Rowena Crest hairpin and balsamroot bloom
— — the yellow the hill turns for three weeks in April.
Not only on a wall.
“A hairpin loop on the old 1921 Columbia River Highway above the Columbia, halfway between Mosier and The Dalles. Each spring, arrowleaf balsamroot covers the plateau in yellow, with lupine threaded through it. The bloom holds about three weeks, usually late April into mid-May. The Tom McCall Preserve sits next to the viewpoint; the trail to McCall Point climbs another thousand feet.
Rowena Crest hairpin and balsamroot bloom, 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.
Rowena Crest is a basalt headland on the Historic Columbia River Highway, US-30, in the eastern Columbia River Gorge between Mosier and The Dalles. The hairpin loops were designed by Samuel Lancaster and completed in 1921 as part of the original Gorge highway. The viewpoint sits at roughly 700 feet above the river, with the Tom McCall Preserve immediately east. Mount Adams rises across the river in Washington; Mount Hood is visible to the south on clear mornings. Hood River lies about twenty minutes west on US-30.
The arrowleaf balsamroot bloom on Tom McCall Preserve usually peaks between late April and mid-May, with grass lupine adding blue through the same window. The full display lasts about three weeks. Wind on the plateau can run hard at any time of year, particularly through the afternoon. The preserve closes off-trail travel during the bloom to protect the meadow. Snow on the highway is rare but possible into March. By July the hill has dried to gold-brown and the heat sits heavy on the basalt.
The viewpoint and parking pull-off are open year-round, free of charge. Two trails leave the lot: the Plateau Trail, roughly a mile out and back to a clifftop overlook, and the McCall Point Trail, 3.6 miles round trip to a 1,722-foot summit. Ticks are common from April through June; long pants and a check at the trailhead are routine. Drone use and dogs off-leash are not allowed inside the preserve. Friends of the Columbia Gorge stewards the land and posts current trail conditions.