I am planning on touring the Williamette Valley Bikeway this summer. I think I want to also include a short tour of the Historic Columbia River Highway along the gorge.

The winds in the gorge are well known. My concern is riding into that for 20-30 miles. I have been searching and searching and can't seem to find what the direction of the wind is in the summer. I am seeing things all over the place. It seems the winds are from the west but I am still not 100% certain.

My plan would be to catch a shuttle from the airport and stay at Cascade Locks, then ride back toward Portland in the morning. Would I be facing strong headwinds or not?

Winds are "almost" always from the west. And strong.
That's why Hood River is a wind surfing destination.
In late August and September, however, they can be easterly.
That is due to heat build-up in the interior and cooler coastal temps.

On my first x-USA trip in '87, I started from Astoria on Sept. 1.
I was counting on tailwinds in the gorge, but I had headwinds.
And I was an unhappy cowboy. I stopped and asked a native guy fishing.
He said, "Yep, they're usually from the west - except in late summer."

My next x-USA trip found me riding west in the gorge in early August.
I had 30 to 40 mph headwinds - and it was brutal.
Go figure.

Live and learn.
YMMV - Any day of the week.

Yep, like [MENTION=10057]jamawani[/MENTION] mentions, the predominant summer* wind direction in the Columbia River Gorge is from the west. Heading eastbound, you'll have a nice tailwind. Westbound, a headwind. The wind tends to get stiffer the further east you go. Riding back from Cascade Locks, you will most likely feel some headwind, but it usually isn't a soul-sucking one. Further east than that, however...

It might be nicer to ride east through the Gorge from Troutdale or Gresham and catch the shuttle in Cascade Locks. Or, if you cross the Bridge of the Gods to Stevenson, Skamania County runs a bus service called WET (West End Transit). This bus runs Mon-Fri all year and weekends in summer. The bus travels between Fishers Landing in Vancouver to Carson and Stevenson via WA SR 14. And the buses have bike racks! Public Transportation | Senior Services

Also worth noting: The predominant summer wind direction in the Willamette Valley is from the NW. But the winds here are not as big a deal as the Gorge.

And another note: The Eagle Creek Fire has closed most of the Oregon side trails in the Gorge. Some of them may reopen in summer. They are expecting some landslides to happen along the road where fire affected the slopes. So you may want to see what the conditions are like before you go. But if you can get to the Gorge, it's worth it, and A LOT more scenic than the Willamette Valley IMHO.


Have a fun tour!

*In the winter, wind direction reverses, wind predominantly out of the east.

Wind & Weather Statistics - Columbia River Gorge @ x WindFinder.com.

Thanks for the info. This is not what I wanted to hear but expected.

But maybe this opens up options?

It is only 27 miles from Troutdale to Cascade Locks. I could easily make that on my arrival day to the airport. I assume there is a bike shop in Troutdale where I could ship my bike?

Does the Bridge of the Gods allow bicycles? Looks like no? If not I wonder if I could get a shuttle from the hotel across the bridge.

Yeah I know that there are probably more beautiful places to tour than the Williamette Valley but one, I needed a low stress tour to get me back in the saddle (so to speak) on touring. Plus I will likely be going by myself for the first time do less stress there too. But really the main reason for the tour is so I can take the train back home out of Sacramento. I took the train from Seattle last year and loved it.

My other question would be, are bicycle allowed on Route 5 out of Vancouver to cross the bridge?

You are welcome!

"East County" (anything east of I-205) is a bike shop desert. Nothing in Troutdale. There's one in downtown Gresham, they may be able to accept the bike. Or, you could ship to something in Portland (like Velo Cult) and take transit to Troutdale or Gresham (or just ride, it adds about 8 miles onto the trip.)

Yes, they allow bicycles. They even allow pedestrians on the Bridge of the Gods, despite lack of sidewalks. In fact, the BOG is the way the Pacific Crest Trail crosses the Columbia (and the lowest point on the PCT.) So, it is one of the few sections of the PCT you can legally bike!


The section from Troutdale to Corbett would be the most stressful section of the Historic Columbia River Hwy. After that, it calms down but there can be tourist traffic in summer. Thankfully the traffic is going pretty slow and stopping at the same places you'll be!

Are you getting a sleeper car between PDX and Sacramento?

Bicycles can ride the sidewalks of Interstate Bridge, I-5's Columbia River crossing. They can't ride on I-5 anywhere else in the metro area.

There's a bike path on the other crossing, the Glenn Jackson Bridge (I-205).

Are you considering riding on the north (Washington) side of the Gorge?

Yes... Windsurfing around Hood River is popular..
(meteorology 101; hotter low density air goes up , replaced by cooler higher density air,.. so look at the relative temperatures)

in the winter that Gorge, also lets the cold air mass out from behind the Cascades.. westward..


