Columbia Hills State Park - Crawford Oaks — Saturday, Apr. 13, 2013

Southwest Washington > Columbia River Gorge - WA

We found sunshine while the West side of the Cascades was bombarded with rain and snow! Our sunshine was hiding out East in the Gorge on Dalles Mountain! This hike is in a Washington State Park and features wide open meadows and big views of the Columbia River and rolling hills. It was refreshing to see plentiful Spring wildflowers, butterflies, and many species of birds. The Park department is building a new parking lot just north of Highway 14. They aren't working on weekends, so you can park next to the road. Be sure to display your State Parks pass. The trail begins by following an old road which then turns into a trail. The park department had placed orange pin flags to mark the trail improvements along the way. For the first two miles, the route is relatively gentle, then cross the county road, go past a picnic table and work you way up the steeper slope to the top of the ridge. There is no definite trail to follow, so tread lightly among the flower and grasses. On this day, the West winds were howling. It was difficult to stand upright at the top of the ridge due to high winds. We guessed that the gusts were over 50-60 mph! Down at The Dalles airport by the river, there were gusts of 46 mph. In the next 4-6 weeks, the wildflowers will be even more spectacular, so if you are looking for a different sort of hike, this one is great fun!