Beacon Rock State Park is a 5,100-acre year-round camping park located on the Washington State side of the Columbia River Gorge. The park is famous for the historical 848-foot rock, and boaters value the Columbia River moorage and boat ramp. It was near Beacon Rock that Lewis and Clark first measured tidal influences from the Pacific Ocean on the Columbia River.
The park's largely unappreciated value lies in thirteen miles of old fire roads and twelve miles of hiking trails. The State Department of Natural Resources logged the area in the early 1960s, leaving a network of old roads.
A connection between fire roads on the west and east sides evolved in the mid to late 1990s by adventurous hikers, and that informal path has just been improved. Working in partnership with the Washington Trails Association, Backcountry Horsemen of Washington and others, the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission has created a 1.6-mile connecting route that offers hikers easy access to spectacular views from both the east and west sides of the rock.
Source article, containing more information
Hardy Ridge a hiker haven in the Gorge | The News Tribune - Northwest
More points of interest near Beacon Rock State Park
Mt. Hood National Forest
Gifford Pinchot National Forest
Ainsworth State Park
Hamilton Island Boat Ramp
Fort Cascades Historic Site
Franz Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Monday, June 15, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment