Does anyone know a good, reasonably priced motel, B&B, etc. in Hood River
for the upcoming weekend? Phone numbers would be a help.
Thanks.
by Geoff Weitz » Wed, 18 May 1994 08:30:00
Thanks.
by Wilton Ha » Thu, 19 May 1994 09:25:16
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Gorge FAQ
Here are some common questions and their answers about the Columbia
1. What and where is the Columbia River Gorge?
The Columbia River Gorge is a large cut through the mountains which
allows the Columbia River, to get from the Eastern part of Washington
and Oregon, to the Coast. It creates the border between Washington and
Oregon. Hood River, which is located at the base of Mt Hood, is the town
which has the most windsurfing activity. It is located about 60 miles
East of Portland Oregon. The closest international airport is in Portland
but there are small airports in Hood River and The Dalles. There is also
an international airport in Seattle which is 4-5 hours drive from Hood
River.
Here is an ASCII map of the Gorge from Portland to Maryhill which shows
the approximate distances between towns.
N
^
W<-|->E I-84
*============*==================*===============*==============*
Portland <45> Cascade Locks <15> Hood River <20> The Dalles <20> Maryhill
Miles Miles Miles Miles
2. What is the windsurfing season in the Columbia River Gorge?
Early season starts in April or early May and lasts through August.
West wind is most common with many windy days.
Late season starts in September and goes through November.
West and East wind days with more no wind days.
Windsight has provided some data on sailable days for the year 1993.
A sailable day is defined by them as a day that contained a 3 hour
time period where the one minute wind speed average was 20 MPH or
greater. This calulation does not include wind gusts. They feel
that this tranalates into a 5.0M or better sail size. For a day to
be considered sailable there only had to be one place on the river
that met the above specifications. This means that there could have
been sailing from Rooster Rock in the West to Arlington in the East
or anywhere in between. East wind days were included which helped the
numbers for March and November. 1993 had a weak spring but the wind
kicked in real nice in June. They plan to add more data as they have
time to compile it.
Percent of Sailable Days in 1993
100-|
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90-|
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80-| G
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70-|
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60-|
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50-| G
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40-|
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| G
30-| G
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20-|
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J F M A M J J A S O N D
Months of the Year
There would be many more sailable days if the sail size was raised to
6.0 but people who come to the Gorge really want high wind sailing so
that is why the above chart is based on 3 hours of 5.0 or better weather.
3. What is the water temperature?
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
38 39 43 50 56 63 68 72 67 60 53 44 (Average in Degrees F)
4. Where can I stay?
Depending on the race schedule there may be very few motels available
in Hood River. You can travel East to the Dalles or West to the
edge of Portland.
There are a number of state parks where you can camp. Most of the
year you can find a place to camp without a problem. On holiday
weekends you should plan to get a camp spot by noon or you may have
trouble. The favorite windsurfing camp spot is Memaloose State Park.
It cost about $8.00 per night which includes hot showers and a ticket
to use Rowena sail park for free.
Some of the other parks are as follows:
Name Location Comments
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Home Valley Washington - 15 miles West of the Hatchery Trains/Sailing
Viento Oregon - 5 miles West of Hood River Trains/Sailing
Tucker Park Oregon - 5 miles South of Hood River Quiet
Great American Oregon - 15 miles South of Mosier Quiet
Adventure
Memaloose Oregon - 12 miles East of Hood River My favorite
Avery Park Washington - 8.5 Miles East of the Free/Sailing
Dalles Bridge Trains
Maryhill Park Washington - North end of Sam Hill Bridge Expert Sailing
Peach Beach Washington - Just East of Maryhill Park Expert Sailing
Wind Ranch Washington - East end of Bingen Lots of sailors
People who do not wish to camp can try one of these:
Name Location Phone Comments People who wish to rent a place should try the following: Name Phone 5. Do I need a car? It is possible to sail in the Gorge without a car. You must purchase A car makes sailing the Gorge much easier. If you find the wind 6. Where can I rent or purchase equipment? There are more than 20 windsurfing shops in the Gorge. Most are The largest selection of used equipment is at Windance. They usually The following lists of phone numbers was taken from the Yellow Pages Big Winds 503-386-6086 The above list shows shops but in some cases they make their own read more »
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Skamania Lodge Stevenson Washington 1-800-221-7117 New and very nice
State Street B&B Hood River 503-386-1899 River View
Tillicum Inn The Dalles 1-800-298-5161
Best Western The Dalles 503-296-9107
Inn at the Dalles The Dalles 503-296-1167 View of the Dam
Inn at Hood River Hood River 503-386-2200 On the River
Lone Pine Motel Hood River 503-386-2601 View of River
Bingen School Inn Bingen 509-493-3363 Inexpensive
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Northwest Investment Management - Hood River 503-386-3770
Mid-Columbia Property Management - Hood River 503-386-3770
Vacation Rentals - Summer Only - Hood River 503-386-6800
a package deal from one of the outfits that have equipment as well as
a place to stay. There are several that offer sailing from their own
beach in Rowena.
to strong or to weak in one place you can usually move East or West to
a place that fits your needs. A good roof rack is a must. If you
are driving 65 MPH on the freeway into a 40 or 50 MPH head wind your
boards and gear are seeing over 100 MPH of wind.
located in Hood River but both the Dalles and Lyle have shops also.
Most shops rent equipment as well as sell new equipment. The going
rate is about $30 per day.
have 40 to 50 boards and several hundred sails on consignment. They
also have lots of new equipment and good advice. 2ND Wind Sports
and Big Winds also have used equipment.
dated July 1993.
Dill Sailboards 503-386-6202
Front Street Sailboards 503-386-4044
Hood River Windsurfing 503-386-5787
Hi-Per Tech 503-386-6608
Gorge Animal Custom Sailboard 503-386-5524
Gorge Gear-Soft Goods Access 509-386-2037
Gorge Windsurfing The Dalles 503-298-8796 1-800-772-3889
Life Cycles The Dalles 503-296-9588
Logoszworks 503-386-2242
Meadows Windsynergy 503-FUN-WIND
Open Ocean (Lyle WA) 509-365-4115
Promotion Wetsuits 503-386-3278
Rushwind 503-386-3278
Sail World 503-386-9400
Sailboard Warehouse 503-386-1699 1-800-992-SAIL
Visual Speed 503-386-7877
Windance 503-386-2131
Windsurifng Hawaii 503-386-8707
2ND Wind Sports 503-386-4464
Stevenson Outsider 509-427-4337
line of equipment. Windance is a good example. They build their
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