Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
The Columbia River forms a natural border between the states of Oregon and Washington. This wide, spectacular river canyon cuts a sea-level route through the Cascade Mountain Range. The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area covers about the middle third of the river as it borders the states. The National Scenic gorge is 80 miles long and ranges in width up to 4,000 ft. The north canyon walls are in Washington State and the south canyon walls are in Oregon State. Each state has a road that parallels the gorge and several bridges that span the water.
One of the most popular attractions at the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area is Multnomah Falls. The second highest year-round waterfall in the United States, Multnomah Falls plummet 620 ft. At the falls, Benson Bridge, crafted by Italian stone masons, enables visitors to cross the falls between the lower and upper portions. Nearby, the Multnomah Falls Lodge, built in 1925, is on the National Register of Historic Places. Once an overnight lodge, the lodge now serves as a USDA Forest Service Information Center, a snack bar, and a gift shop. The upper portion of the lodge is a restaurant. The Multnomah Falls Visitor Center is open daily at Multnomah Falls Lodge.
In addition to Multnomah Falls, the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic area has many other falls, including: Latourell Falls (249 ft plunge), Upper Latourell Falls (75-100 ft plunge), Sheppards Dell Falls (upper 35-50 ft plunge; lower 40-60 ft horsetail), Bridal Veil Falls (60-100; lower 40-60 ft tiered), Wahkeena Falls (242 ft tiered), Fairy Falls (20-30 ft fan), Triple Falls (100-135 ft segmented), Horsetail Falls (176 ft horsetail)), Wahclella Falls (upper 15-25 ft, lower 50-70 tiered), Metlako Falls (100-150 ft plunge), and Punch Bowl Falls (10-15 ft punch bowl).
West of the waterfalls is the historic Vista House at Crown Point State Park. This observatory building on the Historic Columbia River Highway provides a panoramic view of the gorge. Located on top of a 733 ft cliff overlooking the river, this octagonal structure with a copper dome is home to a museum, a gift shop, and a display of historic and geologic points of interest in the river gorge. The Vista House is open from March through October.
Additional recreational opportunities at the Columbia River Gorge include, biking, boating, climbing, camping, fishing, hiking, picnicking, and auto touring.
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI)
The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), founded in 1944, is a world-class attraction and educational resource. One of the top ten science museums in the country, OMSI brings science to life with fun, entertaining information, interactive exhibits, and hands-on displays. OMSI’s 219,000 sq. ft facility includes an IMAX Theater, the largest planetarium in the Northwest, five exhibit halls, and eight science labs. The U.S. Navy’s decommissioned submarine, U.S.S. Blueback is also on display at the OMSI complex. The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is located on the eastern edge of the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon.
With a mission to make science exciting and relevant, OMSI features permanent exhibits that present science in and entertaining and participatory fashion. OMSI offers educational programs, camps, and an outreach program to schools in seven of the western states. Exhibits highlight themes in Life Science and Earth Science. The Exhibit Halls and Hands-on Labs allow visitors to touch a tornado, feel an earthquake, enter the virtual reality world, or dig for fossils. There is a Chemlab, a Physics lab, and a Laser and Holography lab. Special programs and exhibits are offered for smaller children as well, making OMSI a family-friendly destination.
OMSI’s Innovation Station demonstrates innovative and creative uses of technology. Guests can step into the shoes of a designer, engineer, or inventor to discover how technology affects both today and tomorrow. Engineer It! offers hands-on activities using kits for boat-building and bridge-building. Visitors can use a CAD workstation to learn how to design. The Space exhibit features a replica of the Gemini space capsule.
The Harry C. Kendall Planetarium features educational programs with state-of-the-art visuals and special effects on astronomy and space science. The Planetarium offers laser programs that mix electronic music and science fiction themes with a light show. The Laser Holiday Magic show is a popular program that features a mix of holiday music and lights.
The Science Store gift and souvenir shop and a café are on the premises at OMSI. The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is open daily through the summer and Tuesday through Sunday the rest of the year.
Oregon’s Pacific Coast Scenic Byway
The Oregon Coast is home to a number of small towns and villages, plenty of beaches, more state parks and state recreation areas along a coastline than anywhere else (and if it isn’t owned by the state, it is likely a National Recreation Area). The 365 miles of Oregon’s coastline, called the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway, offers a near perpetual view of the ocean and its sandy beaches, seaside cliffs, wind-swept dunes, and agricultural valleys. Between the parks, beaches, quaint towns, fresh seafood, and sites to see, such as the historic bridges and lighthouses, Oregon’s Pacific Coast Scenic Byway is a delightful tourist destination.
Starting at the north end of Oregon, where the mouth of the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean, lies Astoria. This historic city was founded in 1811, six years after the Lewis and Clark expedition opened up the fur trade to the area. It is one of the oldest cities in Oregon. Known for its Victorian architecture, Astoria is host to a number of historic sites; Fort Astoria Park, Heritage Museum, Columbia River Maritime Museum, and the Old Firefighter Museum. Going south along Highway 101, the charming resort town of Seaside is famous for a two-mile beachfront promenade. Tillamook Bay is home to the busy Garibaldi fishing port. The city of Newport hosts two nationally important aquariums. The Oregon Coast Aquarium ranks among the top 10 aquariums in the nation. The Mark O. Hatfield Marine Science Center is the center of Oregon State University's coastal research.
The next segment offers some of the most scenic vistas in Oregon with rugged cliffs, rolling farmlands, and sandy beaches. Here, in the city of Tillamook, the Tillamook cheese factory offers tours of the cheese-making process, as well as an ice cream counter, fudge shop, gift shop, and café. The Tillamook factory, in business for nearly a century, attracts a million visitors each year. The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area is found a little further south at Reedpoint. Coos Bay, a lumber-industry town, ships wood products out of its port that lies in the beautiful bay. The charming coastal village of Bandon is worth a visit, as is Gold Beach, and the mouth of the Rogue River. Oregon’s coastline draws to a close at the Brookings where quaint harbor shops and seaside restaurants make their home.
Oregon's lighthouses stand as monuments to the maritime heritage of the coast of Oregon. The lighthouses of Oregon, in addition to serving as beacons to ocean vessels, are famous as lookouts for wildlife viewing, or whale watching. Several of the lighthouses of Oregon are open for viewing and/or touring. Some are accessible by road, others by hiking. Some charge a nominal fee; others are free or accept donations. The lighthouses from north to south on U.S. Highway 101 are: Tillamook Rock, Cape Meares (shortest tower – area inhabited by sea lions and nesting seabirds), Yaquina Head (tallest tower at 93 ft), Yaquina Bay (second oldest, open as a museum), Heceta Head, Umpqua River, Cape Arago, Coquille River, and Cape Blanco.
There are plenty of recreational opportunities along the Oregon Coast’s Pacific Coast Scenic Byway from fishing, bicycling, scuba diving, hiking, windsurfing and surfing, beachcombing, whale and bird watching and more. Along the coast of Oregon, there are no big metropolitan cities, just quiet seaside places with friendly people in a down-home environment of hospitality every season of the year.