Breweries in Hood River and the Valley Above

BreweriesInTheGorgeLogoWhat might you be doing this St. Patrick’s Day? Beer is serious business in the Gorge.  So serious that 12 Breweries in the Columbia River Gorge have united to create Breweries in the Gorge

Immigrants began to move into Oregon Territory in the 1840’s.  German brewer Henry Saxer arrived in 1852, tasted the clear, soft water and recognized the prime hop and grain potential.  He, along with fellow immigrant Henry Weinhard, began brewing and the rest is history.

Fact from Oregon Craft Beer Oregon had 234 brewing facilities operated by 194 brewing companies in 72 cities across Oregon.  Let’s focus on the brews in Hood River and the Valley above

Please ask your innkeeper their location so as to pre-arrange a designated driver if needed

Double Mountain  – Spacious brewpub serving up innovative beers, grub including awesome brick-oven pizzas & regular live music

Full Sail Brewery – Built in an abandoned cannery that had laid derelict for 15 years, Full Sail Brewing began brewing circa 1988.  Brewing three core brews along with a variety of seasonal and ever changing small batch beers

Big Horse Brew PubBrewery & restaurant with deck & views of the Columbia River Gorge serving pub grub and hand crafted brews

Pfriem Family Brewers Influenced by the great brewers of Belgium, but unmistakably true to their homegrown roots in the Pacific Northwest

Solera Brewery ~ Built in the historic Valley Theater Building the backyard beer garden offers a spectacular view of Mt Hood.  Right across the street and a few doors down from the Old Parkdale Inn

Stay tuned for information on SoLog Summer Fest 2018, happening in August in Parkdale’s Clear Creek Station.

Be sure to explore the world of craft beer and fine brew pubs.  And don’t forget the annual Hops Fest, last Saturday in September

The innkeepers of the Columbia River Gorge Bed and Breakfast Association are eager to share their favorite spots and events for adventure and exploration in the Hood River Valley, Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area, Mt Adams and Mt Hood.

Ski Mt Hood this Spring Break

Ski Mt Hood this spring break.  Have your scones and ski too.
Ski Mt Hood

Stay, Play and Ski in Hood River, Oregon

Spring skiing on Mt Hood is going to be awesome at least through May.  More snow is on the way this weekend and Mt Hood Meadows Ski Resort offers discounted lift tickets to guests staying at participating Hood River area lodging properties. Many of the Columbia River Gorge Bed and Breakfast Association inns welcome our destination guests who can purchase their discount lift tickets directly from our innkeepers.  The cost of these tickets are only $49 for adults and $30 for juniors ages 7-14.  The experienced skier can purchase a multiple day pass as can the beginner for $99.  Make sure you ask if they are a Ski Destination Program participant.  Book your room and leave the rest to us.  We will get you settled in for a comfortable nights sleep, serve fresh coffee and a hearty breakfast in the morning, issue your discount lift ticket and point you in the direction of Mt Hood Meadows Ski Resort, 34 miles from the town of Hood River and only 19 miles from Mt. Hood/Parkdale.

Why stay in a Columbia River Gorge hotel when you can stay at an Hood River Bed and Breakfast, have your scones and lift tickets, too!

The innkeepers of the Columbia River Gorge Bed and Breakfast Association are eager to share their favorite spots and events for adventure and exploration in the Hood River Valley, Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area, Mt Adams and Mt Hood.

Gorge View Bed and Breakfast Hood River

Gorge View Bed and Breakfast in the heart of the Columbia River Gorge, Hood River Oregon

Gorge ViewVisit Gorge View Bed and Breakfast and enjoy the oversized wrap-around front porch which provides panoramic views of the Columbia river and snowcapped Mt. Adams.  Your hosts are avid windsurfers and hikers and can provide tips on the local activities and up to the minute wind and sports reports.

After an in house prepared breakfast of Dutch Babies, signature Huevos Gorge View or Blueberry pancakes
walk downtown to the many shops, restaurants, wine bars and brew pubs of Hood River.  Gorge View supports local farmers and strive to use fresh Gorge Grown ingredients in all the serve.

Gorge View has 4 well appointed rooms with a variety of configurations for families or single occupancy.

The innkeepers of the Columbia River Gorge Bed and Breakfast Association are eager to share their favorite spots and events for adventure and exploration in the Hood River Valley, Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area, Mt Adams and Mt Hood.

