Family-Run Columbia Gorge Waterfall Tour: Multnomah, Latourell, Vista House

The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area starts about half an hour east of Portland, where the Columbia runs between skyscraper-high cliffs and rainforest. At the end of the last ice age a cataclysmic flood sheared away the land here and left the stone walls and waterfalls that make up the Gorge. A small family-run company runs this tour, and everything on it lies less than 30 minutes outside the city. Vista House sits on 800-foot sheer cliffs and has a rest area, visitor centre and gift shop with a view of the Gorge. Multnomah Falls, Oregon's tallest and best-known waterfall and the second tallest year-round fall in the country, has its own rest area and visitor centre. Latourell Falls is a plunge-style fall over volcanic basalt, and in autumn salmon can be seen spawning in Multnomah Creek. Horsetail Falls and Shepperd's Dell, a small fall running under an old bridge, are shorter stops along the drive. The tour covers waterfalls, rainforest and volcanic rock formations on a single outing from Portland.