Open Daily from 9 am to 5 pm
The Museum is closed due to the Rowena Fire.
It will be closed until further notice
Thursday June 12, 2025,
1:30pm
Dear Friends and Supporters,
At about 3:00 pm yesterday, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, The Columbia Gorge Discovery Center
& Museum (CGDCM) was evacuated due to the Rowena Wildfire that closed Highway I-84
between Hood River and The Dalles. During the evacuation, all visitors, staff, and the beloved
raptors safely left the grounds. As of the latest updates available the building still stands,
despite fire burning all around, thanks to the heroic efforts of the emergency responders.
The staff of CGDCM are grateful for all the assistance, messages of care, and prayers that have
been given. We appreciate the great outpouring of concern that we have received and will
continue to try and provide updates as we get news. For now, most official updates are coming
from news sources, such as the Wasco County Sheriff’s Office.
At the same time, we have learned of the heartbreaking loss of homes in the areas near the
Discovery Center & Museum. We are deeply saddened that our neighbors are now facing those
realities. As part of the community of The Dalles and Wasco County, we are committed to doing
all we can to lend support as we are able.
We will post more information as it becomes available to us.
The Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum (CGDCM) opened their doors in 1997 as the
official interpretive center of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, with a mission to
inspire stewardship of the Columbia River Gorge and Wasco County and to encourage active,
life-long learning about our shared environment and the preservation, collection and
interpretation of cultural and natural history of the region.
Please stay safe,
Dr. Cheryl Ragar
Update on the Museum Raptors from Raptor Program Coordinator, Julia Khoury:
The Museum's raptors, Hank (American Kestrel), Killer (Red-tailed Hawk) and Ferguson and Liberty (American Bald Eagles) were evacuated from the Museum due to the Rowena Fire. The birds are doing well in their new temporary home at the Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory. The birds are settling in nicely and are happy to be able to stretch their wings! Within a few minutes of being placed into their temporary homes, Hank and Killer had started eating their dinner and Liberty and Ferguson had hopped into their bath.
The CGDCM Raptor team will head back to Sunriver soon to deliver more food and to check on the birds. If you are near Sunriver, Oregon go say hello and thank the hard workers at the Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory for taking such good care of our feathered friends until they can come home safely.
Check out their website for more information: https://snco.org
WELCOME TO COLUMBIA GORGE DISCOVERY CENTER & MUSEUM
Official Interpretive Center of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
OUR NEW WEBSITE
IS BLOOMING
Our Mission:
To inspire stewardship of the Columbia River Gorge and Wasco County and to encourage active, life-long learning about our shared environment and the preservation, collection and interpretation of cultural and natural history of the region.
Admission
$12.00 General
$10.00 Seniors (62+)
$6.50 Scheduled Groups of 10+
$7.00 Ages 6-16
FREE Ages 5 & under
FREE CGDC&M members
Hours
Open Daily
9:00 am–5:00 pm
Closed
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Day
New Year’s Day