Ski Mount Hood

Skiing Mt. Hood is easy. Participating inns offer specials to stay play and ski

Details for Mt Hood Meadows Ski Resort: Tickets – Guests purchase their lift tickets directly from their host for just $64 for adults.  These are all day tickets, from open to close, including night ski when running.  While there are no block out dates, minimum stays or other restrictions, the lift tickets have to be used within the same dates as the guest lodging visit. One lift ticket per guest per night’s stay.

Details for Timberline Lodge Ski Area Tickets – Guests purchase their lift ticket vouchers directly from their host at a cost of $57 for adults.  While there are no block out dates, minimum stays or other restrictions, the lift tickets vouchers are to be used within the same dates as the guest lodging visit. One lift ticket per guest per night’s stay.

Extra Day to Geocache in the Columbia River Gorge

GeocachingWhat excites a geocachers more than a First to Find? Having an extra day to find a FTF.  Once every 4 years an extra day is added to the month of February. And we all know what that means: an Extra 24 hours to Geocache!

Celebrate with two new geocaching souvenirs.  The first souvenir can only be earned on February 29 by attending a geocaching event, one happening that morning in Hood River.  The other souvenir can be earned all weekend long (February 27-29) by getting outside and finding a geocache.

The screenshot shows caches in the Upper Hood River Valley, where our inn, Old Parkdale Inn Bed and Breakfast is located.  The star signifies the cache we placed on our property GC4FH6G Parkdale Travel Bug Inn.

“Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment.  Geocaching.com is the headquarters for the activity

The innkeepers of the Columbia River Gorge Bed and Breakfast Association are eager to share their favorite spots and events for adventure and exploration in the Hood River Valley, Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area, Mt Adams and Mt Hood.

Christmas and Holiday Markets near Hood River, Oregon

Christmas and Holiday Markets in the Columbia River Gorge

Christmas, Holiday Markets and the Innkeepers of the Columbia Gorge Bed and Breakfast Association invite you to celebrate the season and festivities with us. Some of our innkeepers really deck the halls.  Some have a more subdued style.

Hood River, Oregon, becomes a snow globe, a true old-fashioned small town holiday spot. The historic and beautiful downtown is adorned with holiday lights, bows and cheer.

Mosier Country Christmas Fair is Dec. 5 and 6 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Over 60 vendors, food and drink and tree sales.  Admission is $2 per person and 1 can of food ( human or pet).  Kids under 12 are free.  Photos with Santa from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.  There is also a book and bake sale at the Mosier Library (2 blocks east of the school).

As a hush comes over the crowd, the Mayor and all the children will take a deep breath, then blow on the tree to magically bring it blazing alight.  This is THE community family event of the season in Bingen and White Salmon, so don’t miss enjoying the start of the holiday season with your family, friends, visitors,
and the rest of our community.

The innkeepers of the Columbia River Gorge Bed and Breakfast Association are eager to share their favorite spots and events for adventure and exploration in the Hood River Valley, Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area, Mt Adams and Mt Hood.

Little Multnomah Falls and Waterfall Wednesday

Little Multnomah Falls is just upstream from its bigger, and slightly more famous, sibling Multnomah Falls but stunning in its simple beauty.

Multnomah Creek traverses a flat shelf to create 15 foot Little Multnomah Falls, seen from the viewing platform above Multnomah Falls, before leveling off and plunging over the basalt edge into the Columbia River Gorge.  Travel upstream and chase 3 more waterfalls.  Make the 6 mile loop and discover 7 waterfalls total.

And thus start a series of blog posts, Chasing Waterfalls and Waterfall Wednesday.  According to Wiki there are at least 238 waterfalls in Oregon!  I’m guessing even more than that.  Wouldn’t it be grand to witness the beauty of every one of them?  With 77 waterfalls on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge alone, we’ve set out to find them all plus those in the nearby Mt Hood National Forest, Washington and beyond. And when we do we’ll share our finds with you, our guests, so you too can set out to Chase Waterfalls.

The innkeepers of the Columbia River Gorge Bed and Breakfast Association are eager to share their favorite spots and events for adventure and exploration in the Hood River Valley, Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area, Mt Adams and Mt Hood.

Apple Valley BBQ competes in World Food Championships

We are so darn proud, and lucky, to have the famous Apple Valley BBQ in the Hood River Valley.

