Columbia River Gorge, Oregon - Day 1

It's a three hour drive from Bend to Hood River along the Columbia River Gorge, but it took us a bit longer as we made a few stops along the way. We had read that Trillium Lake is a picturesque spot (with Mount Hood towering over the lake) that has a short, walkable trail that loops around the lake. When we got to the lake, we discovered this is a very popular lake for swimming and kayaking. The shore was packed with people and very little social distancing was happening. So we found a spot away from the crowds to take a few pictures and decided to skip the trail.

Trillium Lake with Mount Hood in the distance

Up next was a visit to the Timberline Lodge. The lodge sits at an elevation of 6000 feet on the side of Mount Hood. It is a historic hotel that was built during the Great Depression as a way of creating jobs and stimulating the economy under FDR’s Works Progress Administration. The lobby of the Timberline Lodge is open to the public and has several interesting exhibits and a short movie that describe the history and construction of the lodge. Today, many people recognize the exterior of the lodge as it was featured in the movie, The Shining, as the Overlook Hotel. 

The Timberline ski resort is open to skiers year-round - it was strange to see skiers and snowboarders walking through the parking lot wearing their gear when the daytime temperature was in the mid 80’s!

The Timberline Lodge

We continued on our way to the Columbia River Gorge. When I made our camping reservations two months ago, all of the campgrounds on the Oregon side were not taking reservations due to the corona virus. But I was able to secure a spot at the Bridge RV Park in White Salmon, Washington just across the bridge from Hood River. It was a very convenient location except for the fact that the bridge between Hood River and White Salmon is very narrow and RVs are not recommended on it. So with our trailer hitched to the truck, we had to drive 15 miles east to cross the bridge at The Dalles and then drive 15 miles back on the Washington side to get to our campground.

We had read good reviews for the Solstice restaurant along the river, so we headed there after we unhitched. There was a long wait for a table, so we passed the time by watching the wind surfers and kite surfers on the river from Waterfront Park. It was such fun to watch! Once our table was ready, we both enjoyed a yummy wood-fired pizza from Solstice.