DALLESPORT, Wash. — Free tours, interpretive talks, guided plant hikes, a horseback ride and more are scheduled Saturday at Columbia Hills State Park.
The activities all begin take place at several locations at the park. A Discover Pass ($10 day/$30 for 12 months) is required for day-use visits to state parks. Day-use permits will be available for purchase at various park access points.
Among the activities will be:
o Tours at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. of the pictographs and petroglyphs drawn and carved into rocks by native Americans at Horsethief Lake. Included will be visits to the iconic “Tsagaglalal” (She Who Watches). To reserve a spot call (509) 439-9032.
o An interpretive talk beginning at 10 a.m. at Horsethief Butte describing how the Columbia Gorge was scoured by 1,000-foot-deep floods rushing initially at 60 miles per hour. The talk will be presented by Ryan Karlson, interpretive services program manager for Washington State Parks.
o Native plant exploration hikes at Dalles Mountain Ranch lead by botanists from the Washington Department of Natural Resources will begin at 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. from the trailhead, which is 3.5 miles up Dalles Mountain Road just east of the ranch buildings.
o Native plant research hikes from Dalles Mountain Ranch lead by Steve Van Vleet of Washington State University will begin also at 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. He will discuss his research on using livestock to restore native plants.
o Members of the Mount Adams chapter of the Backcountry Horsemen of Washington will head up a ride beginning at 10 a.m. from the Dalles Mountain Ranch trailhead of the new trail system linking Crawford Oaks on Highway 14 with the ranch. Participants need to bring their own horses and arrive between 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. The trail also is open to mountain bikes.
Other events are planned at various park points, including a field lesson in stream health at Eightmile Creek and a solar telescope viewing of the sun at Crawford Oaks trailhead. Staff from Goldendale Observatory State Park will assist with the telescope.
For more information, call the parks staff at columbia.hills@parks.wa.gov or call the park office at 509-767-1159.
