My camping equipment

My camping equipment
Campsite setup

Sunday, July 18, 2021

Summer Trip 2021, Viento State Park, Columbia River Gorge, Cascades Locks, Oregon

 Viento State Park



This scenic area is very special indeed as it is located west of Hood River, Oregon in the Columbia River Gorge. Viento is accessible via the historic Columbia River Highway State Trail that combined is comprised of 12 plus miles of thrilling scenery and spectacular geological formations.

The Columbia River cuts through the Cascade mountain range

Horsetail Falls off of historic highway 30

Wahkeena Falls off of historic highway 30

The Bridge of the God's crosses over the Columbia River Gorge at Cascades Locks just west of Viento State Park. It is a majestic span. It is one of the few bridges in this area that crosses the wide Columbia river.


The campsites at Viento State Park are nicely spaced with electric and water. The bath houses have showers and restrooms that are clean and spacious. At this point in our trip we had 17 straight days of dry camping with no electric and many case no shower facilities so we were happy to have the conviences that most take for granted. 


We visited nearby Bonneville dam just west of Viento State Park. We marveled at the massive project that was completed in the mid 1930's just after the great depression. This facility produces 1 million kilowatts of clean energy to the Pacific northwest from the massive flow of the Columbia river driving it multiple generators

US army Corps of Engineers visitors center at Bonneville dam

The massive Bonneville dam as it drops 60 feet to produce energy

The fish ladder at Bonneville, Salmon can be seen climbing the runs to spawn

Rose blooming in a garden just outside the visitors center

The Columbia River Gorge is a beautiful place with vistas that are majestic. The area is a jewel of place that we feel so blessed to have experienced on our trip out west this year.




We visited Hood River, Oregon 10 miles east of Viento. In this area folks enjoy Wing Foil surfing. It is a relatively new sport out here that has caught on in a big way. We marveled at the skill level it takes to maneuver across the wide Columbia river. There were a lot of folks who were enjoying the lovely July summer day on the water using the wind to propel there boards across the waves.







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