The Columbia Gorge, located just outside of Troutdale Oregon, is one of the state’s famous treasures next to Smith Rock outside of Terrabonne, the Painted Hills near John Day, or even the Devil’s Punchbowl in Otter Rock!
Back in April 2021, my boyfriend planned out this whole day trip for us to go in that area, more importantly Multnomah Falls. Multnomah Falls is THE place to go if you’re visiting or living around the Portland area, it’s up there as a top tourist destination next to Voodoo Donuts, Oregon Zoo and OMSI. Aside from Multnomah, he planned for us to visit a couple falls as a backup and visit a couple towns I’ve never been in.
On April 17, 2021, I woke up early, catch the MAX train from Downtown Portland to Gresham (east of Portland) to meet up with my boyfriend who supplied us with hoodies, food, water, and breakfast sandwiches.
The first place we went to is the Vista House on the Historic Columbia River Highway to see the views of the Gorge. The weather was beautiful! No rain, no cloud, just sunshine and major wind gusts due to the elevation. We took some pictures, admire the view, and freeze to death due to the cold wind, before heading off to the falls.
*TRAVELER TIP* If you want to get the best scenery of the Gorge, take the Historic Columbia River HWY. It’s away from the major interstate highways, the drive is relaxing, and you get access to some of the great waterfalls the Willamette Valley has to offer.
The first waterfall we went to is Latourell Falls. Luckily, when we pulled up, there’s a group of hikers here but not very crowded at all. In order to get to the viewing area, you have to climb this very steep hill up to see the falls. Once we took a couple pictures, we climbed out to the foot of the waterfall and admire the beauty of Latourell. We didn’t get too close to the falls due to the morning temps and we don’t want to get cold.
After Latourell, we went to Bridal Veil Falls down the road. Now it’s a bit of a hike to get there, 0.5 miles, which is great for those who don’t hike as much or is getting into hiking. Unlike Latourell where it’s a stream, Bridal Veil fits its name, it falls down like a bride’s veil. Below the viewing area is a pool that you can actually swim in but me and my boyfriend didn’t get to swim in it because it’s too cold. The hike back was a challenge for me due to the elevation, causing my legs to gave out 3/4 of the way.
*TRAVELER TIP* If you are planning on seeing Multnomah Falls, make sure you go during the work day or at anytime when it’s not busy. We tried to go there 2-3 times that day but it was jam packed since it was on a Saturday. So PLAN ACCORDINGLY.
After the falls, we drove down to a small town called Cascade Locks where we went to Eastwind Drive-in for their famous ice cream and boy do they not disappoint! After having some ice cream, we drove across the river, into Washington, to check out Skamania Lodge in Stevenson WA. I fell in love with it because it reminds me of the Kah-Nee-Tah lodge I once stayed at as a kid but a few years ago it (Kah-Nee-Tah) closed down. From the breezeway to the lodge entry, I loved every part of it.
*TRAVELER TIP* if you want to stay in the Gorge area, do book a weekend at Skamania Lodge. Once you cross the river, everything is within driving distance from Hood River to the falls. They have onsite dining, indoor pool and hot tub, zipline course, gym, and a store.
After returning to Oregon, my boyfriend and I had a bit of a misunderstanding of what the next part of the plan was once we get into Hood River. But we ultimately went for wine tasting at Upsidedown Wine and split a flight. We both really liked the rosé and I thought about buying the bottle. After some wine tasting, we had a bit of a beach day near the river. For a good couple hours, we sat in the water, up to our butts, enjoy the warm afternoon, have great conversations, and have a romantic moment or two.
Once we were done with the mini beach day, we changed and headed into Troutdale for our dinner date at Ristorante Di Pompello. Highly recommend trying their blackberry Italian soda while you’re there. For a little while we went to Edgefield because my boyfriend wanted to me to try their root beer float at one of the restaraunts on property. Unfortunately we couldn’t find it and I was started to get really achy, so we went back to my downtown apartment and relax for the night.
- Latourell Falls, Corbett OR
- Bridal Veil Falls, Corbett OR
- Eastwind Drive-in, Cascade Locks OR
- Skamania Lodge, Stevenson WA
- UpsideDown Wine, Hood River OR
- Ristorante Di Pompello, Troutdale OR
- Edgefield, Troutdale OR
Day Trip #1: Columbia Gorge:
The NEW Life 