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Columbia River Dike Hike

From Oregon Hikers Field Guide

Looking at the east end of Reed Island from the Columbia River Dike, Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge (bobcat)
Old pilings at Steamboat Landing (bobcat)
Models of native dugouts, Cottonwood Beach (bobcat)
Young bobcat on the prowl, Columbia River Dike (bobcat)
New bridge over the main channel of Gibbons Creek (bobcat)
Denseflower spikeprimrose (Epilobium densiflorum), Columbia River Dike (bobcat)
Walking route along the Columbia River Dike (bobcat) Courtesy: Google Maps

Contents

Hike Description

The Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge lies at the western boundary of Washington's Columbia River Gorge. This walk along the flood-control levee takes in views of the Columbia River and Mount Hood as well as Reed Island, Silver Star Mountain, and also Devils Rest and Larch Mountain in the Oregon Columbia River Gorge. There's a diversion to Cottonwood Beach, a campsite for the Lewis and Clark Expedition, with interpretive signs giving details. The dike trail connects with the Steigerwald Lake Refuge Loop Hike and ends at the refuge's east boundary after passing through evidence of the massive restoration project that took place from 2019 to 2022. Watch for wildlife in the early morning and twilight hours. Raptors hunt rodents in the fields, songbirds flit through the cottonwoods and willows, beaver are active along the Columbia shore, and there is a good chance of seeing coyote and deer. Bicycles are allowed along the dike and, unusually for a wildlife refuge, dogs are permitted on leash on the dike itself (but not on other refuge trails).

This description begins at the western end of the dike at Steamboat Landing Park, where there is limited parking. However, there is a lot more parking at the Captain William Clark Park Trailhead one kilometer farther east.

From the Steamboat Landing parking area, you can head towards the river and down a gangway. Then you can walk a floating dock lined with benches. To the east are Devils Rest, Larch Mountain in Oregon and Mount Hood. Another gangway takes you up to a viewing platform with a rather fiery weather vane. Then a short tie trail connects you to the wide paved dike trail.

There's a wastewater treatment facility below to the left and then industrial buildings along Index Street. Silver Star Mountain, Washington's Larch Mountain, and Sturgeon Rock are visible to the north. Alders, willows, red osier dogwood, and cottonwoods line the river bank. A paved trail from the opposite side of the highway at Pendleton Woolen Mills comes through an underpass and up to the dike. There are petroglyph designs decorating this area. As you enter Captain William Clark Park, you'll pass two steel observation platforms jutting out from the dike. There are interpretive panels here with comments about the Lewis and Clark Expedition. To the left, a trail joins from Index Street and the Captain William Clark Park Trailhead. Reach a wood framed plaza above a restroom building with more information about the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

From the plaza, descend some steps on the Provision Camp Trail, and pass through a large grove of cottonwoods to reach Cottonwood Beach. Here there are more interpretive signs telling about the expedition and a series of concrete canoes, native and expeditionary. Lewis and Clark camped here for six days in March - April 1806 on their return journey. At high water levels, there may not be not much of a beach on the willow-lined shore. Walk east parallel to the shore, passing some restrooms (closed in winter), and come to an area with covered picnic shelters. Turn left here to reach the dike crest, where you need to bear right

Pass a trail spur down to another parking area on Index Street, and hike above an expanse of industrial buildings on land belonging to the Port of Camas-Washougal to enter the Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Then you'll round the wide bend at Cottonwood Point; the east winds, if they are blowing, will now feel fiercer! From here, you'll see the effects of the large habitat restoration/flood control project that closed the wildlife refuge to the public for two years. (The refuge reopened in May 2022.) On the right are nesting boxes for purple martins, and then you'll pass the new, elevated levee (the Mountain View Trail) which connects to the Steigerwald Lake Refuge Trailhead on Highway 14. There’s a view across the river to Reed Island and Chamberlain Hill, the gateway to Oregon's Columbia River Gorge. Upriver, you should be able to spot Crown Point, Pepper Mountain, and Larch Mountain.

You'll pass the junction with the Gibbons Creek Wildlife Art Trail (no dogs or bikes allowed). You can take this loop if you don't have a canine companion (see the Steigerwald Lake Refuge Loop Hike), but the entire loop is only open between May 1st and September 30th. Otherwise, you can make a short in-and-out sortie over the long bridge at Red Tail Lake, where you can scan the area for herons, egrets, various ducks, and black-tailed deer.

From the dike trail, Red Tail Lake glimmers to the left, backed by a line of cottonwoods. Washington's Larch Mountain and Silver Star Mountain, with Woodburn Hill to their west, appear on the skyline behind the trees. A shady patch harbors a clan of voracious mosquitoes well into the summer, and then a new routing takes you away from the river to pass the other end of the Gibbons Creek Wildlife Art Trail and its Darwin Gate. You'll cross a channel of Gibbons Creek's new "estuary" on a wide footbridge before passing a railed viewpoint over the Columbia River to reach a deeper channel, now Gibbons Creek's main outflow, which has been strewn with habitat logs and planted with riparian vegetation. The plantings of alder, ash, willow, cottonwood, Oregon grape, elderberry, wild rose, and currant continue as you head east above the river bank. You can expect these to grow rapidly and produce new thickets, and eventually a lot more shade, in the coming years. Behind a riverside copse of cottonwoods, you'll come to a gate and fence posted "private property." Turn back and retrace your steps.


Maps

Fees, Regulations, etc.

  • Open during daylight hours only
  • Restrooms at trailheads; picnic tables and interpretive panels at Captain William Clark Park.
  • Stay on the trail; respect all refuge and private property signs restricting access to certain areas.
  • Dogs are permitted on leash.
  • Share trail with bikes and horses

Trip Reports

Related Discussions / Q&A

Guidebooks that cover this hike

  • Take a Walk: Portland by Brian Barker
  • 100 Hikes: Northwest Oregon by William L. Sullivan
  • Wild in the City: Exploring the Intertwine edited by Michael C. Houck and M.J. Cody
  • Urban Trails: Vancouver by Craig Romano
  • Day Hiking: Columbia River Gorge by Craig Romano
  • Take a Hike: Portland by Barbara I. Bond
  • Columbia Gorge Getaways by Laura O. Foster
  • Riding Southwest Washington Horse Trails by Kim McCarrel

More Links


Contributors

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Oregon Hikers Field Guide is built as a collaborative effort by its user community. While we make every effort to fact-check, information found here should be considered anecdotal. You should cross-check against other references before planning a hike. Trail routing and conditions are subject to change. Please contact us if you notice errors on this page.

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