The Pacific Northwest has some very dramatic landscapes—world-class, even. Yet, when someone grows up here, that landscape may become so familiar that it loses its ability to awe. At least, that’s what happened to me. It wasn’t until I traveled out of the region more as an adult that I began to appreciate my backyard grandeur (the number of places I’ve been and thought, You call that a mountain?…). However, I’ve always enjoyed a good geologic formation.

How do you prevent this calamity from befalling your children? In my experience with my kids, I developed a few cunning tactics to trick them into appreciating the real world at least as much as the virtual one.

The most obvious thing we did was something I’m sure you already do—get them out into some of our stunning landscapes. When we also made the kids actually interact with nature in that landscape, they had a good time. It was the “making them” part that required tactical planning. 

If you live in the Portland area (as I do, and just under half of the state’s population does), the most impressive and easily accessible landscape nearby is the Columbia River Gorge. And hey, all you have to do is drive through it, right?

Yeah … no. It is, indeed, an amazing gorge, as is the Columbia River itself (there are many places in the US where I’ve found myself thinking, You call that a river?). Still, when driving through the area on a freeway, it can seem more like the journey than the destination, and in our case, it often was. In other words, our kids look at screens rather than out windows. 

I probably don’t have to tell you that saying, “We’re driving through some of the most impressive landscapes in the country; pay attention!” is utterly useless, especially after it is repeated more than twice.

Instead, the main move in my toolkit was to arm myself with trivia about what we were driving through. Then, instead of admonishing them to pay attention, I forced their attention to the outside world by saying, “Look, that’s Beacon Rock. It’s the second-largest freestanding monolith in the world.” There’s a lot of information to unpack here. Be assured, I unpacked it.

Obviously,  I can’t share my entire list of engaging but random facts about the entirety of Oregon (and a few other places), so it’s work you’ll have to do yourself unless you’re already armed with interesting tidbits. Plus, different families will find other things interesting to them and maybe find my little factoids dull.

There are lots of options for research, of course (most of them involve screens, as most things seem to do now), and I’m sure you have your favorites as I have mine. I used maps and apps most when the kids were little and trapped in nature with me. Actual paper maps. (Fun fact: Did you know kids are taught map reading in school now? Or at least my kids were, although they’re now in their 20s, so things may have changed.)

As for apps, I like Atlas Obscura. They also have a great, searchable website. There are tons of other resources, some focused on specific activities, like hiking or watersports. 

However, if it is Beacon Rock you’re interested in… below I will share what I inflicted on my kids about Beacon Rock.

First, that statement above about it being the second-largest monolith? Well, that depends on how you define “monolith,” and if you’re lucky, one of your kids will ask, “What’s a monolith?” If no one asks, you can pose the question rhetorically yourself, and then the discussion (or monologue) can proceed with you doling out your other factoids. Even if they ignore you, maybe some of it will sink in.

Here’s the fast and furious list of fascinating facts about Beacon Rock:

  • It’s an ancient basalt volcanic plug that formed when magma hardened inside an active volcano vent;
  • It was named “Beaten Rock” by Lewis and Clark in 1805, but they later referred to it as Beacon Rock, and that’s the name that stuck over the long term;
  • There’s a trail to the top where the views are said to be incredible. Free access to anyone willing to hike a .75-mile trail with a 574-foot height gain;
  • It was originally privately owned, and hiking the trail cost $1. It became a Washington state park to avoid the Army Corps of Engineers pulverizing the monolith in order to build the jetty at the mouth of the Columbia;
  • The largest monolith(s) in the world are Stone Mountain, the Rock of Gibraltar, and Mount Augustus, which calls into question that whole “second largest” thing. It’s a great conversation starter, although probably not at cocktail parties.

Now you know the kind of educational torture I inflicted on my kids as we were driving along. Let me share what I made them suffer through when we actually stopped somewhere, using the town of Cascade Locks as an example.

About eight miles further east on I84, Cascade Locks is great for kids (especially school-aged kids) because there are a couple of places within or very near the town where a whole lot of interesting things can be seen, explored, or learned, such as Cascade Locks Marine Park.

