Cascade Locks is a city in Hood River County,

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, United States. The city got its name from a set of locks built to improve navigation past the

Cascades Rapids The Cascades Rapids (sometimes called Cascade Falls or Cascades of the Columbia) were an area of rapids along North America's Columbia River, between the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. Through a stretch approximately wide, the river dr ...

of the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

. The U.S. federal government approved the plan for the locks in 1875, construction began in 1878, and the locks were completed on November 5, 1896. The locks were subsequently submerged in 1938, replaced by Bonneville Lock and Dam, although the city did not lose land from the expansion of

Lake Bonneville Lake Bonneville was the largest Late Pleistocene paleolake in the Great Basin of western North America. It was a pluvial lake that formed in response to an increase in precipitation and a decrease in evaporation as a result of cooler temperatur ...

behind the dam some downstream of the city. The city population was 1,144 at the 2010 census. Cascade Locks - DPLA - 64158b3b6f8c35c92cdac00472664257

Cascade Locks - DPLA - 64158b3b6f8c35c92cdac00472664257

Cascade Locks is just upstream from the Bridge of the Gods, a toll bridge that spans the Columbia River. It is the only bridge across the Columbia between

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

and Hood River. Cascade Locks is a few miles upstream of Eagle Creek Gorge, a popular scenic area that doubles as an alternate route for the Pacific Crest Trail. Cascade Locks is used frequently by hikers along the

Pacific Crest Trail The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...

(PCT) to cross the Columbia River. Cascade Locks is the lowest point along the trail, which runs from the Mexico–US border in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

to the Canada–US border in

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, and the largest city directly on the trail. Since 1999 the

Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs is a federally recognized Native American tribe made of three tribes who put together a confederation. They live on and govern the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in the U.S. state of Oregon. Tribes Th ...

have been pursuing an off-reservation

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

to be sited in Cascade Locks. Since 2008, city officials have been pursuing an arrangement that would allow them to trade city well water for state-owned spring water and to sell it to

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...

for bottling. In May 2016, Hood River County voters voted over 68% in favor to stop the project permanently.

Geography

Cascade Locks is in the northwest corner of Hood River County, on the south side of the

. It is bordered to the north (in the middle of the river) by

Skamania County, Washington Skamania County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,036. The county seat and largest incorporated city is Stevenson, although the Carson River Valley CDP is more populous. S ...

. The city of

Stevenson, Washington Stevenson is a city along the Columbia River in Skamania County, Washington, United States. It is the county seat of Skamania County and part of the Portland metropolitan area. The city also lies within the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic A ...

, is north of Cascade Locks across the river.

U.S. Route 30 U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route of the United States Numbered Highway System, with the highway traveling across the Northern U.S. With a length of , it is the third-longest U.S. Highway, afte ...

passes through the center of Cascade Locks as Wa Na Pa Street, joining Interstate 84 at the east and west end of the downtown. Both exits with I-84 are labeled "44". I-84 and US 30 lead east to Hood River and west to

. US 30 provides access to the Bridge of the Gods, a toll bridge which crosses the Columbia River to connect with

Washington State Route 14 State Route 14 (SR 14) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Washington. The highway travels east-west on the north side of the Columbia River, opposite Interstate 84 (I-84) to the south in Oregon. SR 14 forms a section ...

between North Bonneville and Stevenson. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city of Cascade Locks has a total area of , of which are land and are water.

Climate

This region experiences warm and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above . According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Cascade Locks has a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

which is abbreviated as "Csb" on climate maps. The city receives an average of of

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

per year.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 1,144 people, 445 households, and 305 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 502 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 87.7%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.5%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 1.8% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0.6%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 2.7% from other races, and 5.8% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 9.1% of the population. There were 445 households, of which 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 31.5% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 2.95. The median age in the city was 40.8 years. 20.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.4% were from 25 to 44; 32.9% were from 45 to 64; and 11.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 51.5% male and 48.5% female.

Transportation

Cascade Locks State Airport Cascade Locks State Airport is a public use airport located one nautical mile (2 km) northeast of the central business district of Cascade Locks, a city in Hood River County, Oregon, United States. It is owned by the Oregon Departmen ...

The Historic Columbia River Highway

US 30 U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route of the United States Numbered Highway System, with the highway traveling across the Northern U.S. With a length of , it is the third-longest U.S. Highway, afte ...

runs through the city, and can be accessed by exit 44 from

I-84 Interstate 84 may refer to: * Interstate 84 (Oregon–Utah), passing through Idaho, formerly known as Interstate 80N * Interstate 84 (Pennsylvania–Massachusetts), passing through New York and Connecticut {{road disambiguation ...

. The Bridge of the Gods connects Cascade Locks to Washington State Route 14. Columbia Area Transit and Skamania County Transit provide local and intercity bus service to surrounding communities.

References

External links

Entry for Cascade Locks
in the ''

Oregon Blue Book The ''Oregon Blue Book'' is the official directory and fact book for the U.S. state of Oregon prepared by the Oregon Secretary of State and published by the Office of the Secretary's Archives Division. The ''Blue Book'' comes in both print and o ...

''
Cascade Locks Tourism

Port of Cascade Locks
* !colspan=3,

Historic Columbia River Highway The Historic Columbia River Highway is an approximately scenic highway in the U.S. state of Oregon between Troutdale, Oregon, Troutdale and The Dalles, Oregon, The Dalles, built through the Columbia River Gorge between 1913 and 1922. As the firs ...

, - , align=center, Sheridan State Park
MP 44 , align=center, Cascade Locks
MP 45-46 , align=center, Herman Creek Bridge
MP 47.7 {{Authority control Cities in Oregon Cities in Hood River County, Oregon Columbia River Gorge Historic Columbia River Highway Oregon populated places on the Columbia River Port cities in Oregon 1935 establishments in Oregon