Mount Hood Scenic Byway

Mount Hood Scenic Byway is a National Scenic Byway in Oregon which connects Troutdale with Hood River via the southern flank of Mount Hood. The Byway's route includes parts of present-day U.S. Route 26 and Oregon Route 35 and the historic Barlow Road through the Mount Hood Corridor. It also forms a loop with the Historic Columbia River Highway, an All-American Road.

Route

From Troutdale, the Byway starts at the end of the Historic Columbia River Highway where the Troutdale Bridge crosses the Sandy River. For the first twenty miles (32 km) of the route, it follows a southwestern path along city streets: west on Glenn Otto Park Road into downtown Troutdale, connecting with Halsey Street, south along 238th Street (which veers to become 242nd Street), Burnside Street, Palmquist Road, Orient Drive, Dodge Park Boulevard, Lusted Road, and Ten Eyck Road.

The Byway continues into Sandy on US 26, heads west briefly on a spur to Jonsrud Viewpoint on Bluff Road, then backtracks to US 26.

It continues along U.S. Route 26 for about thirty miles, then leaves the highway proper in favor of the business loop through Government Camp. The Byway follows a spur just east of Government Camp to Timberline Lodge. After returning to US 26, it continues to the junction with Oregon Route 35 where it exits US 26 and goes north on OR 35 for about convert|40|mi|km. At the eastern outskirts of Hood River, OR 35 intersects with U.S. Route 30 and the Historic Columbia River Highway.

Much of the route of the byway is the same as the Mount Hood Highway, which is ODOT's designation for OR 35, and US 26 between Mount Hood and Portland.

Points of interest

From west to east:
* Sandy River: the mouth close to Troutdale is where William Robert Broughton spotted and named Mount Hood
* Portland Women's Forum State Scenic Viewpoint, also known as Chanticleer Point: views of the Columbia Gorge, Historic Columbia River Highway, Crown Point and Rooster Rock State Park
* Jonsrud Viewpoint: view of Sandy River basin and Devil's Backbone, route of the Oregon Trail and Barlow Road
* Wildwood Recreation Site - Cascade Streamwatch, Oregon: underwater stream and fish habitat viewing, five miles (8 km) of interpretive trails along the Salmon River, access to the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness via the convert|70|mi|km|sing=on Salmon River National Recreation Trail [ [http://www.wilderness.net/index.cfm?fuse=NWPS&sec=wildView&wid=514 Wilderness.net- Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness ] ]
* Lost Creek Campground: Nature Trail & Old Maid Flats
* Philip Foster Farm National Historic Site
* West Barlow Tollgate: operated from 1874 to 1919 [ http://www.byways.org/browse/byways/61400/places/61454/ disagrees with 1915 end date in Barlow Road]
* Laurel Hill Chute: This effectively made the Barlow Road one way by its 60% grade, easily the most harrowing portion of the Oregon Trail.
* Mount Hood Cultural Center and Museum: historic photos by Ray Atkeson in downtown Government Camp, Oregon
* Timberline Lodge and Ski Area
* Trillium Lake/Summit Meadow: a Barlow Road tollgate from 1866 through 1870
* White River Canyon: views of lahar and mud flows and evidence of frequent floods
* Barlow Pass/Pioneer Woman's Grave [ [http://www.byways.org/browse/byways/61400/places/61460/ Barlow Pass/Pioneer Woman's Grave ] ]
* Sahalie Falls: a horsetail waterfall convert|100|ft|m high and convert|20|ft|m wide, fed by Newton Clark Glacier and a tributary of Hood River
* Tamanawas Falls: a gentle two mile (3 km) trail along Cold Springs Creek to convert|100|ft|m|sing=on high falls
* Toll Bridge County Park
* Panorama Point County Park and Viewpoint
* Jesse and Winifred Hutson Museum: a National Historic Site in Parkdale, Oregon
* Mount Hood Railroad
* Historic Downtown Hood River

References

External links and sources

* [http://www.byways.org/browse/byways/61400/ Description of Mount Hood Scenic Byway] , from a Federal Highway Administration website
* [http://hoodriver.org/HRCCC_ArticleTemplate.asp?ArticleINDX=238 Description] from the Hood River County Chamber Of Commerce website
* [http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2005/09/19/daily30.html Mount Hood Scenic Byway gets federal designation] , a September 2005 article from "Portland Business Journal"
* [http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/COMM/NR05031601.shtml Oregon Transportation Commission approves Byway proposal] , a March 2005 press release from the official Oregon website
* [http://www.traveloregon.com/getaways/byway_mthood.cfm Mount Hood Scenic Byway] (with map), from the Oregon Tourism Commission website