--- title: "Rowena Crest Viewpoint" url: "https://www.pnwsights.com/place/rowena-crest-viewpoint-hood-river/" site: "PNWSights" category: "Photogenic" city: "Hood River" state: "OR" latitude: 45.6827 longitude: -121.3004 photogenic_score: 0.63 updated: "2026-04-29" --- # Rowena Crest Viewpoint Hood River, OR · Photogenic · Scenic score 63/100 Rowena Crest sits at the eastern edge of the Columbia River Gorge and offers sweeping views of the river, Tom McCall Point, and the Historic Columbia River Highway's horseshoe curves below. The surrounding Tom McCall Nature Preserve hosts wildflower blooms in spring. The viewpoint marks the transition from the wet western gorge to the dry eastern grasslands. ## Photography guide - Best time of day: golden hour - Crowds: moderate - Best seasons: spring, summer - Shot types: wide, landscape, detail - Tags: panoramic, wildflowers, switchbacks, gorge views, dramatic **Practical tips.** Peak wildflower season is typically mid-April through May. The Tom McCall Point trail gains 1,100 feet over 3.4 miles round trip and can be exposed and windy. ## Author's comments *There are two photographs at Rowena. Most people come for the first one, which is the highway curve seen from the overlook above - that perfect horseshoe of road carved into the hillside, the river beyond, the basalt going gold in late light. It is a real photograph and I have made my version of it. Late April, just before sunset, when the arrowleaf balsamroot is at its peak and the curves catch warm light from the west. You will not be alone up there. You will not need to be. The second photograph is the one I keep coming back for, and it requires the climb. Tom McCall Point gains its eleven hundred feet quickly and without much shade, and the wind on the ridge can be serious enough to lean into. But what waits at the top in early May is one of the strangest landscapes in Oregon - a high meadow of yellow balsamroot and purple lupine running right to the edge of the gorge, with the river two thousand feet below and Mount Adams rising white to the north. This is the seam where the wet gorge becomes the dry plateau, and you can feel it. The air smells different. The grasses are different. The light, which has traveled across hundreds of miles of high desert before reaching you, has a clarity that the western gorge rarely allows. Go in the last week of April or the first week of May. Go in the late afternoon and stay until the wind drops, which it usually does around the time the sun gets low. Bring a wide lens for the meadow and a longer one for the layers of ridge that stack toward the eastern horizon.* ## Photos - ![Wide panorama from Rowena Crest overlooking the Columbia River Gorge, with bright sun reflecting off the river, green cliffs rising on both sides, and the Historic Columbia River Highway curving in horseshoe switchbacks below. The foreground shows rocky, brushy slopes and scattered evergreens, with a hazy golden-hour glow across the distant hills.](https://pnwsights.localzen.org/places/rowena-crest-viewpoint-hood-river/0.webp) (Chris Light / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0) - ![Sweeping view over the deep blue Columbia River Gorge from Rowena Crest, with steep tan and green hillsides framing the water and the Historic Columbia River Highway curling in tight switchbacks along the right side. Small islands, dense conifers, and sunlit ridges give the landscape a bright, expansive look.](https://pnwsights.localzen.org/places/rowena-crest-viewpoint-hood-river/1.webp) (Steven Pavlov / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0) - ![Rowena Crest sign stands on a stone base beside a gravel pullout, with grassy hills and the Columbia River Gorge under a cloudy sky. The wide scene feels windswept and open, with a few wildflowers at the edge of the frame.](https://pnwsights.localzen.org/places/rowena-crest-viewpoint-hood-river/2.webp) (Chris Light / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0) - ![A sweeping view from a stone lookout wall shows the Columbia River Gorge glittering in bright light, with the river curving between steep green and tan hills. The Historic Columbia River Highway’s switchbacks trace the right shoreline under dramatic clouds and a vivid blue