USDA Forest Service
 

Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area

 
 

Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
902 Wasco Street
Suite 200
Hood River, OR 97031

(541) 308-1700
TTY (541) 386-8758

United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service.

CRGNSA

Welcome

Gorge Vistas - A Visitors Guide ( pdf file 2.7mb )

PhotoThe Columbia River Gorge is a spectacular river canyon cutting the only sea-level route through the Cascade Mountain Range.

It's 80 miles long and up to 4,000 feet deep with the north canyon walls in Washington State and the south canyon walls in Oregon State.

 

 

Recreation

Hiking, mountain biking, windsurfing, camping, fishing, boating, wildlife watching, birding, wildflower viewing, photography, picnicking, rock climbing. You can do all this and more in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.

WATERFALLS

Through millenniums of geologic events, waterfalls have found their home in the Columbia River Gorge. A visit to the area is not complete without a visit to its breathtaking waterfalls.

Multnomah Falls is the second highest year-round waterfall in the United States. Though Multnomah Falls is grand and popular, all of the falls in the Gorge are special and breathtaking.

History

For over 31,000 years, the Columbia River Gorge has supported flourishing civilizations. Evidence of the Folsom and Marmes people, who crossed the Great Continental Divide from Asia, were found in archaeological digs. Excavations at Five Mile Rapids, a few miles east of The Dalles, show humans have occupied this ideal salmon fishing site for more than 10,000 years.

Geology

The Columbia River Plateau was created by a series of basalt flows.  The flows covered 164,000 square kilometers -- portions of northeast Oregon, southwest Washington and western Idaho.

Sandy River Delta New Parking Lot Opening and Confluence Project Dedication August 23, 2008

UPDATE 8/21/08 - On August 23, 2008 the new parking lot at the Sandy River Della will be open to the public in conjunction with the dedication of the Confluence Project's elliptical bird blind. The Confluence Dedication Ceremony is scheduled for 4:00 pm. The Oregon National Guard 1249 Engineer Battalion completed their work on the Sandy River Delta parking lot last week. Much work still remains such as landscaping, installing wheel stops, etc. This work will occur through out the coming year. Oregon Department of Transportation's reconstruction of the deceleration lane is also completed. Landscaping of the construction area will be completed this fall.

Coyote Wall (Syncline) and Catherine Creek Trail Planning Project

Link to more information.

 

Cape Horn Recreation Management Plan

Link for more infomration

 

Recreation Facility Analysis (RFA)

Recreation Facility Analysis (RFA) is an analysis tool to help forests align their developed recreation sites with the unique characteristics of the forest, projected recreation demand, visitor expectations, and revenue. The outcome has now been documented in the Final 5 Year Action Plan.

Link to more information

 

Become a friend of the Forest

Become a friend of the forest

 

 

 

 

WMM image Link Forest Icon


What is a National Scenic Area (NSA)?

National Scenic Area Act (Link to Mulnomah County Site)

Draft Revised Management Plan (Link to Columbia River Gorge Commison Site)

Northwest Oregon Contracting Area


 

 

 

US Forest Service - Columbia River Gorge NSA
Last Modified: Tuesday, 10 July 2007 at 17:52:03 EDT


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