Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
and campers can stay in the densely forested sites (no RV hookups) for $19, $10 for an extra vehicle. The campground is open April-October. A
smaller state park campground below the noisy railroad tracks along the river is open all year, but there are no showers. Campers can take showers
at the nearby private Beacon Rock RV Park (360/427-8473).
Bonneville Dam snakes across the Columbia in three sections, connecting the shorelines and Bradford and Cascades Islands. This was the site of
the famous Columbia River Cascades that made travel down the river so treacherous for Oregon Trail emigrants. An Army base,
Fort Cascades,
was constructed on the Washington side of the Cascades in the early 1850s and remained in use until 1861. Today, Fort Cascades Historic Site has
an interesting 1.5-mile loop path with interpretive signs describing the area's rich history.
Bonneville Dam
The original Bonneville Dam and power plant were built here between 1933 and 1937; a second plant was added on the Washington shore in
1981. Together they produce over a million kilowatts of power that feed into the grid for the Northwest and California.
Visit the
Bonneville Second Powerhouse
visitors center (509/427-4281, 9 A.M.-5 P.M. daily, closed major holidays), on the Washington side
of the Bonneville Dam, to see the inner workings of the powerhouse (including a peek inside a spinning turbine) and informative displays. You'll
feel dwarfed by the enormity of the river, dam, and surrounding hills. Windows offer a chance to watch coho, sockeye, and king salmon, along
with steelhead, shad, lamprey, and other fish as they head upstream each summer and fall.
LEWIS AND CLARK AND COLUMBIA RIVER HIGHWAYS
Cross
The Bridge of the Gods
($1 toll for autos) into Oregon and visit the original
Bonneville Lock and Dam
(541/374-8820), a popular
tourist spot with continuous presentations, exhibits, and fish viewing.
The small town of Stevenson has been the governmental seat for Skamania County since 1893, but it is only now starting to come into its own. An
enjoyable museum, one of the fanciest lodges in Washington, and hordes of summertime windsurfers and kiteboarders give life to the awesome