ODOT publishes on paper a state wide recommended bike routes map..

Here is one for the coast https://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/Programs/...-route-map.pdf



LBS, here, gets Case lot Boxes.



...

Thanks again, This is all actually good news.

I won't be getting the train from Portland. I will ride the Williamette from Portland to Eugene. It will be from Eugene, to Sacramento, to Chicago to Pittsburgh. As yes I will have a sleeper. Expensive but they are wonderful! I highly recommend. I have not decided if I want a sleeper for the Eugene to Sacramento leg or not. I believe that is a overnight leg.

I as going to stop at Crater Lake and tour that but thought about the stress factor. The stop complicates things a little.

If I take the bus Adventure mentioned I assume I will be crossing from the Washington side in Vancouver. Though 205 looks more interesting. I need to see if there is a stop there.

Edit: Well I guess 205 goes through Vancouver too. Would 205 be the better option? I am looking on getting on the bike path to Oregon City.

The Fishers Landing bus stop is closer to the 205 bridge, but you can do it either way. It's usually easier to take the I-205 Bridge coming back that way, depending on where you need to end up in Portland.

Yep, it's an overnight section on the Coast Starlight. If you don't do a sleeper, I recommend business class. It costs a bit more than coach, but you generally get a quieter/roomier car, a voucher for food service (I think it's $10), and access to the Pacific Parlour Car!

And I hate being that guy, but...it's spelled Willamette. Only one I.

Looks like the bus drops me just blocks from 205.

Edit: Beat me to it.

Oh thanks for the correction. I will smack you back if you want to come to "Pittsburg" to ride the Great Allegeny Passage.


Yeah I was considering Business Class for that leg as a compromise. Looks pretty comfy.

If you're flying across the country, double check road conditions before making the trip.

Much of the old highway, and I believe also the bike paths were closed due to the fire last fall.

The fire burnt from Cascade Locks all the way to Multnomah Falls. It was HUGE... caused by some kids and fireworks (hard to say if it was intentional or not).

I've driven along that section of I-84 since the fire, but haven't done any hiking/biking. Certainly a lot of black trees, but obviously not everything was killed.

I believe the Multnomah Falls lodge has finally re-opened, but much of the old highway remains closed.

If a person is local, then it might be a fun trip, but traveling to see it, there might be a benefit of waiting a year or two for stuff to begin to recover.

Thanks I am aware. I will need to figure a backup plan for that day I guess. Maybe just wander around the Portland area of the gorge? Hopefully the highway and bike paths will be open by July. And I am not coming just for the gorge. There is also the Willamete Valley and the train back home. It would be disappointing if I had to miss the gorge. I wish I had taken the time to see it last time I was in Portland.

Yea, the Fires there last summer have left some longer term issues.

I've done the Willamette Valley ride several times now. I always vary the route somewhat. It is quite beautiful wandering through farmlands. There is always a good chunk of riding from Portland to Champoeg, but I've been experimenting with new routes for that section.

I haven't been on the Banks Vernonia trail, but that could make for a nice day trip.

Banks-Vernonia State Trail - Oregon State Parks and Recreation

You could probably also choose a route to ride to Astoria.

I would like to wait for things to return to normal but I am not sure if the Zephyr will wait. The train really is th e main reason for this trip. That and it looks like this one is going to be fairly easy. I need something easy to get back into the swing of things.

Looks like that is pretty far west. Likely not for this trip. But it does look really nice.

I've crossed the Columbia River before, probably that 205 bridge. It's a pretty awesome ride, the locals are just too used to it, and take it for granted. 😁

The light rail goes from downtown Portland to Hillsboro where you can pick up the Tualatin Valley Scenic Bikeway. And, buses further to Forest Grove.

I think one of the Portland groups did a ride there a while ago.

Anyone interested in a non-epic C&V ride in the Tualatin Valley?
https://ridewithgps.com/ambassador_r...scenic-bikeway

Anyway, just an option depending on what the Gorge is like for next summer. Hopefully they'll get everything mostly opened as it could be a major tourist nightmare if it remains closed.

This was taken near Hood River on June 1st. It would have been a headwind riding from Portland. It is a crapshoot. I used to ride from Trout Lake, WA (25 mile north of Hood River) to Portland regularly, and the wind could be coming from either the west or east, depending on the day.



I drove through the Gorge earlier this week on my way back from Montana. There was one heck of an east wind. They were working on some of the bike trail that was close to the highway.

This was taken in late May, and there was very little wind.

A local sailor told me the winds blow from the west 10 out of 9 days. But we just had some fierce east winds in the Gorge last week with gusts in excess of 75 mph. The summer wind tends to be driven by convection heating east of the Cascades sucking the air up the Gorge and getting stronger as the day progresses. Best bet if you are west bound is to start as early as possible. Often early morning it is flat calm.