Here is an ASCII map of the Gorge from Portland to Maryhill, which shows the approximate distances between towns.
N ^ W<-|-E I-84 *============*===================*===============*===============* Portland <45 Cascade Locks <15 Hood River <20 The Dalles <20 Maryhill Miles Miles Miles MilesHere is a URL where a much better map: Map
Late season starts in September and goes through November with West and East wind days and more no wind days. Windsight has provided some data on sailable days for the year 1994. A sailable day is defined by them as a day that contained a 3 hour time period where the one minute wind speed average was 15 MPH or greater. This calculation does not include wind gusts. For a day to be considered sailable there only had to be one place on the river that met the above specifications. This means that there could have been sailing from Rooster Rock in the West to Arlington in the East or anywhere in between. East wind days were included which helped the numbers for March and November.
Air Air Mo Stevenson Swell Doug's Maryhill Arlington Water F High F Low F Rain -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jan 22 0 0 0 0 43-46 49 34 1.02 Feb 10 3 2 0 3 39-42 43 29 1.96 March 9 2 1 5 8 40-48 59 34 .51 April 9 13 11 10 12 48-55 64 42 .25 May 11 13 9 9 13 54-61 71 47 .32 June 14 18 19 14 20 60-65 73 49 .23 July 23 26 24 18 18 65-73 85 56 .01 Aug 18 24 22 14 16 70-73 91 54 .00 Sept 7 15 7 7 9 68-70 81 47 .08 Oct 8 8 6 10 15 57-68 63 37 3.05 Nov 8 5 1 7 11 48-57 41 32 2.26 Dec 11 0 0 2 1 44-48 43 32 1.30Average Water Temperature at Bonneville Dam Average Air Temperatures & Rainfall at Hood River Note: September 94 was unusually calm; 20-22 sailable days is more likely.
Updates to the Temperature data can be found at the followintg URL. It also contains outflow data from the Dams which should give a very good idea about how big the swell will be.
Water Temperature and Dam Outflow Information
There are a number of state parks where you can camp. Most of the year you can find a place to stay without a problem. On holiday weekends you should plan to get a camp spot by noon or you may have trouble. The favorite windsurfing camp spot is Memaloose State Park. It cost about $8.00 per night which includes hot showers.
Some of the other parks are as follows:
Name Location Comments -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Home Valley Washington - 15 miles West of the Hatchery Trains/Sailing Viento Oregon - 5 miles West of Hood River Trains/Sailing Tucker Park Oregon - 5 miles South of Hood River Quiet Great American Oregon - 15 miles South of Mosier Quiet Adventure Memaloose Oregon - 12 miles East of Hood River My favorite Avery Park Washington - 8.5 Miles from East of the Free/Sailing Dalles Bridge Maryhill Park Washington - North end of Sam Hill Bridge Expert Sailing Peach Beach Washington - Just East of Maryhill Park Expert SailingHere is a URL where more camping information can be found: Camping
People who do not wish to camp you can try one of these:
Name Location Phone Comments ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Skamania Lodge Stevenson Washington 1-800-221-7117 New and nice State Street B&B Hood River 541-386-1899 River View Columbia Gorge Hotel Hood River 541-386-5566 Viev of Hatchery Inn at the Dalles The Dalles 541-296-1167 View of Dam Hood River Inn Hood River 1-800-335-9145 On the River Vagabond Lodge Hood River 541-386-2992 View of River Bingen School Inn Bingen 509-493-3363 Inexpensive Cgoc@gorge.net http://www.gorge.net/lodging/cgoc Hood River Hotel Hood River 800-386-1900 Downtown Lucy & Joe's Heavy Air Gorge Rowena 541-298-1513 800-544-7211 John Moyer Rowena 541-296-8998 On the River Hatchery Overlook B&B Underwood, WA 509-493-4122 PWILSON@GORGE.NET Steve Higgins Hood River 503-645-8438 shiggins@hevanet.com Here is a link to more lodging information:Lodging InformatonPeople who wish to rent a place should try the following:
Name Phone -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Northwest Investment Management - Hood River 541-386-3770 Mid-Columbia Property Management - Hood River 541-386-7666
A car makes sailing the Gorge much easier. If you find the wind to strong or to weak in one place you can usually move East or West to a place that fits your needs. A good roof rack is a must. If you are driving 65 MPH on the freeway into a 40 or 50 MPH head wind your boards and gear are seeing over 100 MPH of wind.
