up to the windmills because the sky was pretty washed out the day we were there. We’ve been on that road before and we HIGHLY recommend taking it if you’ve never been or if the sky is interested or at least a nice shade of blue.
Next stop: Goldendale, Washington
When we planned our trip we didn’t make plans past the ranch because we were planning on going on to the windmills. Since the sky wasn’t pretty or interesting for the windmills, we decided to head to
Yakima and head home from there, but on the way over the mountain we saw Mt. Adams (and Mt. Rainier too). Since Mt. Adams was closer, we thought we’d head that direction to see what we could photograph.
We had no cell coverage so we couldn’t get Google or Waze to direct us to the mountain and so we stopped at a town named Goldendale to buy a map, yes, a real paper map. We talked to some of the locals about Mt. Adams and asked if there was a resort or any place similar to Timberline lodge on the mountain. No one at the store knew of any place but they suggested we go to the forest rangers place.
To get there, we were told to head toward Trout Lake. We were told to be sure and stop along the way at Glenwood for a Huckleberry shake.
Next stop: Glenwood, Washington
Glenwood is a very small town very near Mt. Adams. Other than a post office, the café, and a bunch of pretty cows grazing with a beautiful view of the mountain behind, I didn’t see much else. The huckleberry shake was quite good and worth the $4.50. The cows humored me and let me take their photo.
Next stop: Somewhere along the way to the forest ranger station
The signage wasn’t the best and we were fading fast from getting up at 3:30 am so we decided to be satisfied with our photos from the base of Mt. Adams. There were some very nice places to stop and photograph the mountain between Glenwood and the forest ranger station.
Next stop: home
If you have younger bodies than ours, there are a great many places to stop and wait out the sunset along the Columbia River. We headed down highway 141 toward White Salmon eventually crossing Bridge of the gods at Hood River ($1 toll) and then headed home via I-84.