There are two historic stops along the Columbia River, not far from Hood River, that cannot be missed, Multnomah Falls and the Bonneville Fish Hatchery.
At 620 feet, Multnomah Falls is the tallest waterfall in Oregon. It is conveniently located right off of the Columbia River Highway and, as a result, it is the most visited natural recreation site in the Pacific Northwest. Benson Footbridge was built in 1914 to give visitors an opportunity to see upper falls. It is so popular these days you need a $2 timed entry permit through recreation.gov to park your vehicle and see the waterfall.
Just minutes past Multnomah Falls is Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s largest hatchery facility, Bonneville Hatchery. The hatchery was built in 1909, is free to visit, and is as beautiful as it is fascinating. Here they spawn, incubate, rear, feed, and eventually release 275,000 steelhead, 8,500,000 chinook salmon and 1,200,000 coho salmon each year.
Such a pretty place! Gorgeous waterfall!
One of may favorite memories is of when my dad let me drive our huge family car (Plymouth Fury 3) to Hood River to visit Grandma. I had just graduated from high school. My younger brother and sister were with me, and once we crossed into Oregon (from Seattle), we took the Old Columbia River Highway. We stopped at every waterfall along the way, including the beautiful Multnomah Falls. It took us almost 8 hours to get from Seattle to Hood River, and because we were having so much fun it didn’t occur to me that our parents and Grandma would be worried about us. (I apologized profusely!)
And still, every time Bill and I travel to Oregon, we make a stop at Multnomah and I remember that trip. It is truly beautiful.
We have to stop every time too! It’s magical. Even if you have to share it.