ISO suggestions for Columbia River Gorge trip

June 7, 2008 12:24 PM

Four days, mid-July, mid-week, in the Columbia River Gorge. We want to take day-hikes in different locales but stay somewhere centrally located. Hood River, I assume? Or someplace on the Washington side? Hit me up, hivemind.
posted by Saucy Intruder to travel & transportation (4 comments total)

Skamania Lodge in Stevenson Washington. Hood River would also be nice.
posted by Packy_1962 at 1:56 PM on June 7, 2008

Make sure Beacon Rock is on your day hike list, fun times to be had.
posted by huxley at 2:05 PM on June 7, 2008

I don't have any suggestions on where to stay, but I would suggest you check out

Multnomah Falls
Shaniko, a ghost town in Wasco County, about a 90-min drive from Hood River
Maryhill Museum (never went there, but drove by it many, many times)
Timberline Lodge
or if you want to go a little further, John Day Fossil Beds or Bagby Hot Springs (as seen in the movie "Old Joy")
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 3:42 PM on June 7, 2008

The Maryhill Museum is worth visiting just for the sheer weirdness value. (But it isn't a hike.) The coolest thing there is the crown jewels of Romania. Queen Marie of Romania was a good friend of Sam Hill, the rich-and-crazy guy who built that house for his wife, Mary Hill. When it got turned into a museum, she gave her crown jewels to it for an exhibit, and they've been there ever since.

The rest of the collection transcends eclectic. There's a huge collection of chess sets. There's a bunch of medieval arms and armor. There's a special section which memorializes Loïe Fuller, Sam Hill's mistress, the dancer for the Folies Bergère who invented the fan dance.

It is a magnificent place. Definitely worth a couple of hours to visit.
posted by Class Goat at 4:18 PM on June 7, 2008