The Mount Hood Highway No. 26 (see
Oregon highways and routes
The state highway system of the U.S. state of Oregon is a network of highways that are owned and maintained by the Highway Division of the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT).
Highways and routes
The state highway system consists of abo ...
) is the
Oregon Department of Transportation
The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is a department of the state government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for systems of transportation. It was first established in 1969. It had been preceded by the Oregon State Highway Depar ...
's designation for a highway from
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
east around the south side of
Mount Hood
Mount Hood is a potentially active stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It was formed by a subduction zone on the Pacific coast and rests in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located about east-southeast of Portlan ...
and north via
Bennett Pass to
Hood River. It is marked as
U.S. Route 26
U.S. Route 26 (US 26) is an east–west United States highway that runs from Seaside, Oregon to Ogallala, Nebraska. When the U.S. highway system was first defined, it was limited to Nebraska and Wyoming; by the 1950s, it continued into Idaho and ...
from Portland to near Mount Hood and
Oregon Route 35
Oregon Route 35 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Oregon, running between Government Camp on the slopes of Mount Hood and the city of Hood River. OR 35 traverses part of the Mt. Hood Highway No. 26 (Mount Hood Scenic Byway) and ...
the rest of the way to Hood River.
Much of the highway is part of the Mount Hood Scenic Byway, a
National Scenic Byway
A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...
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
The Barlow Road (at inception, Mount Hood Road) is a historic road in what is now the U.S. state of Oregon. It was built in 1846 by Sam Barlow and Philip Foster, with authorization of the Provisional Legislature of Oregon, and served as the la ...
through the
Mount Hood Corridor
The Mount Hood Corridor is a part of Oregon between Sandy and Government Camp, in Clackamas County. It is named after Mount Hood and has served travelers going in both directions since the days of Native Americans and Oregon Trail migrants. Th ...
. It also forms a loop with the
Historic Columbia River Highway
The Historic Columbia River Highway is an approximately scenic highway in the U.S. state of Oregon between Troutdale and The Dalles, built through the Columbia River Gorge between 1913 and 1922. As the first planned scenic roadway in the United ...
, an
All-American Road
A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by C ...
.
The portion from Sandy to
Barlow Pass on the south flank of Mount Hood is aligned to the land portion of the historic
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what ...
. It was developed in the 1840s as the
Barlow Road
The Barlow Road (at inception, Mount Hood Road) is a historic road in what is now the U.S. state of Oregon. It was built in 1846 by Sam Barlow and Philip Foster, with authorization of the Provisional Legislature of Oregon, and served as the la ...
.
Route description
The highway begins in Portland at the west end of the
Ross Island Bridge
The Ross Island Bridge is a cantilever truss bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. It carries U.S. Route 26 (Mount Hood Highway) across the river between southwest and southeast Portland. The bridge opened in 1926 and was ...
, with access to the
Oswego Highway Oswego may refer to:
Places United States
*Oswego, Illinois, a village in Kendall County
*Oswego, Indiana, an unincorporated place in Kosciusko County
*Oswego, Kansas, a city in Labette County
* Oswego, Mississippi, an unincorporated community
* ...
(
Oregon Route 43
Oregon Route 43 is an Oregon state highway that runs between the cities of Oregon City and Portland, mostly along the western flank of the Willamette River. While it is technically known by the Oregon Department of Transportation as the Osweg ...
),
Pacific Highway (
Interstate 5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...
) and
Pacific Highway West
Oregon Route 99W is a state-numbered route in Oregon, United States, that runs from OR 99 and OR 99E in Junction City north to I-5 in southwestern Portland. Some signage continues it north to US 26 near downtown, but most signage agrees wit ...
(
Oregon Route 10
Oregon Route 10 is an Oregon state highway which serves Portland and some of its western suburbs.
Route description
OR 10 begins as Naito Parkway in Downtown Portland starting where Naito Parkway interchanges with U.S. Route 26. It heads sou ...
). US 26 itself heads west on Arthur Street, which is not a state-maintained Highway, to reach the
Stadium Freeway (
Interstate 405).
After crossing the
Willamette River
The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward b ...
on the Ross Island Bridge, the Highway is locally known as Powell Boulevard through Portland and
Gresham. State maintenance ends at the Portland/Gresham border, beginning again where the Highway turns southeast at Burnside Street east of downtown Gresham. Soon after that turn, Highway 26 uses the completed part of the
Mount Hood Freeway
The Mount Hood Freeway is a partially constructed but never to be completed freeway alignment of U.S. Route 26 and Interstate 80N (now Interstate 84), which would have run through southeast Portland, Oregon. Related projects would have continu ...
