Riding along the Columbia River?
 

We are on tour on the Lewis & Clark route and presently in Clarkston, WA.
We have had people give us different accounts of which side of the river to ride.
Would anyone be able and willing to help us decide?
Thanks!!

South side.

Tough Call - The south side has The Historic Columbia River Trail (Rails to Trails) and sections of the Historic Columbia River Hwy (open to traffic) It also has some stretches where you'll be forced to ride on Interstate I84. I hear the ride along the Rowena Crest is real scenic too. I've never done it - not sure how tough route finding would be. I know there'll be more elevation gain. The Washington side is narrow and sometimes busy. IMO the Oregon side is more scenic. There's access to many hiking trails to waterfalls. The Oregon side of the Columbia has a listed 77 waterfalls.

If you're okay with lots of elevation gain and noise when riding on Hwy I84, I'd go with the Oregon side. I've driven both sides, but never ridden them. A web search might turn up more information. I'm not sure how tolerable riding on I84 would be so I'm not advocating either side.

North side west of Longview. WA SR 4 is way more scenic and a lot less traffic than OR 30. I've ridden & driven both. It gets down right pastoral from Little Cape Horn/Cathlamet to Naselle. Actually...ride to Westport on 30, then take the ferry to the Cathlamet side. That'd be fun too though you'd miss a nice long river side ride in the Stella area. At Naselle you turn left then in a few miles you are along the Columbia till the Bridge or continue to Cape D and Pacific Ocean. A fab finish is at the base of the North Head lighthouse where you can see 30-40 miles north and south along the coast.

North side from Umatilla to Biggs, then the south side. You'll have to deal with I-84 for a ways but once you hit The Dalles, the riding goes onto the Columbia Highway which is much better than the north side. The south side is much more scenic.

Don't skip a visit to the Mary Hill museum before you cross over to the south side. Worth the visit.

What cyccommute said. You can also stay on the north side (Wash.) until just north of The Dalles (jct with US 197) then cross south there. Doing that would mean avoiding a few miles of 84 east of The Dalles. If you stay on the Washington/SR 14 side after that junction, you won't be able to cross to the south side until after Stevenson at the Bridge of the Gods, since the Hood River Bridge prohibits cyclists. While there still is about 10 miles of I-84 you'll have to take between Hood River and Cascade Locks, you'll get two choice bits of the Historic Columbia River Hwy: the Rowena Curves/Crest, and the Mosier Twin Tunnels (closed to cars.) And Hood River is a nice little town, too, though touristy.

No matter what side you take, brace yourself for the fierce headwind that will be likely once you get down to the Columbia River.

WA Puget Island ferry to Westport OR is OK , But the winding section of US30 west of the Wauna Paper mill
you share the narrow road with Trucks carrying Wood chips from west of Astoria all the way to the Mill

consider taking one of the routes to Vernonia south of 30 north of 26.. and coming to Astoria via 202.
Best on sunday when Log Truck drivers go to church, and are not on the road.

Yea Summer hot air in the interior will be replaced by cooler air from the sea ,= headwinds west bound

and the Dalles~Hood River, is where the river cuts thru the Cascades .. a natural funnel.

start early in the Morning , there .

I don't know how current everyone's info is, but there was a change for the better recently in regards to route choices in this area:

http://www.bikeforums.net/pacific-no...nk-filled.html

There's a reason why Hood River is the wind surfing capital of the U.S.
I can recall fighting the headwind in my granny gear and cursing the fates.
And it's an equal-opportunity wind on both sides of the border.

If you are not opposed to going off route and bypassing Portland metro -
You can head north to Goldendale on US 97 - then Glenwood Road (paved) -
Then Forest Road 23 north from Trout Lake and FR 90 (both paved) west to Hwy 503.
Where FR 23 and 90 meet you are not far from spectacular Takhlakh Lake. (gravel)

Another option from the Tri-Cities is to follow the Yakima Valley to Yakima -
Then take the lovely US 12 route over White Pass and the Old Pacific Hwy to Longview.

West of I-5 - - I agree with the arguments in favor of the Washington side.
Cathlamet is a charming town on the Columbia -
The wildlife refuge has a paved back road along the river - - super!
And camping at Skamokawa is simply the finest.

Ending your trip at Cape Disappointment is no disappointment.
Cliffs, lighthouses, a nice little swimming cove between the rocks.
Fort Stevens is O.K., but just O.K.

<<<>>>

I've ridden both sides of the river a number of times.
Hwy 14 on the Wash side is pretty remote west of I-82, light to mod traffic.
I-84 on the Ore side has good shoulders, but interstate traffic - safe but annoying.
Hwy 14 west of the Dalles really starts to get bad traffic and has limited shoulders.
The Old Columbia River Hwy and its connecting trails is super - waterfalls and Vista House.
Traffic is light except on weekends when it is a popular outing - plus a lot of climbing.

Check the wind forecast and if its really bad consider US 12 via Yakima.
There are back roads all the way to Naches and the stretch around Rimrock is lovely.
Open views, trees, mountains, river, lake - plus plenty of camping.

Safe trip - - J

PS - The Dalles had 20-40 mph winds yesterday and already blowing this morning.
(Sometimes you can get in the miles early in the morning before the wind picks up.)

Yep, I knew about that. There still is the "missing link" that needs to be filled between Cascade Locks and Hood River, so for now there's still about 10 miles of freeway riding between the two.

What is the smoke situation from the fires? I heard the Columbia was getting significant smoke,

I lived ion Trout Lake, Washington for a awhile, and could sometimes ride from 103 miles to Portland in 5 hours. There were three things that made this possible: It is downhill for the first 25 miles, there as often a tailwind, and I was a heck of a lot younger:)

I'd ride it quite often to my wife's folk's place, and ride back home with my family, in a car.On the occasions tht there wee westerly winds I'd ride back from Portland.

Looking south across the Columbia from Hood River. It looks like a good day to be heading west!

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...05b0d83bd4.jpg

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...6ba7e959a0.jpg