Everything about Beacon Rock State Park totally explained
Beacon Rock State Park is a
park in the
U.S. state of
Washington, in the
Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, on State Route 14 about 35 miles (56 km) east of
Vancouver, Washington.
The park takes its name from Beacon Rock, an 848 foot rock next to the
Columbia River. The park also includes 4482 acres (18.14 km²) of forested uplands across the highway from Beacon Rock, with a 1.25 mile (2 km) nature trail, 9.5 miles (15 km) of hiking trails, and 13 miles (21 km) of fire road.
Hardy Falls and
Rodney Falls are scenic highlights along the trail to the summit of 2,445 foot (745 m)
Hamilton Mountain, which has a spectacular view of
Bonneville Dam and points east. A new trail has been constructed to
Little Beacon Rock.
On
October 311805, the
Lewis and Clark Expedition arrived here and first measured tides on the river, indicating their long journey was nearing an end.
Beacon Rock
Beacon Rock, from which the park takes the name, is on the north bank of the
Columbia River. It was named by
Lewis and Clark in 1805, but called
Castle Rock until 1916.
Beacon Rock is 848 feet (258 m) tall and is made of
Andesite. Henry Biddle purchased the rock in 1915 for $1 and during the next three years constructed a heavily switchbacked trail, handrails and bridges. The three-quarter mile trail to the top, completed in April 1918
, leads to views in all directions. It is a popular hiking destination.
The
United States Army Corps of Engineers planned to destroy the rock for a jetty at the mouth of the Columbia, and dug three caves on the rock's south side. During this time, Biddle's family tried to make it a state park. At first Washington refused the gift, but changed when
Oregon offered to accept.
It has been variously claimed to be the second largest free standing
monolith in the northern hemisphere, or in the world, just behind the
Rock of Gibraltar… or
Stone Mountain… or
Mount Augustus, the latter two being very much larger than either of the first two. The assertion depends on how one defines the term "monolith". For example, America's own
Devils Tower National Monument is rather larger than Beacon Rock, but is considered an
igneous intrusion rather than necessarily a "single rock".
Sources
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