Tour to the Columbia River Gorge

Join fellow Club members May 30th and 31st for a Gorge visit to another beautiful little town on the Columbia River bordering Oregon. This is a new take on one of our favorite destinations and has something for everyone. Great roads, world-class scenery, a fun destination, but best of all is the chance to socialize with all the great people who participate in the BMW driving experience. • Day One, Saturday May 30: Day One will be the drivers’ day, full of new areas to explore and plenty of curves. We’ll leave from BMW NW in Tacoma. Please be at 4011 20th St E., Tacoma by 8:00 am; follow the signs to the designated parking area. In addition to the regular drivers’ meeting describing the route and signing waivers, our BMW NW dealer host will provide light refreshments. We plan to leave at 8:30 sharp and drive south to Olympia then west for the Washington coast, stopping for lunch by the ocean or in historic Astoria, OR. We’ll head back east and will catch a little traffic in Portland. Soon we will get back to the Washington side and stop briefly in Camas prior to our final stretch into Stevenson. We’ll pull into Stevenson mid-afternoon, which will conclude the Club-sponsored driving portion of the Tour. After checking into the Skamania Lodge you’ll have a couple of options. If you haven’t exercised your driving skills adequately you may want to continue east to explore more of the spectacular Columbia Gorge scenery. Others will want to either visit Stevenson or go across the river to Cascade Locks to grab a brew. We will be on our own for dinner, the Lodge has a great menu selection and there are other restaurant choices in town or Cascade Locks. You may want to schedule a massage or just relax at the Lodge. • Day Two, Sunday May 31: Day Two will begin with breakfast at the hotel. We are still working out the details for this day. Multnomah Falls is on the Oregon side and is the second highest year round waterfall in the US. Plus I know there are wineries in the area. Plan on arriving home Sunday afternoon on a route of your choosing. We have made arrangements to stay at the Skamania Lodge: http://www.skamania.com. Twenty-four rooms are being held through April 15th at a rate of $159 plus a $20 resort fee, and taxes. If you book after that date you’ll be charged the best available rate. Rather than booking online the Lodge suggests you call their reservation number, 800-221-7117 and select the “group booking” option.