Finding the park is easy—once you enter the town (exit 44 from I84), look for signs for the park. It’s a large area in the center of town and on the banks of the Columbia. The big draws are the locks themselves and Thunder Island, but there are historic buildings, Oregon’s first steam locomotive—the Oregon Pony—and a museum. And, of course, acres of grass, trees, great views, and some play equipment.

To get to the locks and Thunder Island, it’s a simple stroll north from the parking lot to a footbridge over the historic lock channels. The island was formed by cutting these channels through a tongue of land while building the system in 1890.

The locks replaced a massive portaging system that operated on both sides of the Columbia and was required to get past the Cascade Rapids. Building this workaround made the Oregon Pony obsolete, as its job was to move river traffic around the rapids. Ample signage will explain how locks work, which mechanically-minded kids should find fascinating. 

Some kids might be more into seeing indigenous peoples fishing the traditional way from the walls of the old locks. When the salmon aren’t running, the platforms from which people fish can still be seen, and there’s even an informational sign contextualizing the practice.

Thunder Island is a nice, partially wooded few acres of land with some great views of the river, the gorge, windsurfers, kiteboarders, and even the occasional wedding. It’s a great place for a picnic or eating burgers purchased from the legendary East Wind Drive-in, located near the park entrance. Despite its relatively small population, there are plenty of other places to eat and even to stay in the town.

When visiting the Marine Park and Thunder Island, remember that the interpretive signs are pretty old, so some of the information is outdated or possibly culturally insensitive. The signs explain how the modern Bridge of the Gods was built and how the toll to cross it is “still only” 50 cents, but that’s definitely no longer true. 

Speaking of Bridge of the Gods, that’s the other interesting spot I alluded to above, but it’s not the only other interesting spot in the area. Check out the town’s tourist site for more info.

Historically, there are not one but two bridges associated with the name Bridge of the Gods. The one that exists now was a privately built toll bridge, now publicly owned. The first and original bridge was a land mass spanning the gorge. Now, here’s a fascinating geological feature—the Columbia created the land bridge when it forced a tunnel for itself to flow through after a massive, massive landslide blocked the entire gorge. Seriously, the entire gorge, and it happened recently (in geologic terms). The tribal legends about why the crossing eventually fell are interesting. Here’s one source with a summary, but there are more detailed legends.

Aside from the history of the two bridges, there’s another intriguing thing about the current one—this is where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses the Columbia Gorge, PCT mile #2,155. It also happens to be the lowest point on the trail. In town, it’s easy to spot through-hikers chilling out or sometimes meeting up with family and friends. My experience is that PCT hikers are friendly and happy to talk about their experience if asked. Aside from checking out the hikers who use the trail, you can always walk some of it yourself.

Driving across the bridge, you can see Thunder Island, the locks, and new views of the gorge, as well as pass (carefully—there’s no sidewalk) PCT hikers continuing their trek by walking across here. Bike traffic is also allowed on the bridge. You could walk or bike across yourself, but with the vehicle, traffic may not want to do it with younger kids. 

The passenger vehicle toll for the bridge is $3 one way. If the bridge is your destination, it’s accessible from I-84 via exit 44.

Once across the bridge on the Washington side, you’ll find yourself on SR-14, assuming you don’t turn around and drive back across. Taking SR 14 west will ultimately lead to the Vancouver-Portland area, offering another interesting stop. About 7.5 miles down the highway is—surprise!—Beacon Rock State Park. The park is far more than just the monolith; it is comprised of over 4,400 acres of recreational opportunities and camping. Never having spent much time here, I can’t say much about it, but it’s a park in the gorge, so it’s probably very cool. Even better, it’s a park on the less traveled side of the gorge. To explore the possibilities, the Washington State Parks visitor site is a good place to start. 

Finally, I have one more tactic for getting kids to pay attention to nature, and this one is foolproof—take them out of cell range (preferably when their devices are low on battery power). We used to take our kids camping at Ollalie Lake for a week every summer, which is devoid of modern communication services. Even if they had a fully charged battery at the trip’s start, they were guaranteed not to by the end.

My children don’t seem to resent me for using all these devious tactics on them (although they often roll their eyes when I start pontificating), so chances are other kids will respond well, too.

Good luck!