HCRHT-Gorge Trail Junction near Cascade Locks

From Portland Hikers Field Guide

The trail junction described here (Steve Hart)

The north end of the nearby tunnel under I-84 (Steve Hart)

Hikes including this location:
- Cascade Locks West Loop Hike (TH | <-- --> | LOG)
Latitude: 45.65047
Longitude: -121.90876
Maps: Portland Hikers Maps Google Earth
Elevation: 230 feet

1 Description
2 Trip Reports
3 Related Discussions / Q&A
4 Guidebooks that cover this destination
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6 Contributors

Description

The Historic Columbia River Highway Trail and the Gorge Trail traverse a lot of the same area, but they serve different purposes for different users. The highway is sometimes called the "bike" path and that may be it's primary purpose. It's also an effort to link remaining sections of the old highway for historical purposes. That means that the HCRHT sometimes needs to cross I-84 to link the pieces and this is one of those places. A new tunnel was dug beneath the freeway and fitted with a stone portal resembling the rockwork done on the original highway.

The Gorge Trail on the other hand, caters strictly to hikers. It connects more than a dozen trailheads, crating numerous loop opportunities. While most of the Gorge Trail is much too noisy for any kind of escape, it does provide a needed link between trailheads for backpackers making long loop hikes. The Gorge Trail heads east from here sharply up a little hill to it's accustomed place near the shoulder of the freeway.

At times, both purposes can be served by one trail. West of here, the Gorge Trail shares the old highway route with the HCRHT almost to the Eagle Creek Campground.