Beacon Rock State Park

The Columbia River Gorge is, without question, one of the most scenic parts of the Pacific Northwest. If you're looking for a place to get a really good view of all of that beauty, there are tons of places you can visit, but few are as epic as Beacon Rock State Park. Perfectly situated along the Columbia River, and offering panoramic views across the gorge, the highlight of the park is the ginormous Beacon Rock. It's 848 feet of pure basalt, and getting to the top is quite the feat. You can climb it (obviously) but if you're not equipped for that, you can always hike to the top-- the trail is only 3/4ths of a mile, but it's got bridges, ramps, and 51 switchbacks winding their way up the side of the stone. A man named Henry Biddle is the one to thank for the intense trail: he bought the rock for $1 in 1915, and set to work turning it into a hiking destination. Biddle's family is responsible for saving the rock as well. The US Army Corps of Engineers wanted to dynamite the whole thing to turn into rocks for a jetty, but his descendents fought to make it a state park. The state of Washington almost rejected the gift, but reconsidered and had it made into a park when they heard that Oregon was considering buying it. While Biddle and his family made the park what it is today, the first people to write about discovering the stone monument were Lewis and Clark-- they alternately referred to it as "Beaten Rock" and "Beacon Rock", and while both are accurate names, the latter stuck. It's actually a volcanic plug, the core of an ancient volcano, and is one of the largest free-standing monoliths in the world-- which makes the 360 degree view from the top well worth the intense hike up. The park also offers camping, biking trails, freshwater river shoreline, and several waterfalls to discover along the way... it is located in the Columbia River Gorge, after all. - Roadtrippers Beacon Rock State Park is a 5,100-acre year-round camping park with historic significance dating back hundreds of years. The park includes 9,500 feet of freshwater shoreline on the Columbia River. Summer: 8 a.m. to dusk. Winter: 8 a.m. to dusk. Limit camping is available. Click on the winter schedule for details. Camping: Check-in time, 2:30 p.m. Check-out time, 1 p.m. Quiet hours: 10 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.