Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail - Mosier Tunnels
Hood River, OR
The Mosier Twin Tunnels are restored sections of the original 1920s Columbia River Highway carved through basalt cliffs east of Hood River. The tunnels feature open windows blasted through the rock that frame views of the Columbia River Gorge. The paved trail segment runs 4.6 miles between Hood River and Mosier.
Photography Guide
- Best Time
- afternoon
- Crowds
- Quiet
- Shot Types
- landscapewidedetail
- Best Seasons
- springsummerfall
Author's Comments
The first time I walked through the Mosier Tunnels I had the place almost entirely to myself, which still seems improbable given what is on the other side of the rock. The tunnels were carved in the 1920s as part of the original Columbia River Highway, and at some point along the way the engineers decided to blast windows clean through the basalt so that drivers could look out over the gorge as they passed. The road is gone now. The tunnels remain. Late afternoon in October is when I would send you. The gorge runs roughly east to west here, and in the last hours of the day the light comes raking down the river and into those window openings, throwing rectangles of warm gold against the dark interior walls. Stand inside the tunnel and let the frame do the work. The Columbia, the far Washington cliffs, the oak savanna on the lower slopes. All of it composed for you by men who were not thinking about photography at all and somehow got it exactly right. Start from the Mosier side. The eastern trailhead is quieter, and the walk in feels more like discovery than arrival. You will pass through dry oak country that does not look like the rest of the gorge, and then the tunnels appear in the rock and the river opens up beneath you. Bring a wide lens for the framed views and something longer for the details. The basalt itself is worth a frame or two. So is the way the light falls on the old roadbed when no one else is around.
Gallery
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