Late season starts in September and goes through November.
West and East wind days with more no wind days.
100-|
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| G
90-|
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| G
80-|
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70-| G G
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| G
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| G
60-| G
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| G G
| G
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50-|
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40-|
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J F M A M J J A S O N D
Months of the Year
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
38 39 43 50 56 63 68 72 67 60 53 44 (Average in Degrees F)
There are a number of state parks where you can camp. Most of the year you can find a place to stay without a problem. On holiday weekends you should plan to get a camp spot by noon or you may have trouble. The favorite windsurfing camp spot is Memaloose State Park. It cost about $8.00 per night which includes hot showers.
Some of the other parks are as follows:
Name Location Comments
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Skamania Lodge Washington - In Sevenson
Home Valley Washington - 15 miles West of the Hatchery Trains/Sailing
Viento Oregon - 5 miles West of Hood River Trains/Sailing
Tucker Park Oregon - 5 miles South of Hood River Quiet
Great American Oregon - 15 miles South of Mosier Quiet
Adventure
Memaloose Oregon - 12 miles East of Hood River My favorite
Avery Park Washington - 8.5 Miles from East of the Free/Sailing
Dalles Bridge
Maryhill Park Washington - North end of Sam Hill Bridge Expert Sailing
Peach Beach Washington - Just East of Maryhill Park Expert Sailing
People who do not wish to camp you can try one of these:
Name Location Phone Comments
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Skamania Lodge Stevenson Washington 1-800-221-7117 New and very nice
State Street B&B Hood River 503-386-1899 River View
Tillicum Inn The Dalles 1-800-298-5161
Best Western The Dalles 503-296-9107
Inn at the Dalles The Dalles 503-296-1167 View of the Dam
Inn at Hood River Hood River 503-386-2200 On the River
Lone Pine Motel Hood River 503-386-2601 View of River
People who wish to rent a place should try the following:
Name Phone
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Northwest Investment Management - Hood River 503-386-3770
Mid-Columbia Property Management - Hood River 503-386-3770
Vacation Rentals - Summer Only - Hood River 503-386-6800
A car makes sailing the Gorge much easier. If you find the wind to strong or to weak in one place you can usually move East or West to a place that fits your needs. A good roof rack is a must. If you are driving 65 MPH on the freeway into a 40 or 50 MPH head wind your boards and gear are seeing over 100 MPH of wind.
The largest selection of used equipment is at Windance. They usually have 30 to 40 boards and several hundred sails on consignment. They also have lots of new equipment and good advice. 2ND Wind Sports and Bob Dill also have used equipment.
Dill Sailboards 503-386-6202
Front Street Sailboards 503-386-4044
Hood River Windsurfing 503-386-5787
Lester Polyester's Surf Shop 503-386-5524
Meadows Windsynergy 503-FUN-WIND
Rushwind 503-386-3278
Sailboard Warehouse 503-386-1699 1-800-992-SAIL
Sailboards Hood River 503-396-5363 1-800-662-5363
2ND Wind Sports 503-386-4464
Windance 503-386-2131
Big Winds 503-386-6086
Gorge Windsurfing The Dalles 503-298-8796 1-800-772-3889
Sail World 503-386-9400
The above list shows shops but in some cases they make their own
line of equipment. Windance is a good example. They build their
own boards as well as run a shop. There are a number of other
companies that build equipment but may not have a shop. Here is
a list:
Gorge Technology 503-386-2862
Chinook 503-386-6086
Pro Motion 1-800-798-1628
4 Knots 509-493-4088
Padz 503-386-1980
Windsurifng Hawaii 509-427-7444
Preister Built Sailboards 503-478-3233 1-800-755-RACE
Logosz Works 503-386-2242
AHD 509-427-4444 1-800-477-2431
Hi-Per Tech 503-386-6608
Big Winds 503-386-6086
Duke of Nuke, Inc (Pat Dougherty) 503-386-6500 800-342-6048
Front St. Sailboards 503-386-4044
Hood River Windsurfing (John Guay) 503-386-5787
Gorge Windsurfing ( The Dalles) 503-298-8796 800-772-3889
Rhonda Smith Windsurfing 503-386-WIND
The Hook (Hood River Sail Park West) Learning Waterstarts
The Dalles Sail Park Learning Waterstarts
Home Valley Long board mornings short board
afternoons
Hood River Marina Learning jibes on flat water
Hood River Event Site Small Swells
Stevenson Sail Park Small Swells less wind
Bingen Sail Park Small Swells
Rowena Small Swells
Spring Creek Fish Hatchery Large Swells lots of wind
Doug's Beach Large Swells lots of wind
Swell City Large Swells lots of wind
Maryhill State Park Large Swells lots of wind
Rufus Large Swells lots of wind
If you would like more information about where to sail and what you
might find at each location, you need a copy of a small book called
3.5. The address is listed in secton 12 below.
There is good hiking, rock climbing, mountain biking and falls to see as well as lots and lots of shopping to do in the windsurfing stores so you will be ready when the wind starts to blow again. Remember, Oregon at this point has no sales tax.
The Columbia River Gorge has a plant called Poison Oak. It has three shiny leaves that grow together from the ground or in a bush. The leaves have oil (Urushiol) on them that causes an allergic reaction for most people. The first symptoms is a spot that itches. It will show up about 2 or 3 days after touching the plant. The spot then swells up and finally breaks open to an ugly weeping sore that still itches. The best solution is to stay away from the stuff. If you get into it and start to itch, get some good strong soap such as Lava and scrub the spot VERY VERY well. You can also use alcohol. If you catch it soon enough, (within about one hour) you can stop the reaction. Remember that anything such as a wetsuit or cloths that you touched during the 3 days needs to be washed. If it gets too bad you will need to visit a doctor.
Windsight is a company that provides weather information for the Gorge. They offer a Windsight Card which can be purchased at most of the shops and allows you to call a number and specify what type of information you wish to get. The more information you request the more it costs. Windsight is the only place that has current wind speeds at the sailing locations. You can also order a card by calling 1-800-934-2278.
Hood River Memorial Hospital-13th & May St Hood River 503-386-3911
Mid Columbia Medical Center-1700 East 19th Street The Dalles 503-296-1111
Skyline Hospital-211 Skyline DR White Salmon 509-493-1000
Care Corner-1151 May St Hood River 503-386-1111
My favorite for descriptions of sailing sites is the "3.5 Gorge Annual Edition". The cost is $1.95 in the Gorge, $2.95 else where in the USA and $3.95 in Canada. Write to MBA, PO Box 336, Hood River, OR, 97031.
The oldest publication is the Gorge Guide. It can be purchased from Gorge Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 918, Hood River OR 97031 or Phone 503-386-7440 or Fax 503-386-7480. The cost in the past was $3.50. It gives maps of the sailing locations and the towns along with stores and restraunts. It includes lots of advertisements from business in the Gorge.