(built only to surface
expressway
Expressway may refer to:
* Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic.
* Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road.
*Expressway, the fictional s ...
standards) to
Sandy, where it runs through downtown on a
one-way couplet
A one-way pair, one-way couple, or couplet refers to that portion of a bi-directional traffic facilitysuch as a road, bus, streetcar, or light rail linewhere its opposing flows exist as two independent and roughly parallel facilities.
Descriptio ...
.
The section of Powell Boulevard from
Interstate 205
Interstate 205 may refer to either of two unconnected Interstate Highways in the United States, both of which are related to Interstate 5
* Interstate 205 (California), a connector in the San Francisco Bay Area
* Interstate 205 (Oregon–Washing ...
east into downtown
Gresham carries only two lanes. When I-205 was built, the ramps at Powell Boulevard were configured to only allow traffic towards the west, with US 26 east pointed along the four-lane Division Street, about to the north. (Right turns were even banned to and from the I-205 north ramps at first.) Division Street runs east into Gresham, where it meets Burnside Road, at which a right turn to the southeast leads into the Mount Hood Highway and US 26. Despite this signage pointing US 26 east on Division Street, traffic already on US 26 is pointed straight along Powell Boulevard (the Mount Hood Highway), in agreement with ODOT's route description.
East of Sandy, the highway is a (mostly) four-lane undivided highway approaching the slopes of Mount Hood; as the highway climbs up towards
Government Camp it reduces to two and three lanes. It is four lanes again through Government Camp. East of Government Camp is an
interchange with
Oregon Route 35
Oregon Route 35 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Oregon, running between Government Camp on the slopes of Mount Hood and the city of Hood River. OR 35 traverses part of the Mt. Hood Highway No. 26 (Mount Hood Scenic Byway) and ...
, where US 26 heads southeast on the
Warm Springs Highway towards
Madras
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
and the Mount Hood Highway heads north with Route 35.
Route 35 winds over
Bennett Pass and around the eastern side of Mount Hood, and descends into the
Hood River Valley. The Mount Hood Highway designation ends at the intersection with the
Historic Columbia River Highway
The Historic Columbia River Highway is an approximately scenic highway in the U.S. state of Oregon between Troutdale and The Dalles, built through the Columbia River Gorge between 1913 and 1922. As the first planned scenic roadway in the United ...
, which carries
U.S. Route 30
U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route in the system of the United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. With a length of , it is the third longest ...
to the west. To the north, the road continues as a spur of the
Columbia River Highway No. 2
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...
(
Interstate 84), bringing US 30 back onto that
freeway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
. Officially Route 35 heads west from there on US 30 through Hood River to end at I-84 west of that town, but all signage ends at the end of the Mount Hood Highway.
The general public uses the name ''Mount Hood Highway'' to refer to much the same route, excluding the portions inside Portland and western Gresham (which are referred to by the street name of Powell Boulevard).
Between 1955 and 1978, the segment of the route through southeast Portland was proposed to be moved from Powell Boulevard to a new similar alignment known as the
Mount Hood Freeway
The Mount Hood Freeway is a partially constructed but never to be completed freeway alignment of U.S. Route 26 and Interstate 80N (now Interstate 84), which would have run through southeast Portland, Oregon. Related projects would have continu ...
. Due to
intense local opposition, this proposed
freeway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
was cancelled.
Scenic Byway
From Troutdale, the Mount Hood Scenic Byway starts at the end of the Historic Columbia River Highway where the Troutdale Bridge crosses the
Sandy River. For the first 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, 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
U.S. Route 26 (US 26) is an east–west United States highway that runs from Seaside, Oregon to Ogallala, Nebraska. When the U.S. highway system was first defined, it was limited to Nebraska and Wyoming; by the 1950s, it continued into Idaho and ...
for about thirty miles, then leaves the highway proper in favor of the
business loop
A business route (or business loop, business spur, or city route) in the United States is a short special route connected to a ''parent'' numbered highway at its beginning, then routed through the central business district of a nearby city or ...
through
Government Camp. The Byway follows a spur just east of Government Camp to
Timberline Lodge
Timberline Lodge is a mountain lodge on the south side of Mount Hood in Clackamas County, Oregon, about east of Portland. Constructed from 1936 to 1938 by the Works Progress Administration, it was built and furnished by local artisans during th ...
