Explore Cultural and Natural History at the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon

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If you’re planning a trip to the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon, take the opportunity to learn about its cultural history and natural formation at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center and Wasco County Historical Museum. Although the two Museums are housed in separate wings, they comprise one incredible attraction. You can explore the beautiful natural area surrounding the grounds on a walk along an interpretive trail at the site of the Museums in The Dalles, as well. 

The Columbia Gorge Discovery Center and Wasco County Historical Museum feature exhibit halls, an auditorium, meeting rooms, workrooms, a research library, museum store and a cafe. The Museum’s collection contains roughly 26,000 objects, including Native American baskets, farm tools, household furnishings and other items.

Interactive displays and impressive exhibits at the Discovery Center recount both the natural and cultural histories of the Gorge and the Columbia River. You’ll learn about ice ages and how the Gorge came to support a tremendous variety of wildlife and vegetation. You’ll also learn how the Gorge and the River have shaped the lives of people in the ancient past and how they continue to do so today.

The Wasco County Historical Museum focuses on the people who have lived here, from the ancient past through present times. Wasco County has been inhabited for more than 10,000 years, and it has a rich and fascinating cultural history.  Exhibits at the Museum explore Native American culture and history as well as the histories of a wide variety of people who have lived here. Explorers, settlers, pioneers, missionaries, traders, emigrants and military personnel are all part of Wasco County’s intriguing and diverse cultural history, and they are all featured in the Museums exhibits and displays.

In addition to touring the many fascinating exhibits at both museums, visitors can spend time viewing films in the theater located on site. You can talk with pioneers in the living history encampment that is available summers at the Discovery Center and Museum. Art demonstrations and daily talks are also regularly scheduled. If you plan to spend the day at the Discovery Center and Museum, you can relax during a lunch or coffee break at the Basalt Rock Cafe.

There is an interpretive trail you will want to explore on the grounds of the Discovery Center and Museum. The interpretive trail focuses on the variety of vegetation and wildlife supported by the habitat along the banks of the Columbia River. You'll see willows, cottonwoods, sedges and cattails. Songbirds, water fowl, turtles and raccoons are some examples of the wildlife that lives here. You will walk along areas of restored vegetation featuring grasses, wildflowers and other plants native to the eastern Gorge. Throughout the walk, you’ll enjoy incredible views of the scenic Columbia River Gorge.