Hike-in Required
No
ADA accessible
No
Guided tours
No
Please respect the outdoors by practicing Leave No Trace. Learn more about how to apply the principles of Leave No Trace on your next outdoor adventure here.

Government Cove Peninsula may best serve as a stop between stops, better for short visits than full days. That said, the location provides an extensive shoreline for fishing, short trails for hiking and biking, and rock formations for low-level rock climbing, scrambling, and bouldering. With both shaded and fully exposed areas, the destination can provide a picnic stop with exceptional panoramic views up and down the Columbia River. In the summer, you can also find a bit of lunch on the peninsula, thanks to the substantial amount of wild berries. If you are planning to have a picnic, bring your own blanket as Government Cove Peninsula is undeveloped and receives minimal maintenance—while you will not have to pay any fees for parking or day use, you also will not find any restrooms, drinking fountains or picnic tables.

Logistics + Planning

Preferable season(s)

Spring
Summer
Fall

Congestion

Low

Parking Pass

Not Required

Pros

Great views. Numerous fishing spots. Wild flowers and berries.

Cons

Smaller peninsula. Limited parking.

Pets allowed

Allowed

Features

Wildflowers
Big vistas

Location

Nearby Lodging + Camping

Comments

07/26/2020
Cassie you rock! To reiterate, this land is privately owned by the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Tribe.

I've been visiting the island for many years, and when I visited this Sunday... I found that the metal gate was wrenched open and people were driving into the island. If the gate has been clearly tapered with, one should not drive through just because the gate is now "open." The Warm Springs have been hit very hard by COVID, to make matters worse they are experiencing issues accessing clean water... as such their primary concern is not going to be replacing the damaged gate. Therefore, please respect the intent of the gate, to keep cars out of the interior of the island... use your legs folks it's not that far.

Please be respectful of the island, it is not yours and it is not mine it is land that belongs to the Watlala (Cascade) People, Upper Chinook people that were removed and split between the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Reservation and the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation in 1856 and 1860.

Educate yourselves:
https://ndnhistoryresearch.com/2017/05/02/cascade-watlala-removal-in-april-1856/

Also if you want to donate to support the Warm Springs Tribe Water Crisis:
https://www.mrgfoundation.org/the-chuush-fund-2/


Please make corrections to this if something I wrote is inaccurate - I am a non-native POC, and by no means claim to be an expert.
I think it is important to mention that this island belongs to the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. If you use this land, it would be a nice gesture to donate to the Native people: http://wscat.org/donate/
Have updates, photos, alerts, or just want to leave a comment?
Sign In and share them.