Things to do nearHistoric Columbia River Highway State Trail | Mark O Hatfield East Trailhead

The Historic Columbia River Highway, completed in 1922, was the first scenic highway in the United States, engineered by Samuel Lancaster to harmonize with the landscape rather than simply cut through it. The Mark O. Hatfield East Trailhead honors the late Oregon senator whose conservation work helped protect the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. From this trailhead in Mosier, the paved trail follows a reclaimed segment of that original roadway westward, threading through hand-cut rock tunnels and along ledges blasted from basalt cliffs more than a century ago. The engineering alone is worth the visit: stone guardrails, graceful curves, and retaining walls built by craftsmen who understood that a road could itself be a work of art.

Along the route, viewpoints open onto the Columbia River far below, with Washington's hills rolling away on the opposite bank. The trail is open to hikers, cyclists, and wheelchair users, making it one of the more accessible wilderness-adjacent experiences in the Gorge. Birdwatchers find the area productive, particularly for raptors riding thermals above the cliffs.

The eastern Gorge's drier, oak-and-grassland ecology gives this stretch a character distinct from the mossy western Gorge, and the seasonal wildflower bloom draws visitors from across the region. Whether traveling the full corridor or simply walking a mile out and back to absorb the views, the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail at the Mark O. Hatfield East Trailhead offers a rare combination of natural grandeur and human ingenuity that rewards any amount of time spent on it.