It was a race against the sun as I wound my way through the rolling hills near Dufur. The pink hues were gaining on me and by the time I had reached the Dalles, my “out the door by 4” mantra seemed to have failed me. Undeterred, I hauled my plant-girlie heart up the serpentine Historic Columbia River Highway to the Rowena Crest viewpoint, and even though I had missed sunrise by a measly ten minutes, I was still in awe over what lay before me.

The bright morning sun shone behind the fields of balsamroot in full bloom, their brilliant yellow dew-covered petals spectacularly illuminated by those early rays. After the long, teasing winter the ample signs of spring up on that plateau made me a little misty-eyed.

Perched atop this basalt flat-top, the viewpoint is also the starting point of two trails that wind through the Tom McCall Preserve and offer not only breathtaking views of the Columbia River but from April through May it puts on a hell of a show of color thanks to the over 300 plants that have rooted here, some endemic to the Columbia Gorge.

Flower power

The 231-acre Tom McCall Preserve (named for the former Republican governor and conservationist (https://www.ohs.org/museum/exhibits/a-symbol-of-home-the-legacy-of-tom-mccall-in-oregon.cfm) is privately owned and managed and is closed during the wetter, winter months (November 1-Feburary 28) to hikers in an effort to protect the fragile soil according to the Nature Conservancy. 

Its unique position between the cool wet weather west of the Cascades and the dryer climates east makes the preserve ideal for the plethora of plants that grow here (https://wildflowersearch.org/search?oldstate=gms%3A4%3Bgmc%3A45.68763,-121.30418%3Bbloom%3AIgnore%3Blocation%3ARowena%20Plateau/Tom%20McCall%20Preserve,+OR).

The first of the flowers to really show off all they’ve got are the incredibly abundant aforementioned balsamroot giving the green plateau and towering hills above a healthy speckling of bright yellow. Amongst the seas of yellow are lupine, camas, bachelor buttons, shooting stars and desert parsley (which were just starting to bloom on my mid-April trek). 

As the season progresses other plants and flowers will join in the show including California poppies, varieties of vetch, penstemon, primrose, paintbrush and so much more along with the oak and maple trees leafing-out. 

Warmer months also bring poison oak, ticks and more of a likelihood of encountering rattlesnakes, so use caution if you venture up further into the summer months.

Two trails, one epic view

Rowena Crest viewpoint and the preserve that surrounds it has two seasonal trails running through the acres of plant life, one more strenuous than the other but both around the same distance round-trip (https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/tom-mccall-preserve-at-rowena/?tab_q=tab_container-tab_element_35156957_97531524). 

The Tom McCall Point trail leads up 1000 feet from the viewpoint approximately 2 miles to the aptly named point mostly hugging the hill’s cliffside but consistently sporting an incredible view of the plateau below and the Columbia River Gorge beyond. Due to the elevation gain over a relatively short distance, it is far more moderate, especially given the narrowness of the trail and prevalent small rocks that may put anyone with weak ankles, bad shoes or creaky knees off this one. Luckily there is a gentler option available too. 

Across the highway from the viewpoint is the Plateau Trail which is around 2.6 miles through the whole loop including the Shasha Loop spur that connects to it. The trails only cover about 250 feet in elevation change and most of it is over rolling hills with a gentler incline on the way back than the previous trail. 

The loop covers the river-facing plateau and allows hikers to get a great look at the abundant plant life here and birds like western meadowlarks, red-winged blackbirds, flickers, warblers and the occasional raptor that be found soaring above. For geology fans, you can also get a closer look at the many basalt cliffs the trail sits atop as well as the many rock faces of the Columbia River Basalt Group (https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/cvo/science/columbia-river-basalt-group-stretches-oregon-idaho)on either side of the river border. You can also see the stunning carving done by the ice age floods that spewed down the Columbia River from the draining of ancient Lake Missoula in what is now Montana (https://www.iafi.org/rowena-crest-tom-mccall-nature-preserve/) that occurred 18,000-15,000 years ago (https://www.nps.gov/iafl/index.htm#:~:text=At%20the%20end%20of%20the,before%20reaching%20the%20Pacific%20Ocean.).

No matter which trail you take, both offer a good stretch of the legs and spectacular views to match that are open to foot traffic only. Neither is open to dogs (regardless of leashing) and hikers are encouraged to wipe their shoes on the boot brush at both trailheads to help prevent seed hitchhikers from finding a nice spot to nestle down.

Picture perfect

There is a saying for outdoor spaces that is incredibly apt for the Rowena Crest area: leave only footprints, take only pictures. 

The area is often filled with photographers eager to catch those golden-hour shots of the various flora that is found here as well as the wide-open views of the Gorge and the historic highway that slithers its way through. My trusty camera and I saw countless telephoto lenses affixed to expensive camera bodies with eager folks behind them snapping wildly, but even if you are only armed with the camera on your phone, Rowena Crest and the Tom McCall Preserve will still look fantastic on the other side of the lens. 

Everywhere you turn there is a view or a plant worthy of snapping a photo of and no matter what time of the day you decide to make the trip for a hike or if you just swing by for a quick detour off the interstate, it is well worth the stop.