The Columbia River Gorge appears suddenly as you come off the plateau — a great cut in the earth with the river running brown and enormous below and basalt cliffs rising on both sides. Oregon is on the south side; Washington is on the north. The Historic Columbia River Highway on the Oregon side is a stone road from 1915 that clings to the cliff face and passes under 77 waterfalls.
The Columbia River carved this 80-mile gorge through the Cascade Mountains and left 77 waterfalls on the Oregon side alone. Multnomah Falls drops 620 feet in two tiers. Crown Point Vista House, a 1917 observation building on a basalt promontory, looks 30 miles down the gorge. The Historic Highway itself is an engineering marvel built before power tools.
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The moment
Standing at the base of Multnomah Falls when the water is high in spring and feeling the mist from 620 feet of falling water from 100 feet away. The roar is constant and the spray coats everything. It's one of the most physically immersive natural experiences on the route.
The classic mistake
Driving I-84 through the gorge without taking the Historic Columbia River Highway exit. The interstate misses everything. Even a 30-minute detour onto the old highway — just Crown Point and Multnomah Falls — transforms the stop.
The photograph
Multnomah Falls from the bridge — the stone footbridge halfway up the falls, with the upper falls above you and the lower falls below. This is the postcard image and it's a postcard for good reasons.
Skip it if
You have previously driven the Historic Columbia River Highway.
Don’t skip it if
You haven't. And you like waterfalls.
How long do you need?
1 hour: Multnomah Falls + Latourell Falls. Half day: full Historic Highway loop with Crown Point, all the waterfall pullouts, and lunch in Hood River. Full day: add the Washington side of the gorge and the town of White Salmon for the afternoon.
What to ask
At Crown Point Vista House, ask someone about the Vista House itself — it was built in 1917 specifically as a rest stop for early motorists, and it has no structural steel. The entire dome and walls are hand-laid stone. That information makes you look at it differently.
🍂 This season · Fall / Winter
October and November produce some of the most dramatic photography in the Pacific Northwest. Ice occasionally forms on the falls in December.
Entry fee
Multnomah Falls parking requires timed reservation (free) May–October. Falls viewpoint is always free.
Gas
Abundant along I-84 through the gorge.
Don't miss eating
Fresh fruit pie at the Multnomah Falls Lodge restaurant — the Columbia River Gorge is surrounded by the most productive fruit-growing region in the Pacific Northwest, and the pies made from Hood River cherries, pears, and apples are extraordinary. Hood River town itself has excellent vegetarian options at Boda's Kitchen.
Websitegorgefriends.org
Average weather, all twelve months
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | 43° | 48° | 55° | 62° | 69° | 76° | 84° | 83° | 74° | 62° | 50° | 43° |
| Low | 32° | 34° | 39° | 44° | 49° | 55° | 61° | 60° | 54° | 46° | 38° | 32° |
| Rain/Snow | 4.2" | 3.2" | 3.0" | 2.3" | 2.0" | 1.2" | 0.4" | 0.7" | 1.2" | 2.5" | 4.5" | 4.5" |