Located on the historic Columbia River Scenic Highway just west of Hood River. The highway was replaced by Interstate 84, but sections of the old, beautiful, highway remain. Most people view the western part of the highway while visiting the amazing waterfalls in the area. This part of the old highway offers outstanding views of the eastern part of the gorge, the Columbia River, the rocky southern side of the gorge and the view of the northern (Washington) side of the gorge. A beautiful walk/bike trip.
This section of the highway was between Hood River and Mosier. The tunnels were blasted out of the rock for construction of the highway. In the 1950’s the remaining tunnels were filled in and abandoned. They have since been restored and upgraded to be safer.
The two tunnels are 288 ft/88 m and 81 ft/25m in length. The entire path is paved with a very slight grade. The tunnels are on the Mosier end of the trail, but the entire distance is worthy of your time. Additional information is available here.
Location via Google Maps
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The incredible 390 foot/120m Mitchell Point tunnel and windows were destroyed when Interstate-84 (then Interstate 80N) was constructed in 1966. A project is underway to recreate the view, that only exists photographs today, with a new 655 ft/200m tunnel and five arched windows.
More information about the Mitchell Point project is available at here (ODOT) and here.
