Lewis and Clark's Columbia River
Lewis & Clark's Columbia River - "200 Years Later"
"The Columbia River Highway ... Troutdale to The Dalles"
Includes ... Historic Columbia River Highway ... Crown Point Highway ... National Recreation Trail ... Roadhouses ... Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail ... National Register of Historic Places ...
Image, 2015, Historic Columbia River Highway, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Crown Point and Vista House, Historic Columbia River Highway. The Historic Highway curves to the left to circle around Vista House. Image taken March 30, 2015.


Historic Columbia River Highway ...
The "Historic Columbia River Highway" (HCRH) was once part of the "Columbia River Highway" system (Oregon Highway 30 and Interstate 84), which extended from Astoria to the Idaho border. The HCRH was the original road which traversed the Columbia River Gorge on the Oregon side, from Troutdale - 14 miles east of Portland, to The Dalles - 88 miles east of Portland. The Highway was the first scenic highway constructed in the United States. The design and development were the products of Samuel Hill, lawyer and entrepreneur, and Samuel C. Lancaster, an engineer and landscape architect. Built between 1913 and 1922, the Highway was patterned after the Auxenstrasse in Swizerland. Throughout the 74-mile route, the road grades are no greater than 5 percent, and no curves have less than a 100-foot turning radius.

Today the Highway is owned by the Oregon Department of Transportation. In 1983 the "Columbia River Highway Historic District" from the Sandy River to the The Dalles city limits was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (#83004168). In 1984, the American Society of Civil Engineers declared the road a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, and in 1998 the the road was designated an All-American Road.

[More HCRH History and Information]


Historic Mileposts ...

  • HMP:   When included, HMPs ("Historic Mile Posts") listed were obtained from the 1983 National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, which in turn were obtained from the 1929 Oregon State Highway Division Bridge Log. Additional HMPs were obtained from the 1996 National Historic Landmark Nomination Form, which were obtained from the 1924 "Mile Posting Data log" of the Oregon State Highway Department. And yet more HMPs were found in the 2005 HCRH Master Plan. HMPs interpreted from topographic maps are based on the HMP of nearby sites, and are placed in parentheses.

  • RM:   Columbia River Miles (RM) are interpreted from topographic maps.


Follow the Highway ... (west to east)
  • The Start ... Troutdale, Oregon, located along the Sandy River, is often considered by some as the start of the Historic Columbia River Highway (HCRH). The actual start (HMP 0.0) however of the HCRH lies thirteen miles west, at the intersection of Portland's SW Washington and SW Broadway.

  • Troutdale (Sandy River) to Crown Point ...
    • Overview ...
    • Troutdale ...
    • Crossing the Sandy River ...
    • Woodard Road ...
    • Views along the Highway ...
    • "Eateries" along the Sandy ...
    • Portland Automobile Club Grounds ...
    • Dabney State Recreation Area ...
    • Springdale and Corbett ...
    • Corbett Hill Road Intersection, HCRH to Interstate 84 ...
    • Crestview and Menucha ...
    • Portland Woman's Forum State Scenic Viewpoint (Chanticleer Point) ...
    • The Summit ...
    • Larch Mountain Road and the View Point Inn ...
    • Water Storge Tanks ...
    • Pedestrian Overlook ...
    • Approaching Crown Point ...
    • Crown Point ...

  • Crown Point to the Dodson I-84 Interchange ...
    • Overview ...
    • Crown Point ...
    • Crown Point Chalet ...
    • Vista House ...
    • Crown Point Viaduct ...
    • Crown Point Figure-Eight Loops ...
    • Milepost Marker 25 ...
    • Guard Rocks ...
    • Milepost Marker 26 ...
    • Talbot Foot Bridge ...
    • Latourell Falls ...
    • Guy W. Talbot State Park ...
    • Latourell Falls Chalet and Maffett's Villa ...
    • Milepost Marker 27 ...
    • Shepperd's Dell ...
    • Bishops Cap ...
    • Box Culvert ...
    • Cattle Pass to the Luscher Barn ...
    • Forest Hall ...
    • Bridal Veil Falls, Viewpoint, and Lodge ...
    • Pillars of Hercules ...
    • Bridal Veil Bridge ...
    • Bridal Veil Community ...
    • Palmer Mill Road ...
    • Milepost Marker 29 ...
    • Intersection with East Bridal Veil Road ... Angel's Rest and Devil's Rest Trailhead, return to Interstate 84, continuation of the HCRH ...
    • Bridal Veil Lumbering Company ...
    • Coopey Falls ...
    • Views along the Highway ...
    • Milepost Marker 30 ...
    • Forest Service Masonry Sign Post ...
    • Benson State Recreation Area ...
    • Mist Falls ...
    • Multnomah Lodge ("Mist Lodge") ...
    • Approach to Wahkeena Falls ...
    • Wahkeena Creek Bridge ...
    • Wahkeena Falls ...
    • West Multnomah Falls Viaduct ...
    • Multnomah Falls and Lodge ...
    • East Multnomah Falls Viaduct ...
    • Bridge West of Oneonta Gorge Creek ...
    • Oneonta ...
    • Oneonta Tunnel ...
    • Horsetail Falls ...
    • Milepost Marker 35 ...
    • Ainsworth State Park ...
    • Masonry Drinking Fountain ...
    • Interstate 84 Interchange ...

