Beacon Rock

Beacon Rock is located in Washington by the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, on State Route 14 about 35 miles east of Vancouver, Washington across from Oregon. Beacon Rock is the second-tallest monolith of its kind in the world standing at 848-foot-tall. It is one of the most prominent and distinctive geological features in the Columbia River Gorge because it was once the core of a volcano! The giant monolith composed of Andesite is what remains of what was not washed away by the massive force of ice-age flooding.

On October 31, 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition arrived here and first measured tides on the river, indicating their long journey was nearing an end. First called "Beaten" by Lewis and Clark on their trip down the Columbia River, then corrected to "Beacon" on their return trip from the ocean. A foot path leads with some 52 switchbacks to the top of the rock for a commanding view of Bonneville Dam and the lower Columbia Gorge. Part of the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area.

Henry Biddle purchased the rock in 1915 for $1 and during the next three years constructed a heavily switchbacked trail, handrails and bridges. The three-quarter mile trail to the top, completed in April 1918, leads to views in all directions making it a popular hiking attraction. Biddle's estate offered the rock and surrounding acreage to the state of Washington for $1, provided it be retained as a public park — a gift Washington initially declined until the state of Oregon indicated that it would be willing to maintain a state park on the north banks of the Columbia. Washington paid the fee in 1935, and the park now comprises 4,650 acres with nearly two miles of freshwater shoreline.