Nearby to Skamania Lodge, Portland, Oregon is an iconic city of the Northwest, embodying a sense of nature, progress and diversity. During your vacation at our Stevenson, WA hotel, make sure to take a day trip to Portland and visit any of these spectacular, Columbia River Gorge attractions perfect for the entire family.
Multnomah Falls is a convenient stop on the drive from Portland or the airport on the way to Skamania Lodge, and it is easily the Columbia River Gorge's most famous waterfall. Multnomah Falls is a main attraction near Portland, Oregon. It's visited by nearly 2 million people a year, but once you stand before this towering 620ft two-tiered column of water; you'll come to see why it's so popular.
At the Columbia River Gorge, chasing waterfalls is not only recommended—it's encouraged. Though Multnomah Falls is one of the most popular waterfalls in the region, we recommend you venture off the beaten path. Try out one or all of the below waterfall hikes to satisfy your inner love of water.
Get ready for fun with three adrenaline pumping attractions from Skamania Lodge Adventures. Choose your adventure with our top rated Zipline Tour or our Aerial Park, the newest, self-guided experience that tests your strength, balance and agility to maneuver through each our of parks challenges. Looking for a unique adventure, try your hand at Axe Throwing. Whether you are day tripping or staying at our breathtaking resort, we have an activity perfect for you. Book your adventure by calling 509.427.0202
When you visit the Columbia River Gorge Interpretive Center Museum, you are able to visualize and participate in the bountiful life of the Columbia River Gorge. Learn the history and the impact Lewis and Clark's Expedition had on the area.
The Columbia Gorge Discovery Center inspires appreciation and stewardship of the natural and cultural treasures of the Gorge and Wasco County. Exhibits focus on the volcanic upheaval and raging floods that created the Gorge, the unique flora and fauna of the region, and eleven thousand years of cultural history. Collections include hundreds of American Indian baskets from throughout the Pacific Northwest, photo archives (partially available on-line), and local genealogical files available in the William G. Dick Library.
Open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. This complex offers an easily accessible view of the powerhouse. Generators can be viewed from an area 85 feet above the powerhouse floor. Guided tours of Powerhouse 2 are offered at 10 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. daily from June to September. Between October and May please call the visitor center to check on tour availability. The tour schedule is subject to change. Inside the fish-viewing building and adjacent Visitor Orientation building are exhibits on the history of fish in the area and how a modern hydropower plant works.
A fun way to explore the Pacific Northwest's Mt. Hood region. Witness picturesque views while traveling this historic railroad through woods, orchards and vineyards. Murder Mystery, Western Train Robbery and Brunch trains available as well.
Set in a castle-like chateau on a stunning 5,000 acre site overlooking the scenic Columbia River Gorge, Maryhill Museum of Art is one of the Pacific Northwest's most fascinating cultural destinations. You can fill an entire day exploring its many treasures. Enjoy world-class art, northwest history, a majestic natural setting, park and gardens, picnic grounds, cafe and museum store.
Award-winning Maryhill Winery has developed into a premier destination not to be missed. Maryhill is home to one of the finest fruit and grape growing regions in the world. Come take in the stunning views, have a picnic, taste our wines, enjoy love music and see what everyone is talking about.
The Oregon Zoo is one of the favorite attractions in Portland and all of Oregon. With a vast display of animal and plant collections from around the world, including a Red Ape Reserve, African Rainforest and Sahara, Asian elephants, animals of the great Northwest and Elk Meadow, the Oregon Zoo in Portland is an entertaining and educational destination for the entire family.
Started in 1888 by Georgiana Burton Pittock, the International Portland Rose Garden is the oldest, official rose garden in the United States. Portland, appropriately nicknamed the "City of Roses," is home to this famous garden spanning 4.5 acres, including gold medal award-winning roses. The garden is open to visitors and is truly a spectacular and naturally beautiful destination in Portland, Oregon to visit during your vacation at Skamania.
Part of the entertainment venues at the Rose Quarter in Portland, the Rose Garden Arena seats up to 20,000 spectators for NBA Portland Trail Blazers and WHL Winterhawks games, among other concert and entertainment events. This exciting entertainment and sports venue is in the center of The Commons, Portland's largest outdoor public plaza.
Portland's Japanese Garden is comprised of five garden styles: flat, stroll, tea, natural and sand and stone. These gardens are a fascinating and uniquely beautiful attraction to visit in Portland. Enjoy a guided tour and explanation of each garden's rich, detail oriented meaning and design.
The Pittock Mansion, located in the West Hills of Portland, Oregon is one of the city's historic treasures and iconic landmarks. A century old, the mansion was the former home of the Pittocks, an established Portland couple integral to the town's growth from a lumber town to a thriving city. The mansion's architecture, interior decorations and rich history make it a noteworthy attraction to see during your visit to Portland.
The largest independent new and used bookstore in the world, getting lost in the stacks at Powell's books is easy and exciting. Located in the Pearl District, this book store is the number one destination for literature junkies and collectors of rare books.
