Mitchell Point Tunnel

Mitchell Point Tunnel is a 655-foot passage through the cliff on the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail, built for walkers and cyclists and opened in 2025. Five arched windows face the Columbia River and Washington hills, giving this a payoff you do not get from an ordinary tunnel. For a quick, distinctive stop, walk through to the far end and turn back; the out-and-back is about half a mile. The nearby Mitchell Point summit trail is a separate, much steeper hike.

The approach from the lot is paved and mostly level. As you enter, the cliff closes around you; then the windows appear one after another, framing strips of river and distant hills. The openings bring enough daylight to make the walk without a flashlight. Trains run along the tracks below the river side, so pause at a window and see if one passes. For photos, stand back and let several arches recede in a row, with the river visible through them. The state trail continues beyond the tunnel, so you can add distance if you want a longer walk.

This is a modern reconstruction of a celebrated road tunnel built at Mitchell Point in 1915. Drivers once passed through its windowed rock passage on the Historic Columbia River Highway. The old tunnel closed in 1953 as traffic and vehicle sizes outgrew it, then was removed in 1966 to make room for Interstate 84. The new crossing brings back its defining idea—the arched river windows—for people on foot and bikes. It is a short place to understand how the original highway was shaped by this narrow cliff, not a preserved stretch of the old road tunnel.