. After returning to US 26, it continues to the junction with
Oregon Route 35
Oregon Route 35 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Oregon, running between Government Camp on the slopes of Mount Hood and the city of Hood River. OR 35 traverses part of the Mt. Hood Highway No. 26 (Mount Hood Scenic Byway) and ...
where it exits US 26 and goes north on OR 35 for about . At the eastern outskirts of Hood River, OR 35 intersects with
U.S. Route 30
U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route in the system of the United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. With a length of , it is the third longest ...
and the
Historic Columbia River Highway
The Historic Columbia River Highway is an approximately scenic highway in the U.S. state of Oregon between Troutdale and The Dalles, built through the Columbia River Gorge between 1913 and 1922. As the first planned scenic roadway in the United ...
.
Points of interest
From west to east:
*
Sandy River: the mouth close to
Troutdale is where
William Robert Broughton
William Robert Broughton (22 March 176214 March 1821) was a British naval officer in the late 18th century. As a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, he commanded HMS ''Chatham'' as part of the Vancouver Expedition, a voyage of exploration through th ...
spotted and named
Mount Hood
Mount Hood is a potentially active stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It was formed by a subduction zone on the Pacific coast and rests in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located about east-southeast of Portlan ...
*
Portland Women's Forum State Scenic Viewpoint, also known as Chanticleer Point: views of the
Columbia Gorge
The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Up to deep, the canyon stretches for over as the river winds westward through the Cascade Range, forming the boundary between the state ...
,
Historic Columbia River Highway
The Historic Columbia River Highway is an approximately scenic highway in the U.S. state of Oregon between Troutdale and The Dalles, built through the Columbia River Gorge between 1913 and 1922. As the first planned scenic roadway in the United ...
,
Crown Point and
Rooster Rock State Park
* Jonsrud Viewpoint: view of
Sandy River basin and Devil's Backbone, route of the
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what ...
and
Barlow Road
The Barlow Road (at inception, Mount Hood Road) is a historic road in what is now the U.S. state of Oregon. It was built in 1846 by Sam Barlow and Philip Foster, with authorization of the Provisional Legislature of Oregon, and served as the la ...
*
Wildwood Recreation Site
The Wildwood Recreation Site is a natural recreation area surrounded by the Mount Hood National Forest in northern Oregon, United States. It encompasses of old growth forest and five miles (8 km) of interpretive trail along the Salmon Ri ...
- Cascade Streamwatch, Oregon: underwater stream and fish habitat viewing, of interpretive trails along the
Salmon River, access to the
Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness via the
Salmon River National Recreation Trail
Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus ''Oncorhynchus' ...
* Lost Creek Campground: Nature Trail & Old Maid Flats
* Philip Foster Farm National Historic Site
* West Barlow Tollgate: operated from 1874 to 1919
* 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
Government Camp is an unincorporated community and census-designated place located in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, on the base of Mount Hood and north of Tom Dick and Harry Mountain. It is the only town within of Mount Hood and therefo ...
*
Timberline Lodge
Timberline Lodge is a mountain lodge on the south side of Mount Hood in Clackamas County, Oregon, about east of Portland. Constructed from 1936 to 1938 by the Works Progress Administration, it was built and furnished by local artisans during th ...
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
Barlow Pass/Pioneer Woman's Grave
/ref>
* Sahalie Falls: a horsetail waterfall high and wide, fed by Newton Clark Glacier and a tributary of Hood River
* Tamanawas Falls: a gentle trail along Cold Springs Creek to high falls
* Toll Bridge County Park
* Panorama Point County Park and Viewpoint
* Jesse and Winifred Hutson Museum: a National Historic Site in Parkdale, Oregon
Parkdale is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hood River County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 311, up from 266 at the 2000 census.
History
Parkdale was founded by David Eccles ...
* Mount Hood Railroad
* Historic Downtown Hood River
Major intersections
References
External links
{{Attached KML, display=title,inline
ORoads - Mount Hood Freeway
Description of Mount Hood Scenic Byway
from a Federal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...
website
Description
from the Hood River County Chamber Of Commerce website
Mount Hood Scenic Byway gets federal designation
a September 2005 article from ''Portland Business Journal
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
''
Oregon Transportation Commission approves Byway proposal
a March 2005 press release from the official Oregon website
Mount Hood Scenic Byway
(with map), from the Oregon Tourism Commission website
Named state highways in Oregon
Transportation in Portland, Oregon
Mount Hood
U.S. Route 26