With 219,000 square feet of interactive exhibits and displays, including an OMNIMAX Dome Theatre, the "OMSI" is an exciting, educational museum and great family destination to visit while in Portland. Admission is $12 for adults and $9 for children, admission aboard the permanent submarine display is and additional $5.75 per person. Visitors can also visit just the Planetarium for $5.75 per person or the OmniMax for $6 per adult and $5 per child.
The White Salmon is known as the best commercial rafting adventure in the state of Washington. The Zoller Family was the first commercial rafting company on the White Salmon and has been guiding people down the river for generations.
Few places combine nature’s wonders and human architectural brilliance so majestically. Once called “Thor’s Heights,” Crown Point is a basalt promontory shaped by the same volcanic lava flows, floods and winds that created the Columbia River Gorge. Cited for its “exceptional value in illustrating the natural history of the U.S.,” it was designated as a National Natural Landmark in 1971. It is protected as a state park property known as the Crown Point State Scenic Corridor.
Beacon Rock, which is 848 feet tall, was named by Lewis and Clark in 1805; they originally referred to it as Beaten Rock and then later as Beacon Rock. They noted that the rock marked the eastern extent of the tidal influence in the Columbia. The park includes 9,500 feet of freshwater shoreline on the Columbia River. The core of an ancient volcano, the mile-long trail to its summit provides outstanding panoramic views of the Columbia River Gorge.
Fort Cascades was a United States Army fort constructed in 1855 to protect the portage road around the final section of the Cascades Rapids, known as the "lower cascades." Fort Cascades is now on the National Register of Historic Places. There is a self-guided tour through what remains of the fort and the town site. The trail the tour follows is approximately 1.5 miles long.
Lewis and Clark Trail State Park is a 37-acre camping park with 1,333-feet of freshwater shoreline on the Touchet River. The park is a rare treasure of old-growth forest and river in the midst of the surrounding arid grassland. Like an oasis in the middle of the desert, this lovely wooded park on the Touchet River refreshes visitors with its unusual vegetation and geology. The park is rich in history.
Maryhill State Park is a 99-acre camping park with 4,700-feet of waterfront on the Columbia River in Klickitat County. The area is significant for its natural beauty, its access to the surrounding natural wonders, and its cultural history. A full-scale partial replica of Stonehenge is located one mile from the park. The Maryhill Museum of Art and the Stonehenge construction are open to the public. The Columbia River offers opportunities for water fun.
Located twenty miles east of the city of Portland, Oregon, and the northern Willamette River valley, the Mt. Hood National Forest extends south from the strikingly beautiful Columbia River Gorge across more than sixty miles of forested mountains, lakes and streams to Olallie Scenic Area, a high lake basin under the slopes of Mt. Jefferson.
The Bridge of the Gods was a natural dam created by the Bonneville Slide, a major landslide that dammed the Columbia River near present-day Cascade Locks, Oregon in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The river eventually breached the bridge and washed much of it away, but the event is remembered in local legends of the Native Americans as the Bridge of the Gods. The Bridge of the Gods is also the name of a modern manmade bridge, the Bridge of the Gods, across the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington.
The site of what is now the city of The Dalles was a major Native American trading center for at least 10,000 years. The general area is one of the continent's most significant archaeological regions. Lewis and Clark camped near Mill Creek on October 25–27, 1805 while traveling along the Oregon Trail. The first use of the name Dalles, according to Oregon Geographic Names, appears in fur trader Gabriel Franchère's Narrative, on April 12, 1814, referring to the long series of major rapids in the river.
Travel west on the Historic Columbia River Highway and you will see the entrance of Bridal Veil Falls State Park. The park offers a nice parking area, picnic tables and restrooms all within easy walking distance from the parking area. Nice grassy areas afford visitors a chance to stretch a blanket in one of the laziest parts of the Columbia River Gorge. No day-use fee is charged; admission is free.
Multnomah Falls is the most visited recreation site in the Pacific Northwest with 2 million stopping each year to take in the views! It features the 2nd highest waterfall in the United States. The Falls are split into an upper falls of 542 feet and a lower falls of 69 feet, with a gradual 9 foot drop in elevation between the two. The total height of the waterfall is conventionally given as 620 feet.
Cascade Locks once the site of a boom town called Whiskey Flats, now has a population of 1100 and continues to pride itself on providing friendly accommodations for the traveler. From the serene to the extreme, you will find something for everyone in Cascade Locks. This is a full service community with dining, lodging, camping, an airport, marina & boat launch, automotive services, groceries and various retail shops.
The Historic Columbia River Highway is an approximately 75-mile-long (121 km) scenic highway in the U.S. state of Oregon between Troutdale and The Dalles, built through the Columbia River Gorge between 1913 and 1922. As the first planned scenic roadway in the United States, it has been recognized in numerous ways, including a listing on the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark and is considered a "destination unto itself".
