Columbia Hills Historical State Park: Vista/Military Road Loop (Blog Hike #861)

Trails: Entry Road, Vista Loop, and Military Road Trails

Hike Location: Columbia Hills Historical State Park
Geographic Location: across the Columbia River from The Dalles, OR (45.65692, -121.08662)
Length: 4.7 miles
Difficulty: 6/10 (Moderate)
Date Hiked: July 2021
Overview: A lollipop loop offering fantastic views of the Columbia River Gorge.
Park Information: https://parks.state.wa.us/489/Columbia-Hills
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=880187
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: This hike starts at Columbia Hills Historical State Park's Crawford Oaks Trailhead, which is located on the north side of Washington SR 14 11.2 miles east of Lyle, WA.  Pay the park entrance fee and park in the only asphalt parking lot.

The hike: Though you would hardly guess it from the barren, rocky, tallgrass scenery that dominates this area today, 100 years ago the land that forms Columbia Hills Historical State Park was occupied by homesteads and ranches.  The land claims for those homesteads dated to the Oregon Trail period in the mid 1800's.  In the 1900's, the various land plots were consolidated into one property called the Dalles Mountain Ranch, and in 1993 the ranch became Columbia Hills State Park.

            Before Euro-American settlers arrived, native peoples lived here; they relied on the Columbia River's prolific salmon runs for sustenance.  Also, the Lewis and Clark Expedition camped here in October 1805 on their way to the Pacific Ocean.  Today the park offers visitors fantastic amenities, which include a small campground, boat access to both Horsethief Lake and the Columbia River, fishing, swimming, and 35 picnic tables.

            For hikers, the park offers several trails of various lengths and difficulties.  Short and relatively easy trails explore scenic Horsethief Butte and Horsethief Lake, and they are located south of SR 14.  Yet the park's longest and most substantial hiking trails lie north of SR 14 in the Dalles Mountain Ranch area.  This hike explores the big area of the old ranch, and it samples the area's famous views and history without pegging the difficulty meter.

Crawford Oaks Trailhead

            From the Crawford Oaks Trailhead parking area, walk between the two gray posts designed to block vehicle traffic and begin climbing on the two-track gravel road.  After only a few hundred feet, you reach an exhibit area that describes the floods that carved the Columbia River Gorge during the last Ice Age.  If you were standing here during one of those impressive floods, the water level would be over 500 feet above your head!  The present-day westward view from here is also quite impressive: the Columbia River winds in the foreground, and snow-capped Mount Hood towers in the background here, as it does almost everywhere in this region.

View west from Ice Age floods exhibit

            The grade increases as the gravel road climbs through strata of rock via a single broad switchback.  Signs warn of rattlesnakes, and while I did not see any on my hike, they like to live in rocky areas such as this one.  Next the trail enters Eightmile Creek's canyon, and Eightmile Creek Falls can be seen downhill to the right.  Most of this hike is hot and sunny, but a few oak trees from the canyon give partial shade on this section of trail.

Climbing through Eightmile Creek's canyon

            At 0.8 miles, the gravel road switches back to the left and soon reaches a gate that blocks all access.  Angle right here to leave the gravel and begin following a two-track dirt road.  The initial 400-vertical-foot climb is now over, and the trail descends slightly to rock hop Eightmile Creek.  An interpretive sign tells you that homesteads used to be located along this creek, but only some trees planted by the homesteads' occupants remain.

Hiking the Vista Loop Trail

            1 mile into the hike, the trail splits to form the loop portion of this hike.  To make the climbing a little easier, turn right to begin the Vista Loop Trail and use the old road going left as your return route, thus hiking the loop counterclockwise.  Now on a dusty single-track dirt trail, the climb continues but at a more gradual rate.  

View of Columbia River and Mount Hood

            As you approach the rim of the gorge, the trail curves left to pass under a power line and begin heading upstream, still climbing on a gradual to moderate grade.  Every time I thought I had reached the best westward view of the gorge and Mount Hood, I hiked a little further, climbed a little more, and found an even better view.  Eventually you get high enough that the views up the gorge to the east and the Columbia Hills to the north get your attention too.

View up into the hills

            At 2.2 miles, the trail curves left to make its final turn north away from the Columbia River.  A deep ravine can be seen downhill to the right, and the park's east boundary comes very close on the right.  After passing back under the power lines, you reach a trail intersection.  The full 8.5 mile Vista Loop Trail goes right here, but the sun was getting hot on the mid-July morning that I did this hike.  Thus, I turned left to begin the Military Road Trail, which acts as a short-cut trail through the middle of the Vista Loop.

