Cascade Boulders

A quality andesite bouldering site located on the outskirts of Cascade Locks worth visting.

Information

The location offers a virtual endless supply of boulders of tumbled andesite stones scattered broadly in a forested setting near Herman Creek campground.

The entire area stretches for about 1½ miles in length (from Herman to the Annex), but the stones tend to be packed into clusters within this entire zone, usually between the 300'-500' elevation. 

​Most of the stones are tucked within a forested canopy (some sections south of the power line experienced a forest fire that burned many trees in 2017). Thus the forested canopy protected stones tend to be comfortable even on hot summer days. 

The typical size of the boulders here range from 8'-13' tall, though a few 30' flat laying monsters do exist. 

Numerous boulder sections have reasonably flat landings (or are easy to pad), but the talus fields and the Arcade are tricky zones requiring better crashpad sequencing.

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Directions
From Portland, OR
  • Drive east on I-84 E/US-30 E to Frontage Rd in Cascade Locks.
  • Take the exit toward Weigh Station from I-84 E/US-30 E. Drive 10 mph on exit ramp.
  • Turn right onto Frontage Rd and drive for 2.3 miles.
  • Turn right onto Herman Creek Rd/Wyeth Rd and drive for 1 mile.
  • Park in dirt lot on the right just past a small building. Follow the trail to the west to the boulders.

Recommendations

  • ​It is recommended that you bring 1-2 crash pads for most of the common problems.

  • Cell phone reception is good.

  • Expect some poison oak in a few spots though its not extreme as seen at Bridge of the gods.

  • The Cascade Locks boulder site is in the heart of the Columbia Gorge where it rains a lot (in winter), but its also a breezy zone (summer and winter). When the rain stops, and the breeze sets in, the boulders do dry out fairly quickly in winter. 
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  • Cascade Boulders gets its namesake title of course from the nearby town of Cascade Locks.