Go east for gorgeous wildflowers

The sun shone bright, birds zipped around the sky and tiny, vivid purple, yellow and white flowers flared at my feet.

March had barely begun, but everything about the landscape seemed to sing: “Spring is here!”

The Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area is the Vancouver area’s own wildflower escape hatch. Take a journey east, and a hike (or an accessible stroll or roll) up a trail to get an eyeful of botanical gorgeousness in the Gorge.

Do this on a weekday, if at all possible. Flocks of tourists have been loving the Gorge nearly to death in recent years, especially on spring and summer weekends, which is why certain sites require both a parking permit, booked well in advance, as well as a standard day-use permit.

Given reduced staffing across federal agencies, outdoor enthusiasts like me have worried about adequate care and maintenance at Columbia Gorge sites that are managed by the U.S. Forest Service, including the sprawling Coyote Wall trail network and the super-popular, wonderfully wildflowery Dog Mountain. It’s about 60 miles west of Vancouver on state Highway 14.

Dog Mountain is “probably the busiest (hiking site) in the Gorge, for good reason,” said Tim Dobyns, spokesperson for the nonprofit advocacy group Friends of the Columbia Gorge.

That reason? Some of the best spring wildflower experiences you can find in this region. From late April through early June, Dobyns said, the Dog Mountain hike offers whole oceans of gleaming yellow arrowleaf balsamroot (the Gorge’s resident sunflower) as well as long-stemmed purple lupine, red paintbrush and yellow desert parsley. Dog Mountain’s peak is plenty flowery too, and the panoramic view up there is quite astonishing.

All of which is the reward for hauling yourself — your aching knees, your burning thighs — 7 miles round trip up and down a significantly steep trail with an elevation gain of 2,828 feet. Near the start of your ascent, you’ll note the witty sign at a fork in the trail: This way, “Difficult.” That way, “More difficult.” Those are your only two options. The sign may be funny, but it’s not joking. Trust me: Stick with simply “Difficult.”

Also no joke is the Dog Mountain permit system. Mandatory spring-weekend parking permits were launched a few years ago in order to add safety and sanity back to a situation that had grown out of control, with cars overwhelming the Dog Mountain parking lot and spilling over onto narrow state Highway 14 (where parking is illegal and dangerous). Despite recent U.S. Forest Service job losses, the permit system is ready to go live again for spring 2025 weekend parking at Dog Mountain.

Advance parking permit bookings begin March 15, covering weekends only from April 26 through June 15 (plus May 26, Memorial Day). Parking permits are technically free, but there’s a $2 administrative fee. In addition to a single-day parking permit (which does not guarantee a parking space, the Forest Service is careful to point out) you also need a $5 day-use visitor permit, which you can also purchase online or at the trailhead. The day-use permit is not seasonal. It’s required all year long.

After all that permitting, you still may find the Dog Mountain trail pretty crowded on spring weekends. (Yes, there is a trailhead bathroom.)

It’s not a wildflower destination, but Oregon’s supremely popular Multnomah Falls tourist site and hiking trail will also require a timed-use parking permit this summer, May 26 through Sept. 1.

Thanks to experts at Friends of the Columbia Gorge and Washington State Parks, here’s a quick guide to more gorgeous Gorge sites where wildflowers reign supreme.

One guiding principle: The farther east you go, the more startling the blooms likely will be. (Rattlesnakes are also likelier as you move east, but actual encounters are rare.) I’ve included a couple of sweet universal-access sites that offer paved trails, perfect for people with walkers, scooters and wheelchairs.

If you’ve never ventured all the way to the east end of the Gorge, spring wildflowers are a great reason to explore out there.

• Columbia Hills State Park (95 miles east of Vancouver): Here you’ll see undulating oceans of golden arrowleaf balsamroot and purple lupine amidst gently rolling hills. According to OregonWildflowers.org, Columbia Hills also features some local rarities, including the Dalles Mountain buttercup (with five bright yellow egg-like blooms) and the hotrock penstemon (white, pale or yellow flowers and purple lines). Columbia Hills is a vast park (3,338 acres) with several entrances, but for best wildflower hiking and viewing you want to take gravel Dalles Mountain Ranch Road to the main uphill parking lot. Columbia Hills offers two large hiking loops (totaling about 8 miles) in a figure eight.

