Bigger and better than I thought it would be. Excellent if you are into local history.

Lots of things for everybody to see and learn about. Has many different exhibits. Wasco County history library is here and you can find story of people who lived here. Very helpful. You can go in there free.

A wonderful building on a very pretty site, housing two museums for the price of one. We found the Columbia Gorge wing, with its exhibits on geology, ice age animals, aboriginal history, Lewis and Clark and early settlers quite interesting and well done for the most part. The audio presentations I found to be too loud, as the endlessly looping... More

Beautiful setting full of historical memmorabilia and also a great place to attend a wedding.

two in one ...lewis and clark and ice age. Spent 2 hours in there

If you are interested in the geology and history of the Columbia Gorge, this place is a must see. Plan on 2-3 hours, though. We arrived at 3:30 and they close at 5:00 so we didn't get to see it all. good displays and lots of films on Lewis & Clark, the Oregon Trail and the Indian culture. We were... More

Great! We appreciated the local history...especially as a former local. Having been born in The Dalles, it was a nice reminder of where I came from. Make sure you take the outdoor walk! Best part!

Although we did not tour the entire museum, we were not impressed with the admission price. Cool bird at the front, gift shop has some cool, but pricey stuff. In my opinion the admission price should be about half of what it is. Nicely laid out, beautiful building and scenic area, cafe had decent food and not too spendy.

Museum Directors Take Note: The Columbia Gorge Discovery Center is fantastic. I wish that every region in North America had one or more museums like this one. What's so special about the Discovery Center? An attractive setting. Interactive exhibits that are well-planned and well-presented. An appreciation of both the natural environment and human history and how the two work together.... More