Multnomah Falls & Vista House

A few days later, we made a stop at Stevenson, WA where we had the opportunity to do a shore excursion to Oregon's highest, and most well known waterfall. We had a long drive on the Old Scenic Highway which was built in 1913 and is known as "King of the Roads" to get to the falls from our ship.

Multnomah Falls are majestic and gorgeous. At 620 feet tall, these falls are one of Orgeon's most iconic natural beauties.

The bridge was closed during our visit, which made for beautiful, photos, but was also kind of sad we didn't get to see the falls up close.

From Multnomah Falls we drove to Chanticleer Point for breathtaking views of the river and Crown Point.

Our last stop of the day was at the Vista House, known as the Crown Jewel of the Columbia River Gorge. 

Samuel Lancaster, Assistant Highway Engineer for Multnomah County in 1913, supervised the Columbia River Highway project. Lancaster’s proposal to construct a building on the summit of Crown Point was another reflection of his desire to inspire the traveler along the highway and to make the wonders of the gorge accessible.

As Lancaster described it, the Crown Point promontory was the ideal site for “an observatory from which the view both up and down the Columbia could be viewed in silent communion with the infinite.” Such an observatory would also be a fitting memorial to “the trials and hardships of those who had come into the Oregon country.” And it could “serve as a comfort station for the tourist and the travelers of America’s greatest highway.” He suggested it be known as the Vista House.

The volunteers at Vista House, often dress in outfits from when the observatory was built in the early 1900s.

Inside, there is a small gift shop, restrooms and an information desk. There are also stairs up to the second level, outdoor walk way where visitors can get beautiful views of the river.

After quickly touring through this one of a kind rest stop, I spent most of my time outside playing with several dogs that were passing through, like this sweet black and white collie.

Then we drove back to our ship and we set sail that afternoon. My parents and I would often sit out on their balcony and watch the world slowly drift by as we sailed through the river, we had particularly beautiful views now that we had hit the forested area of the gorge. I didn't know that so much of Washington and Oregon is desert!