The largest selection of used equipment is at Windance. They usually have 30 to 40 boards and several hundred sails on consignment. They also have lots of new equipment and good advice. 2ND Wind Sports also has used equipment.
The following lists of phone numbers were taken from the Yellow Pages dated April 1998.
Big Winds Hood River 541-386-4044 Front Street Sailboards 541-386-4044 Gorge Animal Custom Sailboard 541-385-5524 Lester Polyester'Surf Shop 541-386-5524 Open Ocean (Lyle WA) 509-365-4115 Promotion Wetsuits 541-386-3278 Sail World 541-386-9400 Gorge Surf House 541-386-1699 Windance 541-386-2131 2nd Wind Sports 541-386-4464 Windwing Design 541-386-3861The above list shows shops but in some cases they make their own line of equipment. Windance is a good example. They build their own boards as well as run a shop. There are a number of other companies that build equipment but may not have a shop. Here is a list:
Big Winds Hood River 541-386-6086 Body Skins-Wetsuits 541-386-3637 Carbon Creations 541-386-9292 Cascade Custom Sailboards 541-478-3441 Chinook 541-374-5005 DDG INC/Windsurfing Hawaii 509-427-8113 Dakine Hawaii Inc 541-386-3166 Doug's Sports 541-386-5787 Fanatic Sailboards 541-385-9500 Gorge Animal Custom Sailboards 541-386-5524 Gorge Gear-Soft Goods Access 541-386-2037 Gorge House 541-386-1699 Gorge Jump Padz 541-386-1980 Gorge Surf House 509-386-1699 Hifly North America Inc 509-493-1744 Hood River Outfitters 541-386-6202 No Limitz 509-493-4494 Outside Sports 541-386-9500 Padz 541-386-1980 Petitt Sailboards 541-386-4620 ProMotion Wetsuits 541-386-3278 R B S Inc 541-386-7677 Real Wind Custom Sailboards 541-386-3693 Rutger Boards 541-386-5733 Sail World 541-386-9400 Sun Sacks 509-365-5421 Windance Sailboards 541-386-2131 Windsystems 509-493-3200 Windwing Designs 541-386-3681 Zepher Sailboards 509-493-4811There are a number of custom Sail lofts in the Gorge. Here is a list:
Gastra Sails 541-385-9500 Gorge Sails (MP 61.3 Hwy 14 Underwood WA) 509-493-4525 Ezzy Sails (Hood River) 541-386-8717 Northwave (Hood River) 541-386-6156 Sail Works USA (Hood River) 541-386-7879 Oceanic Sails (Hood River) 541-386-1428 Windwing Design 541-386-3861Other important Windsurfing Numbers:
American Windsurifng Industries Assoc. 509-493-9463 E-Mail Compuserve 71760,3530 Fax 509-493-9464 Internet scottsee@pipeline.com Columbia Gorge Windsurfing Association 541-386-9225 United States Windsurfing Association 541-386-8708 WIA Windsurfing Instructors of America 541-427-7111 Windsight 541-386-7555
Big Winds 541-386-4044 Rhonda Smith Windsurfing 541-386-9463
Location Name Notes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (8) The Hook (Hood River Sail Park West) Learning Waterstarts (11) The Dalles Sail Park Learning Waterstarts (2) Home Valley Long board mornings short board afternoons
Location Name Notes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (9) Hood River Marina Learning jibes on flat water (9) Hood River Event Site Small Swells (1) Stevenson Sail Park Small Swells less wind (5) Bingen Sail Park Small Swells (10) Rowena Small Swells
Location Name Notes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (4) Spring Creek Fish Hatchery Large Swells lots of wind (6) Doug's Beach Large Swells lots of wind (3) Swell City Large Swells lots of wind (7) Maryhill State Park Large Swells lots of wind (12) Rufus Large Swells lots of windThe following ASCII map will give an idea of the location of each spot. The numbers in the list above refer to the spots on the map.
