Historic Columbia River Highway

To construct the Columbia River Highway, engineers had to be creative when it came to finding a route. The prime river grade real estate of the Gorge was controlled by the railroad, so a highway for autos had to go elsewhere. This conflict is the reason we find a maze of curves and tunnels on the Historic Columbia River Highway. The Oregon side of the river has a number of sheer volcanic basalt cliff faces that needed to be navigated to build the highway, hence we find the Mosier twin tunnels. These engineering marvels are the work of Samuel Hill and Samuel C. Lancaster.
The tunnels are now closed to auto traffic for the most part, but can be seen on foot or bicycle anytime. With the drier weather east of the Cascade crest, the Mosier tunnels make a great springtime day trip.