Overview

From the scenic rolling farmland of the Palouse, to the Cascade Volcanic Arc, from Spokane to Portland, travel through spectacular landscapes formed by the dynamic forces of the earth, bear witness to the history of explorers and pioneers, and discover contemporary Native American culture. Experience the romance of a bygone era of riverboat travel aboard the newly refurbished Queen of the West. Cruise through the magnificent Columbia River Gorge, extending over 80 miles through the Cascade Mountains. Transit eight huge locks on the Columbia and Snake Rivers, which take the Queen of the West from sea level to an elevation of 738 feet. Tour Bonneville Lock and Dam, named for an early explorer who charted much of the Oregon Trail, and now part of the Bonneville Dam National Historic Landmark District.




Explore the Tamastslikt Cultural Institute, which preserves the traditions of the Umatilla, Cayuse, and Walla Walla communities. See where the Lewis & Clark Corps of Discovery spent the long cold winter of 1805-06 at Fort Clatsop. In Astoria, visit the interactive Columbia Maritime Museum, one of the finest in the country.

At the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center Museum, learn about the volcanic upheaval and raging floods that created the Columbia Gorge, the unique flora and fauna of the region, and eleven thousand years of human habitation. Peer into the massive crater at Mount St. Helens and view firsthand the destruction and subsequent regrowth from the 1980 volcanic eruption.