Best viewing: April and May. Difficulty: easy to moderate. Bathrooms: yes. State park day-use fee: $10 per day (or $30 for a year).

• Lyle Cherry Orchard (80 miles east): The newest addition to the Gorge trail menu is a 540-acre Friends of the Columbia Gorge land purchase, just east of the town of Lyle. The steep trail offers periodic rest stops on spectacular “shelves” of land that offer stunning views of the Gorge (and Lyle). In addition to balsamroot and lupine you’ll find Barrett’s penstemon, fork-toothed oocow, heartleaf buckwheat and desert parsley. New interpretive signs dot the trail.

Best viewing: March through May, peaking mid-April. Difficulty: moderate. Bathrooms: no. Fee: no.

• Balfour area and Klickitat Canyon State Park Trail (76 miles east): With two paved options and lots to see, this is a superb site for wheelchairs and people who prefer pavement. Just west of Klickitat Canyon is the Balfour Day-Use area, featuring a paved 0.7-mile loop that visits a pretty cove. (There are gentle elevations and a few bumps along the way.) In addition to wildflowers like balsamroot, gentian, mock orange, bluebells and desert parsley, it’s a great birdwatching and picnicking spot. Across the canyon is the Klickitat State Park Trail, a converted railway whose first 1.5 miles are paved and flat.

Best viewing: April through June. Difficulty: easy. Bathrooms: yes, at the state park trailhead. Fee: no.

• Catherine Creek (75 miles east): This spot is celebrated as the Gorge’s wildflower mecca, featuring early-season blooms like grass willows, yellow bells, camas, desert parsley and shooting stars. “In the soil among the lava rock are mini botanical gardens,” according to a Mt. Adams Chamber of Commerce brochure. “New species appear with each bend of the trail.” Just across the road (so cross carefully), Catherine Creek also offers a paved 1/4-mile universal-access loop.

Best viewing: March through May. Difficulty: hiking trail is easy to moderate, paved loop is easy. Bathrooms: one porta-john. Fee: no.

• Coyote Wall (72 miles east): This spot has a spiderweb of trails crisscrossing an immense, tilting basalt plateau. Mountain bikers share these trails, so be on the alert. (They are usually polite.) Ambitious hikers can venture from Coyote Wall east and over to Catherine Creek and back. Hardy hikers can keep to the west and trace the steep edge of the titular wall as it goes up, up and up some more. Coyote Wall is home to plenty of arrowroot and lupine, as well as grass widows, goldstar, rusty-hair saxifrage and woodland star.

Best viewing: March through May. Difficulty: moderate. Bathrooms: yes. Fee: no.

• McCall Point and Rowena Plateau (75 miles east): A few miles beyond Hood River, the Oregon village of Mosier is a gateway to south-side wildflowers. Park at scenic Rowena Crest and take your pick of the Rowena Plateau, a flat but rubbly hike that takes you to riverside cliffs, or McCall Point, which zigzags up a flowery hillside to an ideal picnic spot with a really spectacular view. Here you’ll see lots of balsamroot and lupine along with paintbrush, larkspur and buttercups.

Best viewing: April and May. Difficulty: moderate. Bathrooms: no. Fee: no.

• Mosier Plateau (70 miles east): On the approach to the Rowena area, but less famous and less crowded. It has similar rolling hills of balsamroot and lupine. Beautiful scenic river overlook. Park nearby in town and walk to the trailhead.

Best viewing: April and May. Difficulty: moderate. Bathrooms: yes. Fee: no.

• Hamilton Mountain at Beacon Rock State Park (35 miles east): This is another steep, challenging and highly popular hike that’s much closer to the Portland area, so parking may fill up fast. The hike is mostly wooded, but there are plenty of wildflowers along the way. Look out for lewisia, desert parsley, starflower, yarrow, heartleaf buckwheat.

Best viewing: May and June. Difficulty: strenuous. Bathrooms: yes. State park day-use fee: $10 per day (or $30 for a year).

Scott Hewitt: 360-735-4525; [email protected]

Wildflower Databases

For up-to-the-minute, site-specific reports from your fellow wildflower adventurers, try the following websites. In addition to timely wildflower bulletins, they feature photographs, scientific data and much more.

Oregonwildflowers.org

Pnwflowers.com

Wildflowersearch.org