Beacon Rock
Rather than participate in one of the organized
hikes on Thursday, Jackie and I decided to
drive back along the Columbia Gorge so as to
see and hike Beacon Rock.
Beacon Rock is second in size only to the
Rock of Gibraltar. Beacon Rock may be the
exposed volcanic plug of an ancient mountain,
part of a range that preceded the Cascades.
The monolith could be as much as nine million
years old.
Beacon Rock served as a landmark for
Columbia River travelers for hundreds of years.
The Indians knew it marked the last of the
rapids on the Columbia River and the beginning
of tidal influence from the Pacific Ocean, 150
miles away. Lewis and Clark were the first white
men to see the rock. They camped at its base in
November of 1805, noting the rock in their
journal and giving it its present name.
Beacon Rock towers 848 feet above the
Columbia River which is the biggest and longest
river in the Northwest.
Unimpressed by this massive icon of geologic
time, the Army Corps of Engineers wanted to
blast Beacon Rock into bits sometime around
the turn of the century. Fortunately railroad
officials opposed the idea enough to get the
demolition stopped. They just didn't want rocks
falling on their new tracks. Another popular idea
at the time was to convert the rock to a quarry.
hikes on Thursday, Jackie and I decided to
drive back along the Columbia Gorge so as to
see and hike Beacon Rock.
Beacon Rock is second in size only to the
Rock of Gibraltar. Beacon Rock may be the
exposed volcanic plug of an ancient mountain,
part of a range that preceded the Cascades.
The monolith could be as much as nine million
years old.
Beacon Rock served as a landmark for
Columbia River travelers for hundreds of years.
The Indians knew it marked the last of the
rapids on the Columbia River and the beginning
of tidal influence from the Pacific Ocean, 150
miles away. Lewis and Clark were the first white
men to see the rock. They camped at its base in
November of 1805, noting the rock in their
journal and giving it its present name.
Beacon Rock towers 848 feet above the
Columbia River which is the biggest and longest
river in the Northwest.
Unimpressed by this massive icon of geologic
time, the Army Corps of Engineers wanted to
blast Beacon Rock into bits sometime around
the turn of the century. Fortunately railroad
officials opposed the idea enough to get the
demolition stopped. They just didn't want rocks
falling on their new tracks. Another popular idea
at the time was to convert the rock to a quarry.
The fate of Beacon Rock remained uncertain until 1915 when Henry Biddle bought it and proceeded to build a trail to
its summit. The project cost him $15,000, a considerable sum in those days. When Biddle died, his heirs were
instructed to sell Beacon Rock to the State of Washington for one dollar. One restriction accompanied the low price.
The land was to be preserved as a public park.
At first the state refused to honor the terms, so the Biddle family approached the State of Oregon with the same deal.
An Oregon-owned park on Washington State soil almost became a reality until Washington reconsidered and handed
over the buck.
its summit. The project cost him $15,000, a considerable sum in those days. When Biddle died, his heirs were
instructed to sell Beacon Rock to the State of Washington for one dollar. One restriction accompanied the low price.
The land was to be preserved as a public park.
At first the state refused to honor the terms, so the Biddle family approached the State of Oregon with the same deal.
An Oregon-owned park on Washington State soil almost became a reality until Washington reconsidered and handed
over the buck.
The
three-quarter
mile trail to the
top switches
back 52 times
and crosses 22
wooden bridges
with panoramic
views up and
down the gorge
(above, left and
below).
three-quarter
mile trail to the
top switches
back 52 times
and crosses 22
wooden bridges
with panoramic
views up and
down the gorge
(above, left and
below).
Jackie seated
atop the world's
second largest
rock!
atop the world's
second largest
rock!
From the top, we look down on the
river and a passing Amtrak train.
river and a passing Amtrak train.
Eight miles down the river from Beacon
Rock we take in the view from Cape Horn.
Rock we take in the view from Cape Horn.
Left, elevated wheel house for pilot to
navigate the barge down the river.
navigate the barge down the river.