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Columbia Gorge Waterfalls and Mt. Hood Tour - Full Day
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All reviews the columbia river gorge gift shop view of the river multnomah falls small museum worth a stop highway portland
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Reviewed 11 April 2023

This is one of the first stops on the western end of the Columbia River Gorge. It was built as such slightly over 100 years ago as a rest area. The view is amazing--but so is the building. It's Art Deco and really cool. There's an small coffee shop and small gift shop along with a small museum. There is a bit of climbing stairs required to see everything

Date of experience: May 2022
Thank kgilbert78
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 31 March 2023

Firstly, perhaps (hopefully) in response to the previous reviewer's experience, there were a number of notices in the car park when we visited, warning visitors not to leave valuables in their cars as there was a risk that they may be stolen.

Unfortunately, we clearly didn't do our research properly, because the 'house' of the Vista House was closed and we learnt from another visitor that, at the moment, it is only open Friday through Monday so, if you want to go inside (and I can't tell you what there is inside, because we didn't get to go in!) you need to pick your day accordingly.

Despite that, it is worth it for the 180 views of the river and gorge. You can see for miles, even on an overcast and rather hazy day. Parking is limited though.

You really shouldn't do this drive without stopping here.

Date of experience: March 2023
Thank FiftyFifty5050
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 3 December 2022 via mobile

This is not a reflection on a delightful site with a warm friendly staff - it reflects the fact that valuables were stolen from our car while we were in the building. It was/is a busy parking lot with many people coming in and out. DO NOT LEAVE ANYTHING OF VALUE in your car - thieves abound here and smashed our passenger side window.

Date of experience: December 2022
1  Thank CynthiaW855
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 9 August 2022

We were staying in Portland near the airport. I had mapped out a day-trip loop heading along the Columbia River Gorge and then south to Mt. Hood. As the first leg of the trip, we were heading to Multnomah Falls, so stopping first at Vista House seemed an obvious choice (since it is closer to Portland).

A caveat - Vista House and Multnomah Falls both open at 9 a.m. Given the crowding at the falls, you might want to consider going there first and back-tracking to Vista House.

We arrived at Vista House around 8:50 a.m. The only downside to that was that (being in the Portland area) it was still gray and overcast. If you want bright and sunny conditions at this spot, you'll probably have to schedule it for the afternoon (based on my admittedly limited experience in the area).

There was plenty of parking when we arrived, but I am not sure what it is like later in the day. It is free to enter, but we had to wait until exactly 9 a.m. In the meantime, we took photos from the plaza and road adjacent to the tower. The views down to the river are quite impressive. As an aside: the large ice-age flood that helped to shape the gorge had water levels higher than this site!

Inside, they have some exhibits downstairs about the history of the site. It was a stop on the pre-interstate U.S. highway system back in the 1930s. You can also climb up to the roof-level plaza for slightly higher views.

Overall, this was an interesting and worthwhile stop if you are driving through the gorge in either direction. It is just a short drive / detour from the highway.

Date of experience: July 2022
1  Thank JustPeachy3
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 29 July 2022

We stopped here on our tour of the Columbia River Gorge. Terrific views! And the building is very cool. Nice stop.

Date of experience: July 2022
Thank swearengen
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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