Columbia Hills State Park - Crawford Ranch Trail — Friday, Apr. 15, 2022

Bottom Line: Balsamroot is getting dense on parts of the mountain (much more so than this recent hike), and Lupine is joining the show. Lots of other flowers as well, especially Desert Parsley, and California Poppies at lower elevations. Still a tad early - maybe another 2 weeks or so, and some warmer weather. The show will move up the mountain and last a long time :)

Heading west on SR 14 from Hood River, you will start to notice lots of flowers on the sunny south-facing hills of the north/WA side of The Gorge - looking good! After ~20 miles, one reaches signs for Columbia Hills State Park (Discovery Pass required), and a number of options. We chose to head up, taking the 1st major turnoff, weaving up the hills on Dalles Mountain Road. This is a dirt road in great condition, and it ascends the hills north of SR 14 to the Dalles Mountain Ranch trailhead after ~3.5 miles (signage, and an outhouse).

The setting is spectacular, with sunny Balsamroot-filled views south down to the Columbia River, and ringed to the north by the (today) snowy peaks of Dalles Mountain. The contrast was stunning. This is the site of a former working ranch and now a historic site. There are trails up the mountain, and around the "ruins", as well as a loop trail down the mountain towards the river. Lots of areas to explore - we just noodled around enjoying the fantastic scenery. This would be hot and brown in the sunny (with rattlesnakes to boot), while the next 4 weeks or so are optimal for verdant hills covered in flowers. No views of Mt Hood today - but the distant snow squalls surrounding the mountain definitely added drama to the view. 

Temperatures were cool (40s) but plenty warm in the sunshine with no wind.

While most people probably backtrack down the mountain, we continued on Dalles Mountain Road towards Goldendale. This road gets much rougher, and there is a sign indicating that it is "primitive" for a stretch of ~7 miles. No bother - I think a regular sedan will do just fine. It climbs and climbs, with steep exposure in spots, and eventually (today) reaches some snow drifts that partly cover the road. Here, the Balsamroot was growing around the snow patches. Eventually, one loops around to the (snowy) north side of Dalles Mountain for different views (snowy, and no flowers, but breathtaking).

Beautiful country this time of year :)