Viento State Park

Viento is Spanish for wind — an apt name for a park in the blustery Columbia River Gorge. But this is just a happy coincidence.

Seasonal Camping With spacious, well-shaded campsites located on both sides of I-84, Viento almost always has a spot available when other campgrounds in the area are full.

Reservation sites Campground is accepting reservations up to 6 months in advance at oregonstateparks. reserveamerica. com .

Where a railroad station once stood is now the home of one of the best Gorge campgrounds, conveniently located just 8 miles west of Hood River.

6-mile section of the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail .

Moss often carpets portions of the paved trail. When the forest breaks, look for views across the Columbia River into Washington.

After a mile, the trail passes Starvation Creek State Park f

The land was acquired between 1925 and 1967 by purchase from private owners. The purchase of the first tract was financed by Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company to compensate for damage to trees when the company cleared its line rights-of-way in Oregon park areas. The park was established to provide a shaded picnic and rest area for travelers on the old Columbia River Highway. Initial development was carried out by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. Overnight camping facilities were added in the 1950s. Although viento is the Spanish word for wind, and trees in the area show the shaping effects of strong winds in the Columbia Gorge, the park name was taken from a nearby station on the railroad -- the title of which supposedly was composed of the first letters of surnames of the railroad builder Henry Villard, capitalist William Endicott, and a contractor named Tolman. These men were active in railroad building along the Columbia River in the 1870s and 1880s. Viento was a station on the Oregon-Washington Railway and Navigation Company line (now Union Pacific).