About Klickitat County

If you want one place in the Pacific Northwest that offers a diverse flavor of historical and cultural attractions, where you can pursue endless outdoor activities, then Klickitat County is the place for you.

As a gateway to the Columbia River Gorge, the Cascade Mountains, the Gifford-Pinchot National Forest, and the Mount Adams Recreation area, Klickitat County is a popular destination for outdoor recreationists from across North America. Add in the many cultural activities, such as Maryhill Museum of Art and Stonehenge, and you'll realize that Klickitat County offers a back-road adventure with a taste of rural America.

Located in south central Washington state, Klickitat County lies at the junction where the Columbia River Gorge cuts through the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains. It encompasses 1,908 square miles (about the same size as the state of Delaware), has miles of whitewater streams, numerous lakes, the Columbia River, the Gifford-Pinchot National Forest and is home to the Klickitat Wildlife Management Area and Conboy Lake National Wildlife Refuge. The county is 84 miles wide and averages 23 miles north to south. Its 18,000 residents reside in cultural and historic communities which provide various cultural and business accommodations and world-class attractions.

Fishing, hunting, whitewater rafting, windsurfing, hiking, biking, horseback riding, cross country skiing, snowmobiling, berry and mushroom picking, and scenic tours provide outdoor recreation opportunities to thousands of travelers and business visitors to the Columbia River Gorge and the Cascade Mountains. Visitors find Klickitat County's canyons and vistas, evergreen forests, scenic waterfalls, wildflowers, berry fields, ranchlands, sage-covered hillsides, river rapids, hiking and biking trails, deer, turkey, elk, salmon, steelhead, rodeos, festivals, and for those who seek it, seclusion, among the best in the U.S. The moderate climate makes Klickitat County a year-round outdoor recreation destination.

Klickitat County is home to a wide variety of geological and natural features. Western Klickitat County hosts the Cascade Mountain range with steep, rugged forest areas, whitewater streams and the Conboy Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Central Klickitat County includes the Klickitat River valley, the Klickitat Wildlife Management area and the Simcoe Hills. Eastern Klickitat County opens to rolling prairies and high plateau's where farming and ranching predominate.

On its southern edge, the Columbia River provides a variety of outdoor recreation opportunities.

Visitors may even follow in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark, who, on their 1805 Corp of Discovery expedition to the Pacific Ocean, camped at the mouth of the White Salmon River.

We welcome you to the Klickitat County, Washington website and hope to see you soon at one of our many Klickitat County attractions.