If you get the chance to visit Portland, Oregon, you should take a day to explore the Columbia River Gorge. It’s a canyon of the great Columbia River and is located only a short drive from downtown Portland. Drive east on the Historic Columbia River Highway until you reach Crown Point, where you find stunning views of the valley below.
Vista House at Crown Point
At Crown Point, on a cliff some 233 m above the river, lies an odd, almost 100 year old oxagon shaped museum. The Vista House was built in 1918 as a memorial to Oregon pioneers and as a resting stop for travellers.
The view from the Vista House is absolutely gorgeous and you can see for miles in each direction as the mighty Columbia River meanders through the landscape. Worth noting is that there is a limited number of parking spots at the outlook, but most people don’t stay for that long so if you are patient you will not have to wait for long.
From the vista point you continue to drive down the hill on the winding historic highway and you can continue to explore the river gorge. During this stretch of the road there are a number of waterfalls where you can stop for a short hike or just a quick look. The most famous of these waterfalls is of course Multnomah Falls where we stopped to admire the 189 meter tall waterfall. More on that in this blog post.
Other stops include Oneonta Gorge and Hood River, which is a bit further away. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to explore any of these stops so perhaps we will have to come back for a second Oregon road trip some other time.
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