Columbia River Gorge
Columbia River Gorge
5
About
The Columbia River Gorge, a 75-mile canyon through the Cascades, is a broad, picturesque river with water-controlling dams.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

5.0
5.0 of 5 bubbles1,230 reviews
Excellent
1,078
Very good
133
Average
12
Poor
5
Terrible
2

sandyreel
Carnation, WA4 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2022
I strongly recommend making a reservation with the Waterfall Trolley a Hop-on/Hop-off trolley that allows you to see all 10 waterfalls in the area as well as the most amazing views of the river from Vista House. The trolley has an excellent price and is very easy to use. This made our trip fabulous. A day earlier, before we took the trolley, we discovered that you must have a permit with a scheduled time in order to see the waterfalls - you can drive by not can't stop or park without the permit. The trolley allowed us to stop at any of the waterfalls that we wanted to and we didn't need to figure out where to park or have to get the permit. It was totally awesome. We also got lots of history of the area (recording) as well as the driver provided lots of guidance of the area and what would be the best for us to see. He was amazing, friendly and a wealth of information. This made our trip the best.
Written July 7, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kathryn H
Sonoma, CA429 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2020 • Couples
Driving from California to Washington State, the route took us along the Columbia River for many miles. The area is incredibly beautiful. It was fascinating to see how the river creates the many distinctive layers through the earth during the thousands of years of the formation of the Gorge. At times viewing the flow of the River and the River’s sculpting of the rocks, was mesmerizing!

Written June 28, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Melanie D
Portland, OR35 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2020 • Family
I love this hotel Not just because it is such a beautiful building on an amazing property. The quality I guess service has always been the highest throughout the years when I have visited it. When I cannot find the bottle of wine I want it in the gift shop during a late check in the front desk guys went down into the seller to get me what I wanted. After a long day is driving returning from a road trip this was really appreciated!
Written July 2, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jasmine38Chichester UK
Chichester, UK1,952 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2022 • Couples
We drove from Portland as far as Cascade Locks, a small town with a few eateries, shop and garage. Very scenic. So many waterfalls to see and various lengths of hikes.. Multnomah is the biggest and most popular with a gift shop, snacks etc., but there are many others.

Stop first at Vista House for fantastic views to both the east and west of the River. Interesting small exhibit available in the building but only open Friday thru Monday.

We also enjoyed visiting the Dam and the Fishery - both more interesting than we thought. At the lower level of the dam you can see the different fish as they pass through the fish ladder. At the Fishery they have sturgeon 12 feet in length.

Note, that the introduction of timed passes has been implemented recently to limit the use of the historic highway between exits 28 and 35. Thie permt can be purchased on line for $2 or you risk a $260 fine and there are checkpoints at both ends.
Written July 13, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

CraftBeers
Plano, TX26,779 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2021
The Columbia River Gorge is spectacular. It is worth a half or full day to see it all. The best parts start outside of Portland along I-84 eastbound. It parallels the Columbia River and ends at Hood River. It's approximately 40 miles long one way and takes about an hour to drive or two hours for a round trip.

Having visited the area you are not experiencing the best parts if you skip stops along the way and only do a drive by. I highly recommend visiting Wahkeena and Multnomah Falls. The hikes are less than a half mile round trip. The paths are easy and the views are stunning.

There are more falls to visit, but they have longer hikes that take time. You should have proper shoes and water for those hikes.

The single biggest issue with every stop is parking and crowds. My personal recommendation is to go in the spring or fall when it's off season. We were able to find parking right at the falls. There is no way we would have been able to park in the middle of the summer. Consider using a shuttle out of Portland that does hop on/hop off all day if you are visiting in peak summer season. The shuttles stop running out of season.
Written October 12, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Mark & Jennifer D
18 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2021 • Solo
The Columbia River Gorge has to be one of the best places for landscape photography. Strongly recommend spending several days hiking to the various waterfalls. It is well worth the effort. The weather can frequently be wet, windy and cold so recommend dressing appropriately.
Written April 2, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Mchangle
Fremont, CA25 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
For those who wish to do this tour on their own, please know that you will be stopped by Rangers after Bridal Veil Falls if you do not have a purchased permit specifying the time slot allotted to visit. They need to enforce crowd control during high tourist season. Road is narrow & winding. Parking spaces are limited. An alternative is to ride the shuttle.
Written August 12, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Dan W
Portland, OR1,988 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2020
The route through the Columbia River Gorge takes one along the Columbia River for many miles. The area is incredibly beautiful, with forests, waterfalls, and streams to take in. It is fascinating to see how the river created the many distinctive layers through the earth during the thousands of years of the formation of the Gorge. There is no shortage of paces to stop for photos, sustenance, or any other needs. The beauty and splendid scenery of the entire gorge is mesmerizing, magnificent and most memorable.
Written October 22, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

LisaMNUSA
Saint Paul, MN990 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2022
We spent a day in this area. We visited several water falls, they are very scenic.
We also visited Bonneville fish hatchery, beautiful ground. Bring quarters with you if you plan to visit here, so you can feed rainbow trouts. We saw the 80 years old, 11 feet long, 500 ponds white sturgeon here.
Written September 24, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

taylor m
2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2021
My family of 4 rented the Ebikes to tour the 5 waterfalls and it was fantastic. We picked up the bikes at a meeting spot near Bridal Falls, there is no store front, but a pull off which was easy to find. Taylor gave us a quick overview of how the bikes work. He also gave us very helpful tips on what to do and what to see. We rented the bikes for 4.5 hours but didn't need that much time. We did pack a lunch and enjoyed eating at the Overlook in Bridal Falls. The bikes allowed us to see all the falls in a fun and easy manner. They were easy to ride and we felt very safe the whole time. We highly recommend renting from Ebike Multnomah!
Written August 31, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Columbia River Gorge - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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