  • Dodson to Cascade Locks ...
    • Overview ...
    • Dodson, Tumalt Creek, and Warrendale ...
    • Yeon State Park ...
    • Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail ...
    • Interstate 84 Interchange ...
    • McCord Creek ...
    • Moffett Creek ...
    • Moffett Creek to Tanner Creek, HCRH State Trail ...
    • Tanner Creek ...
    • Bonneville Dam (Interstate 84) ...
    • Tanner Creek to Eagle Creek, HCRH State Trail ...
    • Toothrock, HCRH State Trail ...
    • Toothrock Tunnel (Interstate 84) ...
    • Eagle Creek to Cascade Locks, HCRH State Trail ...
    • Eagle Creek ...
    • Eagle Creek Campgrounds and Overlook ...
    • Cascade Fish Hatchery ...
    • Ruckel Creek ...
    • Interstate 84 Underpass, HCRH State Trail ...
    • Bridge of the Gods ...
    • Cascade Locks ...

  • Cascade Locks to Hood River ...
    • Overview ...
    • Cascade Locks ...
    • Wa-Pa-Na Street and Forest Lane ...
    • Marine Park and Cascade Locks (the Locks) ...
    • Herman Creek ...
    • Frontage Road and Government Cove ...
    • USFS Columbia Gorge District Ranger Station (Herman Creek Ranger Station) ...
    • USFS Herman Creek Campground ...
    • Herman Creek Road to Wyeth ...
    • Gorton Creek ...
    • USFS Wyeth Campground ...
    • Shellrock Mountain ...
    • Lindsey Creek and Warren Creek ...
    • Starvation Creek ...
    • Starvation Creek to Viento Creek, HCRH State Trail ...
    • Original Mile Post Marker 58 ...
    • Viento ...
    • Mitchell Point ...
    • Mitchell Point Tunnel ...
    • East of Mitchell Point (Mitchell Point Drive) ...
    • Locke/Galligan Home ...
    • Ruthton Point Viaduct ...
    • Ruthton Park ...
    • Westcliff Drive ...
    • Columbia Gorge Hotel ...
    • Hood River ...

  • Hood River to The Dalles ...
    • Overview ...
    • Hood River ...
    • Hood River Bridge ...
    • HCRH Junction with Oregon 35, Hood River ...
    • Hood River to Mosier ...
    • Hood River Loops ...
    • Milepost Marker 68 ...
    • Historic Columbia Highway State Trail (West Trailhead) ...
    • Historic Columbia Highway State Trail ...
    • Mosier Twin Tunnels ...
    • Historic Columbia Highway State Trail (East Trailhead) ...
    • Rock Creek Bridge ...
    • Mosier ...
    • Mosier Creek Bridge ...
    • Mosier to Rowena ...
    • Milepost Marker 75 ...
    • Orchards ...
    • Mayerdale Place ...
    • Plateau, Mayerdale to Rowena Crest ...
    • Memaloose Overlook ...
    • Along the Highway ...
    • Milepost Marker 78 ...
    • Rowena Dell ...
    • Hog Creek Canyon Bridge ...
    • Along the Highway ...
    • Dry Canyon Bridge ...
    • Tom McCall Nature Preserve ...
    • Rowena Crest ...
    • Rowena Loops ...
    • Pedestrian Overlook ...
    • Rowena Ferry Road ...
    • Rowena ...
    • Rowena to The Dalles ...
    • Abandoned Railroad Grade ...
    • Milepost Marker 86 ...
    • Milepost Marker 87 ...
    • Chenoweth Creek ...
    • The Dalles ...


From the Journals of Lewis and Clark ...

Clark, ...
 




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*River Miles [RM] are approximate, in statute miles, and were determined from USGS topo maps, obtained from NOAA nautical charts, or obtained from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers website, 2003

Sources:
  • Armstrong, C.H., (compiler), 1965, "History of the Oregon State Parks: 1917-1963, published by Oregon State Parks.
  • Davison, D., and Knapp, B., 2010, Historic Columbia River Highway Cultural Landscape Inventory: Shellrock Mountain to Ruthton Point, prepared for the Oregon State Department of Transportation, January 2010;
  • Hadlow, R.W., and others, 2009, HCRH Oral History Report, SR 500-261, August 2009, Oregon Department of Transportation;
  • Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. OR-36-C report, 1996, National Park Service;
  • Otis and others, 1986, "The Forest Service and The Civilian Conservation Corps: 1933-42, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, FS-395, August 1986, Chapter 14, Mount Hood National Forest.
  • PLUS:   Historic Columbia River Highway sources;


All Lewis and Clark quotations from Gary Moulton editions of the Lewis and Clark Journals, University of Nebraska Press, all attempts have been made to type the quotations exactly as in the Moulton editions, however typing errors introduced by this web author cannot be ruled out; location interpretation from variety of sources, including this website author.
/Regions/Places/HCRH_route.html
February 2016