Bonneville Dam, at exit 40, features a multi-leveled visitor center with fish ladders and an underwater viewing room. At a shaded pond area, you can see trout, salmon, sturgeon, and other local species. Exit 35 is the eastern access to the Historic Columbia River Highway. Built between 1913 and 1920, it is still considered an engineering marvel. Samuel Lancaster, the Highway's chief engineer, saw the project as a unique opportunity to reconcile nature and civilization.
Graceful bridges complement natural settings and blend with the environment.
Stone guardrails, dry masonry, and rock walls, which appear intermittently throughout the drive, are characteristic of the stonemason's artistry and training in old world road building traditions. Virtually the entire route is shaded. Lancaster succeeded so well in attaining his objectives that the drive is sometimes referred to as a mystical experience. The historic highway begins by winding through a typical Cascade rain forest of fir, maple, and alder, enhanced by moss and thick ground covers of fern and wildflowers. Nearby Horsetail Falls drops in a rushing torrent.