On any giving day the smoke from the cherry wood smokers drifts across the valley.  Not an overwhelming smoke, just enough to entice you down for dinner or lunch.  Local cherry wood is delivered weekly from our neighbors,  Mt View Orchards and local pears from Kiyokawa Family Orchards goes into their coleslaw.  The chef, Jason, uses as much local produce as possible and breads and pies are made from scratch.  I need to write another blog post for the desserts alone!  Apple Valley BBQ provides mouthwatering quality and attention to detail with their cherry wood smoked BBQ pulled pork, ribs and chicken and a variety of nine side dishes including pear coleslaw, spicy green beans, and corn bread salad to name a few.  The place really is amazing!

And now they’ve upped their game by placing 6th in the World Food Championships, dubbed ‘the highest stakes food competition in the world’, held this past week in Kissimmee, Florida.  Their final dish was red snapper pan seared in bacon fat on top of a bacon,goat cheese and chive potato hash cake with pork belly greens and a roasted garlic and bacon beurre blanc with bacon fat poached purple asparagus wrapped in a prosciutto chive knot.  Yeah, I know, that’s a lot of bacon!  But I can’t wait for this dish to make it onto their weekly specials menu.

When you reserve your room at the Old Parkdale Inn we’ll be glad to make lunch or dinner reservations for you at Apple Valley BBQ.  Just add your seating time to the Special Accommodations box on our reservation form and we’ll be sure you are treated to some of the best BBQ in the valley.  Heck, now in The World! Congratulations Justin and amazing staff!!  Safe travels home.

Tundra Swans Return to Mirror Lake in the Columbia River Gorge

For me the return of the Tundra Swans to Mirror Lake in the Columbia River Gorge, marks the beginning of Winter.

Mirror Lake is at the foot of Crown Point, visible from Interstate 84 just west of the Rooster Rock exit. The Lake can host upwards of 100 Tundra Swans, although as of yesterday only a few had arrived from their Arctic tundra nesting grounds.  The Scenic Colombia River Gorge is just one of Oregon’s 7 Wonders near the Old Parkdale Inn.  The other being majestic Mt Hood.

Tundra Swans dine on plant material, slugs, snails, insects and crayfish, and typically weigh from 10 to 18 pounds, averaging about 53 inches in length.  They mate for life and travel in family groups in roundtrip migrations of up to 3,725 miles.

Tundra Swans winter here and share space with Hooded Merganser, Mallards, Green-winged Teal, Northern Pintail, Bufflehead, Song Sparrow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Steller’s Jay, Black-capped Chickadee.

Look closely at the photo for Mallards, a Great Blue Heron and a Hooded Merganser.

The innkeepers of the Columbia River Gorge Bed and Breakfast Association are eager to share their favorite spots and events for adventure and exploration in the Hood River Valley, Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area, Mt Adams and Mt Hood.

Passport Month in the Columbia River Gorge

‘A World of Wine in 40 Miles’

That’s the motto for the Columbia Gorge Winegrowers.  Americas’ Most Unique Wine Region is located less than an hour East of Portland, Oregon.  Columbia Gorge Growing Region includes the fertile soils of both sides of the mighty Columbia River.  The Washington and Oregon grapes and wines of this unique region are a spectacular selection of sweet whites and luscious reds.

Passport Month in the Columbia River Gorge

A World of Wine in the Columbia River Gorge

The wineries span the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area through 40 miles of peaceful, open-roads running through double mountain views of Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams.

The 7th Annual Columbia Gorge Wine Passport Month happens the Month of April and events, along with times, vary by winery. Your purchased Passport is your access pass to exclusive offers, incredible discounts and unique experiences at 24 Gorge wineries all April long, including three very special, wine-focused weekend events at participating wineries.Passport holders receive amazing deals at our Oregon and Washington wineries with deep discounts, food pairings, barrel tastings, reserve tastings, and more. Enjoy a relaxing day, memorable weekend, or multiple weekends touring around the wild beauty of the Columbia Gorge.

Rest a spell at a member inn of the Columbia River Gorge Bed and Breakfast Association.  A day can be spent in the Washington wineries, another in our Oregon wineries then complete your time in the Gorge at a downtown tasting Rooms in Hood River.  It’s a wonderful way to spend the month and discover the variety of wines from the Columbia Gorge and Columbia Valley AVAs and Columbia Gorge Bed and Breakfast Association

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