Hiking the Military Road Trail

            Named for a road used to transport supplies between Fort Dalles and Fort Simcoe in the late 1850's, the Military Road Trail soon reaches the highest elevation on this hike, which is roughly 750 vertical feet above the trailhead.  As the old saying goes, "it's all downhill from here."  The trail descends on a moderate to steep grade using several switchbacks, and some old barbed wire fences remind you of this land's ranching past.

Hiking along an old barbed wire fence

            Near 3.4 miles, the north half of the Vista Loop Trail enters from the right.  Soon you pass an interpretive sign that tells you about the Lucas Homestead, one of the families that lived here in the late 1800's.  After some more moderate to steep descending, you close the loop.  Retrace your steps 1 mile down the dirt and gravel road to return to the parking area and complete the hike.  While you are here, consider hiking the short trails at nearby Horsethief Butte and/or Horsethief Lake, both of which offer interesting scenery in the park's lower elevations.

Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area (Blog Hike #860)

Trail: Nature Trail
Hike Location: Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area
Geographic Location: southeast of Pendleton, OR (45.54300, -118.46238)
Length: 2.1 miles
Difficulty: 2/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: July 2021
Overview: A semiloop through dense pine forest near the historic Oregon Trail.
Area Information: https://stateparks.oregon.gov/index.cfm?do=park.profile&parkId=16
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=880100
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: In eastern Oregon, take I-84 to exit 234.  Exit and follow signs less than 0.5 miles to Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area.  Enter the area, turn right at the first intersection, and park in the small parking area beside the Oregon Trail interpretive kiosk on the left.

The hike: For settlers traveling west on the Oregon Trail during the mid-1800's, the last major natural obstacle they faced before reaching their destination in western Oregon's Willamette Valley was the Blue Mountains of northeast Oregon.  Created by tectonic plate movements many thousands of years ago, the Blue Mountains form a high set of ridges that run roughly southwest to northeast.  The mountains contain some of Oregon's oldest rocks, and they feature several peaks that exceed 9000 feet in elevation.

            Today overland migrators have been replaced by recreation seekers, and in the summer the Blue Mountains offer a nice respite from eastern Oregon's desert-like dry heat.  When I came here on a warm morning in mid-July, temperatures were in the low 90's down in Pendleton, but it was a comfortable 81 degrees up in the mountains for my hike.  The Oregon Trail's route through the Blue Mountains is followed closely by I-84 today, so present-day travelers have easy access to several sites that present and interpret Oregon Trail history.

            One of the Oregon Trail interpretive sites is the Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area, which lies literally feet from I-84.  The site is named for a nearby spring that Oregon Trail travelers used to replenish their water supplies before continuing west onto the dry Columbia River Plateau.  Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area features some nice amenities including a 48-site developed campground, a horse camp with bridle trails, 6 rustic cabins, some picnic areas, and some Oregon Trail interpretive exhibits.  For hikers, the area has just one short nature trail, but the trail is a nice one that takes you through classic Oregon pine forest.  This hike makes the most of the Nature Trail while visiting every major point of interest in the area, thus giving a grand tour of all the area has to offer.

Oregon Trail interpretive kiosk

Covered wagon

            Start by browsing the Oregon Trail exhibits, which include an interpretive kiosk, a dedication marker dating to 1923 and President Warren Harding, and a re-created covered wagon.  Walk left to head into the main campground, and at each campground loop choose the left arm.  The Nature Trail starts at a small parking area on the left just after beginning the campground's C-loop.

Start of Nature Trail

            The Nature Trail starts as a narrow single-track dirt path, but 0.5 miles from the Oregon Trail exhibits you intersect a much broader trail, which goes left and right.  The route going left leads back to the park entrance, so you want to turn right to begin a gradual climb through young scrubby forest.  Some horseshoe prints in the dirt indicate that this trail is also open to horses, but I did not see signs of heavy horse use on my visit.

Highest point on this hike

            At 0.75 miles, you reach the highest point in Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area and a trail intersection.  The option going left leads to a power line corridor and out of the Heritage Area, so you want to turn right and begin descending.  In only a couple hundred more feet, note the trail that exits right; it will eventually be our return route back to the campground.  

Descending through pine forest

            For now, continue straight to descend through classic Oregon pine forest.  The pine trees here are large and tall, and some asters in bloom brightened my path.  1 mile into the hike, the trail passes through a sunny grassy area on the right.  Stay to the left, and in a few hundred more feet reach a metal vehicle gate at the horse camp that marks the end of this trail.

Vehicle gate at horse camp

            From the horse camp, you have a couple of options.  The shortest option is to turn right and walk the park road back to your car.  If you want to stay in the woods longer and see more of the park's trail system, turn around, walk back up almost to the top of the hill, and then turn left to begin the other route back down to the campground.  This trail passes what appears to be some water works infrastructure before descending first to the campground amphitheater and then to the campground shower house.  Upon arriving back at campground Loop A, turn left to hike back out to the Oregon Trail exhibits and complete the hike.