[/caption] If you’re looking for a great hiking spot along the Columbia River Gorge that offers some of the best views, Angels Rest might be the one place to visit. The hiking trail is only about 40 miles from Portland and there is ample parking available. The trail is about 4.5 miles round trip and there is about 1500′ of elevation gain. The views at the summit are amazing with a panoramic view of the entire area, including views of Mt. Adams and even downtown Portland. However, you can only see portions of the summit of Mt. Adams and you might want to carry some binoculars in order to get a good view of the city. The summit literally looks straight down and you could spend hours taking in the fresh air and the occasional heavy winds. I took this photo from the summit and I pretty much pointed my camera almost straight down in order to include portions of Washington state, the river, sand bar, old pilings and old burned out tree stands on the Oregon side. I didn’t bring my tripod so I had to keep a steady hand an turn on the IS since I wanted to keep the ISO at 100. If you hang out long enough you can photograph some of the massive barges steaming by. You may also want to bring along a backpack full of food since you won’t want to come down anytime soon. The gorge is known for it’s amazing waterfalls but unfortunately you won’t see any on this hike. However, there is a waterfall that you do cross but its well out of sight and you only hike across the foot bridge that crosses the creek. You can view the upper portion of the waterfall but it’s only a few feet high and you want to avoid getting too close to the edge since it looks deceiving and you could fall over. I normally stop to let my dog play in the creek but I always make sure he’s on his leash. You can also hear a waterfall from the 1500′ summit but you can’t see it.