This book divides into 18 Chapters ranging from playing at playgrounds, to hiking and biking to picking fruit and winter fun. Altogether, you’ll find more than 200 different places to go or things to do with your child or someone else’s child.
Most activities include a “Getting There” section. That’s to make sure you don’t drive in circles, like we have numerous times. We’ve tried to write the directions as straightforward as possible. To be consistent, all directions start from Hood River. To supplement the directions, we’ve included maps for you to use. We encourage you to pick up a more detailed map of the Gorge at one of the visitor centers in town or to consult Google Maps.
In Appendix B, the information is organized by location. That way, if you find yourself in The Dalles, Mosier, or any other town in the Gorge, you can look at Appendix B and get a bunch of ideas of where to go or what to do.
Smiley faces indicate the exceptional outings. Although everything listed in the book is worthwhile, the places with the smiley are the best of the best. If you have a limited time in the Gorge, make sure to go to the smileys.
Lastly, we want to warn you that there is some repetition because not everything fits in a square peg or a round hole. For example, Post Canyon is an ideal place to mountain bike and balance bike so you’ll find it mentioned in a number of places. We’ve tried to minimize the repetition, but sometimes…well we don’t want to repeat ourselves. Just use the book, keep it in your purse, backpack or car and have fun exploring the Gorge.
