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In 2018, visitors flocked to Beacon Rock

Washington side of the Gorge saw record numbers after wildfires closed Oregon trails

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Washougal resident Diana Hooper (right) hikes the Beacon Rock trail with her friend, Teresa Casad (left), on June 30. Hooper has hiked the popular Columbia River Gorge trail more than 50 times.

In the year following the 2017 Eagle Creek wildfire, which closed a number of popular hiking trails on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, at least one Washington Gorge hiking area reported a record number of visitors.

Washington State officials documented 292,662 visitors to Beacon Rock State Park, about 18 miles east of Washougal, in 2018. That was, by far, the all-time record for visitors to the park, said Meryl Delena Lassen, of the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission.

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