Between 15,000 and 13,000 years ago, ice dams repeatedly formed and collapsed in Montana, releasing floods of almost unimaginable scale. Glacial Lake Missoula drained in a matter of days each time, walls of water roaring west at speeds of 65 mph, still over 2,000 feet deep when they reached present-day Portland. These floods scoured the basalt, carved coulees, and shaped the landscape we see today.

The result is a gorge unlike any other. Waterfalls cascade from the cliffs - over 90 on the Oregon side alone. Multnomah Falls, the most famous, drops 620 feet in two tiers, accessible from a lodge at its base and visible from the Historic Columbia River Highway. The bountiful moisture on the west side of the Cascades feeds these falls, while the east side transitions to the drier climate of the interior.

Before Interstate 84 was built in the 1950s, the Columbia River Highway served as the main route through the Gorge. Much of that original road still exists, now designated the Historic Columbia River Highway and considered by many the premier way to experience the region. The route winds past waterfalls and viewpoints, climbing to Crown Point's Vista House for panoramic views before descending to the river.

Today, driving the Historic Highway requires planning - during summer months, a Timed Use Permit is required to access the Multnomah Falls parking lots from I-84. But the extra effort rewards with a journey that feels like traveling back in time, the stone walls and graceful bridges of the original highway offering a slower, more intimate experience than the interstate below.

Mount Hood rises 11,249 feet above sea level, visible from Portland and from vantage points throughout the Gorge. The mountain is considered a mountaineering hotspot, its standard route via the south side drawing thousands of climbers each year despite the objective hazards of crevasses and rockfall. For less committed visitors, the Timberline Lodge offers food and lodging at 6,000 feet, built by WPA craftsmen during the Depression and now a National Historic Landmark.

Year-round skiing exists on the Palmer Snowfield, one of the few places in North America where serious skiers train through summer. The 40-mile Timberline Trail encircles the mountain at elevation, a world-class backpacking route that connects to the Pacific Crest Trail. Shorter day hikes branch from trailheads along OR-35 and US-26, offering wildflower meadows, glacier views, and the chance to watch the mountain's weather change from hour to hour.

The Gorge is a wind tunnel - warm air from the dry interior pulled west toward the cooler coast, or coastal marine air sucked inland as the desert heats. Wind speeds regularly exceed 30 mph, and the result is world-class windsurfing and kiteboarding centered on Hood River. The same wind powers the turbines that line the ridges, their blades turning steadily against the sky.

The Columbia itself offers fishing for salmon and steelhead, the native tribes that have lived here for millennia still exercising treaty rights at traditional fishing sites. Eagle Creek Trail, perhaps the most famous hike in the Gorge, passes multiple waterfalls including one where the trail tunnels behind the cascade. Though a 2017 wildfire burned much of the drainage, the trail has reopened and remains popular, the forest slowly recovering around blackened snags.