N ^ W<-|-E Columbia River Gorge (1) (2) (3)(4) (5) (6) (7) *============*==================*===============*==============*======= (8)(9) (10) (11) (12) Portland <45 Cascade Locks <15 Hood River <20 The Dalles <20 Maryhill Miles Miles Miles MilesHere is a URL where a much better map can be found: Map of the Columbia River
There is good hiking, rock climbing, mountain biking white water rafting, summer skiing, and falls to see as well as lots and lots of shopping to do in the windsurfing stores so you will be ready when the wind starts to blow again. Remember that Oregon at this point has no sales tax.
Many people are afraid to leave the beach incase the wind should start blowing. On at least one hike you can keep your eye on both the Hatchery and Rowena/Dougs. This hike starts at the Rowena overlook and heads up the mountain. You can see both sailing spots from at least one point. It may take you a little while to get to the water but you will know when the wind starts to blow.
The Columbia River Gorge has a plant called Poison Oak. It has three shiny leaves that grow together from the ground or in a bush. The leaves have oil (Urushiol) on them that cause an allergic reaction for most people. The first symptoms are a spot that itches. It will show up about 2 or 3 days after touching the plant. The spot then swells up and finally breaks open to an ugly weeping sore that still itches. The best solution is to stay away from the stuff. If you get into it and start to itch, get so me good strong soap such as Lava and scrub the spot VERY VERY well. You can also use alcohol. If you catch it soon enough, (within about one hour) you can stop the reaction. Remember that anything such as a wetsuit or cloths that you touched during the 3 days needs to be washed. If it gets too bad you will need to visit a doctor.
There are rattle snakes in the Gorge and the farther East you go the more common they become. I have seen one at the Hatchery so even near Hood River they can be found. Use common sense and don't get within striking distance. Long pants and boots will help a lot if you do happen to get too close.
As more and more people come to the Gorge, windsurfers are becomming a danger to themselves. There are no lines painted on the water so each person needs to know the rules. A few simple rules will help:
1. Always look before you jibe. You expect other people will look for you, so please do the same for them.
2. If you are on a reach and your right hand is next to the mast you have the right of way. This means that another sailor who is coming towards you should change course to prevent a collision, and you should hold your course so he can avoid you. If the other sailor doesn't appear to figure this out, you should avoid him rather than have a collision just to prove you had the right of way. If you have just turned or are riding waves, it's up to you to avoid others on a steady course.
3. Many people like to impress their friends by doing high speed jibes as near to shore as possible. This often causes the people who are trying to waterstart a big problem. Some of the worst collisions happen when someone misses a jibe and runs into a person who is down in the water.
K-105.5-FM broadcasts a Wind Forcast at 6:52,7:56,8:56,and 9:56. They also have afternoon updates. They have a free 24-hour updated weather phone at 541-386-1336 or dial #1340 on your Cellular One Phone.
Most of the shops rent pagers. These devices will tell you the current wind speads at many of the major sailing areas. IWindsurf is the current provider of this information and they have several plans. You can purchase the full pager deal or just web access to the current wind readings. If you are not familar with the Gorge a pager will increase the number of days that you sail.
Hood River Memorial Hospital-13th & May St Hood River 541-386-3911 Mid Columbia Medical Center-1700 East 19th The Dalles 541-296-1111 Skyline Hospital-211 Skyline DR White Salmon 509-493-1000 Care Corner-1151 May St Hood River 541-386-1111
One of the oldest magazine format sources is the Gorge Guide. It is available in most of the shops or from Gorge Publishing Inc PO Box 918 Hood River. Phone 541-386-7440.
A lot of general Gorge information is available at the follwoing URL. www.gorge.net
Specific windsurfing informaton is available at the following URL. www.gorge.net/windsurfing.htm
CGRC(Columbia Gorge Recreation Coaliation) information about site upgrades in the Gorge is at the fillowing URL: CGRC
CGWA(Columbia Gorge Windsurfing Association) information is available
at the following URL. CGANEWS