Columbia Hills State Park. Discover Pass required. Vaulted toilets. No place for manure so pick up in the parking lot and pack it home with you. There are 2 trailheads for horse trailer parking; Dalles Mt. Ranch and Crawford Oaks. Trailhead options: Dalles Mt. Ranch. The 3.6 mile gravel road is washboard in a lot of places and the entrance into the trailhead has loose gravel with a couple large potholes on the short incline going in. Use either 4x4 or a low gear and take it slow and steady. This trailhead is a very short distance to the main trail system. Crawford Oaks. Has 6 trailer parking spots on a paved lot. You will need to ride 1.04 miles up to get to the main trail system. Trail Details: Moderate difficulty. Trail is mostly dirt, some rock/gravel sections so shoes or boots are recommended for tender footed horses. There are a few water crossings, a fair amount of elevation gain on the rolling hills, usually some wind in spots (it is the Gorge, after all) and lots of beautiful flowers in bloom this time of year (spring). You may run across some hikers, dogs (on leash) and bikers. Tips: Stay on the trail if you want to avoid Poison Oak, rattlesnakes and ticks (this all depends on the time of year). There are some sections that have old barbed wire fencing that is laying down a short distance off the trail so be careful. Weekdays are best for parking especially during spring bloom. If you go on a weekend, go before 9 am to find parking for your rigs. Directions: Drive Hwy 14 all the way there or… Drive I-84 east to Exit 87 for Dufur and Bend. After exiting, take a left for the DMV, DOT, State Police and The Dalles Dam. Drive 3.6 miles, crossing The Dalles Bridge, to a right turn merge with Highway 14E for Kennewick. From here, go 0.9 miles and make a left turn off Highway 14 onto The Dalles Mountain Road for the Columbia Hills State Park and Dalles Mountain Ranch. Brown state park sign on the right hand side of Hwy 14. If you pass this, you can safely turnaround at the Crawford Oaks Trailhead up on the left. Drive 3.4 miles on this gravel road and reach a junction at an old wagon and before a group of ranch buidlings. Keep straight (right) here for 0.2 miles; then turn left up the hill and park in the Dalles Mountain Ranch Trailhead parking area. Brown trailhead sign on the right hand side.

Horseback Riding

Klickitat County, Washington, United States

time : May 17, 2022 11:38 AM

duration : 2h 16m 34s

distance : 8.4 km

total_ascent : 198 m

highest_point : 403 m

avg_speed : 4.9 km/h

user_id : chels3318

user_firstname : Chelsea

user_lastname : Radi

Columbia Hills State Park. Discover Pass required. Vaulted toilets. No place for manure so pick up in the parking lot and pack it home with you. There are 2 trailheads for horse trailer parking; Dalles Mt. Ranch and Crawford Oaks. Trailhead options: Dalles Mt. Ranch. The 3.6 mile gravel road is washboard in a lot of places and the entrance into the trailhead has loose gravel with a couple large potholes on the short incline going in. Use either 4x4 or a low gear and take it slow and steady. This trailhead is a very short distance to the main trail system. Crawford Oaks. Has 6 trailer parking spots on a paved lot. You will need to ride 1.04 miles up to get to the main trail system. Trail Details: Moderate difficulty. Trail is mostly dirt, some rock/gravel sections so shoes or boots are recommended for tender footed horses. There are a few water crossings, a fair amount of elevation gain on the rolling hills, usually some wind in spots (it is the Gorge, after all) and lots of beautiful flowers in bloom this time of year (spring). You may run across some hikers, dogs (on leash) and bikers. Tips: Stay on the trail if you want to avoid Poison Oak, rattlesnakes and ticks (this all depends on the time of year). There are some sections that have old barbed wire fencing that is laying down a short distance off the trail so be careful. Weekdays are best for parking especially during spring bloom. If you go on a weekend, go before 9 am to find parking for your rigs. Directions: Drive Hwy 14 all the way there or… Drive I-84 east to Exit 87 for Dufur and Bend. After exiting, take a left for the DMV, DOT, State Police and The Dalles Dam. Drive 3.6 miles, crossing The Dalles Bridge, to a right turn merge with Highway 14E for Kennewick. From here, go 0.9 miles and make a left turn off Highway 14 onto The Dalles Mountain Road for the Columbia Hills State Park and Dalles Mountain Ranch. Brown state park sign on the right hand side of Hwy 14. If you pass this, you can safely turnaround at the Crawford Oaks Trailhead up on the left. Drive 3.4 miles on this gravel road and reach a junction at an old wagon and before a group of ranch buidlings. Keep straight (right) here for 0.2 miles; then turn left up the hill and park in the Dalles Mountain Ranch Trailhead parking area. Brown trailhead sign on the right hand side.