sky.](https://pnwsights.localzen.org/places/rowena-crest-viewpoint-hood-river/3.webp) (Chris Light / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0) - ![Sweeping view of the Columbia River Gorge in soft golden light, with deep blue water curving past wooded peninsulas, small islands, and the Historic Columbia River Highway switchbacks below. Dry tan hills rise in the distance, contrasting with the greener shoreline and dense evergreens in the foreground.](https://pnwsights.localzen.org/places/rowena-crest-viewpoint-hood-river/4.webp) (Joe Mabel / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0) - ![Sweeping view over the Columbia River Gorge with the broad river curving between steep, dry hills under a sky of bright clouds. In the foreground, dark green pines and rocky slopes frame the Historic Columbia River Highway’s looping switchbacks along the shoreline.](https://pnwsights.localzen.org/places/rowena-crest-viewpoint-hood-river/5.webp) (Cacophony / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 3.0) - ![Sunlit green cliffs and steep, forested hills fill the frame, with layered rock faces dropping into the Columbia River Gorge. Bright spring foliage and a few yellow wildflowers dot the grassy rim under warm golden-hour light.](https://pnwsights.localzen.org/places/rowena-crest-viewpoint-hood-river/6.webp) (Jeffhollett / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0) - ![Sunlit wildflower-covered hills slope down into the Columbia River Gorge, with dense dark evergreens lining the opposite ridge under a clear blue sky. The foreground is dotted with yellow and purple spring blooms, giving the scene a bright, lush look.](https://pnwsights.localzen.org/places/rowena-crest-viewpoint-hood-river/7.webp) (Jeffhollett / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0) - ![Sunlit Rowena Crest overlooks a steep, forested Columbia River Gorge with a rocky bluff in the foreground and broad green hills rising across the valley. Small patches of yellow and purple wildflowers dot the grassy rim under a clear blue sky.](https://pnwsights.localzen.org/places/rowena-crest-viewpoint-hood-river/8.webp) (jhvanwa / Wikimedia Commons / CC0) - ![From a stone overlook on a sheer cliff, visitors look out over the Columbia River Gorge with a winding highway switchbacking below and bright blue water curving through the valley. Green hills and dark rocky slopes stretch into the distance under a sky filled with scattered white clouds.](https://pnwsights.localzen.org/places/rowena-crest-viewpoint-hood-river/9.webp) (Liz Lauren / Pexels) ## Location 45.6827, -121.3004 · [Open in Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=45.6827,-121.3004) ## Nearby places - [Tom McCall Point](https://www.pnwsights.com/place/tom-mccall-point-hood-river.md) (Hood River, OR) - Tom McCall Point is a 3.4-mile round-trip hike that ascends through wildflower meadows to a 1,722-foot summit with views of the eastern Columbia River Gorge and Mount Hood. - [Catherine Creek Universal Access Trail](https://www.pnwsights.com/place/catherine-creek-universal-access-trail-white-salmon.md) (White Salmon, WA) - Catherine Creek is a wildflower-rich area on the Washington side of the eastern Columbia River Gorge with views of basalt arches, oak woodlands, and the gorge below. - [Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail - Mosier Tunnels](https://www.pnwsights.com/place/historic-columbia-river-highway-state-trail-mosier-tunnels-hood-river.md) (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. - [Hood River Waterfront Park](https://www.pnwsights.com/place/hood-river-waterfront-park-hood-river.md) (Hood River, OR) - Hood River Waterfront Park sits along the Columbia River and is a prime viewing area for windsurfers and kitesurfers who take advantage of the gorge's strong winds. - [White Salmon River at BZ Corner](https://www.pnwsights.com/place/white-salmon-river-at-bz-corner-white-salmon.md) (White Salmon, WA) - The White Salmon River near BZ Corner features clear turquoise glacial water flowing through a narrow volcanic rock canyon. --- Page: https://www.pnwsights.com/place/rowena-crest-viewpoint-hood-river/ · [All photogenic in the Pacific Northwest](https://www.pnwsights.com/photogenic.md) · [PNWSights home](https://www.pnwsights.com/index.md)