Five things
#1. You’re probably here to see Tsagaglalal, or She Who Watches, as well you should be. This striking rock art, depicting a woman leader keeping watch over her people, is known around the world. Photographer Edward Curtis, who documented the people and cultures of Pacific Northwest tribes in his 20-volume 1911 opus, The North American Indian, recounted the story of Tsagaglalal in his section on the Wishham, or Wishram people. She was a live woman who lived in the rocks to be able to know what was happening in her village, Nix lui dix, on the river below. One day Coyote came and told her that change was coming and women would no longer allowed to be chiefs, so he turned her into a rock and commanded, “You shall stay here and watch over the people who will live at this place.” Lewis and Clark camped near the village in 1805 and on their return in 1806, witnessing the ceremony honoring the arrival of the first salmon and noting the importance of this area as a trading center that drew people and goods from the Rockies to the Pacific. Clark called it the “Great Mart” of the West. The precise location of the village is debated, but it is probably now submerged under the waters of the Columbia River backed up by The Dalles Dam in 1957.
#2. Tsagaglalal is captivating. She’s unusually large, almost three feet across, and an unusual combination of petroglyph (art pecked into rock) and pictograph (art painted onto rock). In 1993, vandals damaged part of the image and other glyphs in what is known as Petroglyph Canyon, so State Parks closed the area to public access. To see the glyphs, sign up for an excellent free tour (they run April through October) and a guide will explain what you’re looking at. You’ll meet at the Temani Pesh-Wa (“Written on the Rock”) exhibit, a series of pecked boulders that area tribes saved when The Dalles Dam flooded the rapids, obliterating some of the most important Native sites in the Pacific Northwest, and created Lake Celilo. I’m glad the boulders are there—and more have been added, donated by people who held them in private collections—but they are a reminder of the havoc we wreak in the name of progress. I wonder how many more glyphs lie beneath the lake’s placid waters. The petroglyphs are in the Horsethief Lake section of the park, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
#3. Nearby Horsethief Butte offers an excellent day hike through and up to the top of its basalt columns. On the south side of the butte, look across the river for Oregon Trail wagon ruts running diagonally down to the water. The Columbia was much lower before the dams, so imagine wagons creating the ridge and looking downriver. Keep climbing to a natural amphitheater, where you can find some very faded pictographs preserved behind a fence. From there it’s a short uphill to the edge of the butte and stunning views of the scablands and Mount Hood. Besides the numerous hikers on and around the butte, look for rock climbers. The basalt is notably crumbly but that doesn’t deter climbers: this is the most popular climbing site in the mid-Columbia River Gorge.
#4. The third unit is Dalles Mountain Ranch, a former livestock farm deeded to State Park in 1993. It’s made up of several homestead sites that consolidated under consecutive owners. Interpretive trails wind past old farm equipment on display and reveal gorgeous views up and down the river. It’s a favorite destination in spring, when balsamroot and lupine blanket the hillsides. Wear long pants because it’s tick heaven, and be aware that cattle are still run through the area now and again. Just east of Horsethief Butte is the Crawford Oaks Trailhead, which opened in 2014 and is the park’s newest section. Miles of trails head up the hillsides from here, and you can link sections to create hikes up to eight miles long. On a clear winter day the views are spectacular.
#5. No matter where you go in the park, howling wind is typical along this part of the Columbia River. Bring extra stakes for your tent, secure your hat to your head, and be prepared to have your breath taken away, both by the stiff breeze and by the scenery and history in the park.
Fast Facts about Columbia Hills Historical State Park
- 3,363-acre camping park, open year-round (Horsethief Lake closed in winter)
- this park’s facilities include: picnic tables, grills, horseshoe pits, grassy lawns, restrooms, showers, reservable gazebo at Horsethief Lake
- on land: hiking, mountain biking, road biking, birding, wildlife viewing, camping, horseback riding
- on water: freshwater fishing, swimming, boating, boat launch, boat ramps (one at Horsethief Lake, one on the Columbia River)
- tent and RV camping at Horsethief Lake: eight partial hookup sites, four standard sites, four walk-in sites, two hiker-biker sites, reservable online
- Discover Pass required, $10 daily or, for a very reasonable $30, purchase an annual pass
- park brochure
- park map
- Horsethief Lake area map
Land Acknowledgment
Columbia Hills Historical State Park occupies the traditional [and unceded] lands of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, Confederated Tribes of the Yakama Nation, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, who have lived and travelled here since time immemorial.