State trail in Columbia River Gorge gains national status
Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail joins three other state trails on list
June 6th, 2002
#02-44 For immediate release: Oregon's Historic Columbia River Highway (HCRH) State Trail is also now a National Recreation Trail. A recent announcement by Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton and National Park Service Director Fran Mainella listed the Columbia River Gorge trail among 26 trails added to the national trail system. The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) applied for the national designation, citing the trail's historical merits and proximity to a large urban area. The trail's function as a connector to other trails in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area was also considered in its selection. The HCRH State Trail includes almost 11 miles of paved trail in two disconnected segments for hiking, bicycling and other non-motorized use. Both segments—the five-mile Twin Tunnels section, between Hood River and Mosier, and the Tooth Rock section, between Cascade Locks and I-84 Exit 40—follow cliffside stretches of old U.S. Highway 30 that have been closed to motor vehicles for nearly a half century. A visitor station is located on the Mark O. Hatfield West Trailhead just east of Hood River. Day-use permits ($3 daily, $25 annual and $40 two-year) are required to park at both the west trailhead and the east trailhead near Mosier. Oregon now has four trails on the list of national recreation trails, which has swelled to more than 800 since the National Trails System Act of 1968 created the nationwide system. The other three are the Tillamook Head segment of the Oregon Coast Trail on the north coast, Silver Falls State Park's Canyon Trail east of Salem and the Upper Rogue River Trail between Crater Lake National Park and Joseph Stewart State Park in southern Oregon.
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