MAY 16, 2014
AN AFTERNOON SPENT DRIVING THE BYWAY. The drive along this road, which is the old route along the Columbia Gorge now “replaced” by Highway 84, is absolutely spectacular. Any way you look at it, this Historic Columbia River Highway Scenic Byway is a marvel—for its visionary engineering, incredible scenery, and rich history. Internationally lauded for spectacular waterfalls, architectural gems, and magnificent overlooks of the Columbia River Gorge, it’s no wonder this Byway has been called the “King of Roads.”
We drove past some beautiful orchards on the drive to Troutdale and east along the Columbia Gorge on Old Highway 30. Mt. Hood in the background.
From Portland, we drove East on Highway 84 to exit 17 and followed the signs through the quaint town of Troutdale and over the Sandy River to the Byway. The road follows the Sandy for several miles and then climbs past orchards and blueberry fields through the little communities of Springdale and Corbett. Snow-capped Mount Hood is clearly visible from the road. The road is narrow and winding…driving speed is limited to about 10 miles per hour in many areas. The road’s steep vertical drop from Corbett down to the river is accomplished with a series of figure eight loops that gracefully wind down the mountain. Once there, we were immediately surrounded by mossy tree limbs overhanging the road. We encountered a series of remarkable waterfalls along our route. Horsetail Falls plummets close enough to the road that it misted our windshield! It was a great drive on a nice sunny day. That’s good, because rain is on the way for the weekend.
