Plan Ahead to Avoid Disappointment & Frustration Chasing Flowers in the Columbia River Gorge

Don’t let poor timing, traffic or trail congestion, and a new permitting system ruin your trip to see wildflower blooms in the Columbia River Gorge this spring. Each year more than three million people visit the Gorge, and a large number of them go to chase the spectacular Pacific Northwest wildflowers. And for good reason. The stunning displays of yellow balsamroot and blue lupine, amongst a wide variety of other colorful wildflowers covering the hillsides and sometimes accompanied by river and/or mountain views, is majestic and breathtaking.

We want to help ensure you have a good time, so let us provide some tips for visiting the Gorge during its’ busy wildflower season. And there’s no better way than to learn from our mistakes! We’ve definitely driven all the way out there to find disappointing fields of dying flowers beyond their peak, or to discover flowers either not blooming or just starting. Usually I try stalking Instagram posts and Facebook hiking groups to see what’s blooming and where, but even that can prove challenging when people post old photos from previous years. Because of ever-changing weather conditions, you can’t always count on guides that indicate which flowers bloom during particular months. It changes year-to-year, week-to-week and day-by-day.

But I just discovered an amazing resource, the website OregonWildflowers.org, which also happens to note which locations are dog-friendly. Honestly, I can’t believe I’ve never found this site before! It’s a handy tool for wildflower enthusiasts and photographers searching for blooms in Oregon and Southwest Washington. You can search by location, view user photos and their reports from places they visited within the past two weeks. But the most useful feature IMO is the ability to filter your search to show locations that are currently blooming! Each spot is color-coded to indicate if the flowers are blooming, probably blooming, probably not blooming, unknown or closed. Never head out to the Gorge again only to find yourself a lackluster bloom! Also, have a backup spot (or two) in mind in case your first option doesn’t pan out.

Hopefully the tips and resources we share will make your trip successful, easier, and enjoyable. We’ve been chasing wildflowers in the Columbia River Gorge for nine years and we highly recommend visiting during the mid-week, like Tuesday through Thursday. I’ve even noticed traffic has picked up during the week, which isn’t surprising given the large number of people working from home anymore. You can head out there early morning on the weekends, but if you want to find parking at the popular trailheads we suggest arriving no later than 10 a.m. To minimize the potential for waiting, crowds, congestion, or having people in your flower photos, we recommend steering clear of the most well-known wildflower destinations on weekends, especially in the middle of the day. Also be warned that some of the best places blow up around sunset, like the old car at The Dalles Mountain Ranch. Don’t get me wrong, the popular spots are well-known and busy for a reason—they’re awesome—but we highly encourage you to visit some lesser-known and lighter-trafficked areas. The flowers all look the same, regardless what hillside they’re on…

Speaking of popular and well-known spots, Dog Mountain is all the rage for wildflower groupies. And that’s why it’s earned itself the crowd-reducing albeit annoying (but necessary) new permitting system! You must obtain a permit in advance before hiking Dog Mountain between April–June and Memorial Day. 200 permits per day will be available through an online reservation system; 100 permits for each day were released March 1st, and an additional 100 permits for each day will be released online three days in advance. Read more info about the new Dog Mountain permit system here.

But Dog Mountain isn’t the only place in the Columbia River Gorge requiring permits now. Between May 26 to September 4, 2023, a timed-access permit costing $2 will be required for personal vehicles to access Multnomah Falls via Exit 31 from 1-84 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. However, the permit first required during the same time period in 2022 to drive the Historic Columbia River Highway will not be exist in 2023. You can read more about the 2023 permit and 2022 pilot program here: www.waterfallcorridorpermit.org

Be a part of the traffic solution and consider helping to reduce vehicle congestion by taking the bus. The Columbia Gorge Express is a bus service that begins at the Gateway Transit Center in Portland and connects riders to 17 trailheads on the Oregon side of the Gorge. At the Fisher’s Landing Transit Center in Vancouver, pick up the Skamania County transit to ride east on the Washington side of the Gorge as far as Stevenson.

We hope you have a blast exploring the Gorge in search of wildflowers this spring! Please always be responsible when you’re exploring the great outdoors—park in designated areas, pack out what you bring with you (i.e., don’t litter), and stay on the signed trails. Don’t wander irresponsibly near cliffs or pick flowers like an a-hole. Just be cool, and keep nature pristine for the rest of us to enjoy.

More resources for planning your trip to the Columbia River Gorge:

Thanks for reading! We’d love to hear about your adventures searching for wildflowers in the Pacific Northwest. Drop a comment and tell us about it!