Mosier Twin Tunnels Historic Highway
— — two stone arches cut for a quieter road.
Not only on a wall.
“The Mosier Twin Tunnels sit on a restored 4.5-mile section of the old Columbia River Highway State Trail, between Hood River and the small town of Mosier. Samuel Lancaster designed the highway and his crews drove the tunnels through basalt in 1921; the road was bypassed and the tunnels filled in the 1950s, then dug back out and reopened as a walking and cycling path in 2000. The trail hangs above the river with a long view east into the dry Gorge. — from the studio
Mosier Twin Tunnels Historic Highway, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
The place, in three passes.
The Mosier Twin Tunnels are a pair of basalt tunnels on the Historic Columbia River Highway, completed in 1921 as part of Samuel Lancaster's pioneering scenic road. They sit on a 4.5-mile car-free segment of the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail between trailheads at Hood River and Mosier in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. The original highway was bypassed by Interstate 84 in the 1950s and the tunnels were filled with rubble for safety. Oregon Parks and Recreation reopened the segment to walking and cycling in 2000.
The tunnels were carved by hand through Columbia River basalt, the same flood basalt that built the cliffs on both sides of the Gorge between roughly 17 and 6 million years ago. Lancaster's engineers cut shoulder-height windows into the river-facing wall so that drivers in 1921 would not lose the view as they passed through. The masonry guard walls along the trail use locally quarried basalt laid in the same Arts and Crafts style that defines the rest of the historic highway from Crown Point east.
The trail is open year-round to walkers and cyclists; no vehicles allowed. The Hood River trailhead at the west end has the larger lot, restrooms, and a small visitor centre; the Mosier trailhead at the east end is quieter. The full one-way distance between trailheads is 4.5 miles, with about 400 feet of climbing west-to-east. Oregon State Parks charges a day-use parking fee at the Hood River end. Spring brings balsamroot and lupine across the open slopes; late summer is hot and dry.