Wahclella Falls (Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, OR)

Wahclella Falls, Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, August 2024 On the morning of day six of the cross-country trip, we were still in northern Oregon an popped in for a short hike in the Columbia River Gorge before tracking eastward… Not to be confused with nearby Wahkeena Falls, the stem-and-loop hike described here features …

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Wahkeena – Multnomah Falls Loop (Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, OR)

Wiesendanger Falls, Wahkeena - Multnomah Falls Loop, Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, July 2024 After three days on the Oregon coast, day five of the cross-country adventure brought us to Portland, Oregon—where we happened upon the annual convention of the National Parks Travelers Club—and ventured out on some hikes in the nearby Columbia River …

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Humbug Mountain Trail (Humbug Mountain State Park, OR)

Humbug Mountain Trail, Humbug Mountain State Park, July 2024 This marks the first of a long series of posts from a cross-country haul in July-August from northern California to Washington, DC. Alas, after five years in California, it was time to return to the east coast. After heading north from the Bay Area, day two …

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Natural Bridges (Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor, OR)

Natural Bridges, Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor, January 2021 As if the secret beaches, spectacular cliffside vistas, and crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean were not enough, Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor on the southern Oregon coast also boasts a number of natural bridges—iconic archways carved by the sea. The Natural Bridges viewpoint—at …

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Indian Sands Loop (Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor, OR)

Indian Sands Loop, Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor, January 2021 The Indian Sands area, situated near the middle of Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor, is a collection of crisp, windswept dunes, towering headlands, and thundering coves along the southern Oregon coast. Starting and ending at the Indian Sands Trailhead (mile marker 348.6 on …

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Thunder Rock Cove Loop (Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor, OR)

Thunder Rock Cove Loop, Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor, January 2021 Southwest Oregon’s Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor features some of the finest stretches of shoreline on the Pacific coast of the United States, and the short-but-spectacular Thunder Rock Cove Loop traverses one of its most picturesque pockets. The brief circuit skirts towering …

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Cape Ferrelo Loop (Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor, OR)

Cape Ferrelo Loop, Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor, January 2021 For 296 miles, the restless Pacific Ocean laps up against the Oregon Coast, producing chilly beaches, windswept rock outcrops, and imposing sea stacks. While some more peaceful, wide-open beaches may be found further south in California, the word that best describes the Oregon seashore …

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Sun Notch Trail (Crater Lake National Park, OR)

Sandwiched between two precipitous peaks, the Sun Notch Trail is a short and scenic circuit hike in Oregon’s Crater Lake National Park that features five fine views of Crater Lake in quick succession. From the caldera rim, situated atop a cliff that drops more than 1,000 feet, hikers can see Wizard Island, the Phantom Ship, …

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Crater Lake National Park, OR

Oregon’s Crater Lake, America’s deepest lake, is also arguably its bluest. Fed entirely by rain water and snowmelt, this natural wonder and centerpiece of Crater Lake National Park was formed after the explosion of an ancient volcano—Mount Mazama—about 7,700 years ago. Volcanic features dot the landscape around the lake, including the Pinnacles, a set of …

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