Welcome to the NO WIND page where non_sailing people can find things to do in the Gorge. There are lots of activities and here are a few pictures and some hisory to give you an idea of what is there.


Mosier Tunnel
Before the freeway was built along the Oregon side of the river, the Old Columbia River Highway was built with the idea of showing off the beauty of the Gorge. Parts of it are now being restored and open to the public shortly.

One such place is the Mosier Tunnels:

The following information is quoted from "History of the Columbia River Valley from The Dalles to the Sea" by Fred Lockley. This quote comes from Volume 1 page 844.

In Hood River County the gorge of the Columbia widens out again above the Cascades, producing some of the grandest and most rugged scenery to be encountered in the world. At one point five miles east of Hood River City it was found that the most economical construction would be a tunnel through solid rock for a distance of 400 feet. To have build over the point of rock using the maximum grade of 5 per cent would have required an additional mile road. The State appropriated $50,000 to construct this section of highway, 4,500 feet in length. Topographical conditions were right for a tunnel with windows cut out to the face of the rock cliff. A 200 foot viaduct of reinforced concrete was planned for the west approach. The tunnel portal at this end is short, the highway entering the face of a rocky nose. At the east end the portal excavation is more than 100 feet long. There are five windows in the tunnel, each window being approximately 20 feet long and 19 fet high. The tunnel required very careful work on the part of the contractor, the specifications providing a bonus for carefulness in excavating the tunnel and window sections. The tunnel cost complete $14,472.85; its actual length is 390 feet, giving a cost per lineal foot of $37.30. The concrete viaduct approach at the west end cost complete $8,550.30, its total length being 280 feet and its cost per lineal foot $41.10. This high unit cost was due to the great length of supporting columns reqired. This tunnel, it is claimed, excels the Axenstrasse on Lake Lucerne in Switzerland. The windows are protected by concrete railings and are recessed to provide ample room for tourists to stand and view the Columbia River 150 feet below and the rugged shores of Washington on the opposite side. Hood River county voted a $75,000 bond issue which was used in grading six and one-half miles of highway in places where no road existed. The completion of these sections made it possible to open the Columbia Highway to traffic in August, 1915. End Quote: During a snow storm in 1921 a group of people were trapped in the tunnel for a considerable length of time. They carved their names in the rock with the dates. Take a look at this mini tour:

MT Hood

Mt Hood is about 30 to 40 minutes driving time from Hood River. There is skiing, hiking, mountian biking and some very beautiful mountian senery. The following pictures were taken from an airplane but there will be more in the future.