A New - And Welcome - Lodge On Columbia Gorge

"Green Douglas fir where the

waters cut through, Down her wild mountains and

canyons she flew, Canadian Northwest to the ocean so blue, It's roll on, Columbia, roll on."

- Woody Guthrie

The mighty Columbia of Woody Guthrie's song is rolling past Skamania Lodge, a new resort and conference center on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge.

The four-story lodge, which opened Feb. 26, sits halfway up a bluff near the town of Stevenson, less than an hour's drive (about 50 miles) east of Vancouver, Wash.

The classic Cascadian structure - modeled after the national park lodges of Woody Guthrie's era - gives the illusion of having been there for decades.

But there are things that set it apart from other Northwest destination resorts:

-- It's a resort that the most dedicated ecologist could love. Constructed on the edge of an old landfill, it reclaims land that otherwise would not have supported development.

-- It's not an extremely costly getaway. It was designed so that all levels could mingle. Room prices start at $85 (even less if you're with a group).

And it's not necessary to be an overnight guest to enjoy its amenities.

-- It's an art-lover's delight with hundreds of original works. These range from contemporary works to rubbings of ancient petroglyphs. Much of the art is Native American.

-- It's one of those rare, public-private partnerships.

Backing for the $24.5 million development comes from the U.S. Forest Service, Skamania County and Portland-based Salishan Lodge, parent company of the Salish Lodge, the inn at Snoqualmie Falls.

If all goes well, Skamania County will more than double its $5 million investment in the next few years.

-- It's an exciting place for a resort. Previously this part of the Washington side of the recreation-rich Gorge had little in the way of quality development. There were a handful of campsites, but nothing remotely approaching this magnitude.

Wandering through the lodge is a process of discovery.

The U. S. Forest Service maintains an interpretive center in the busy lobby of the lodge. The lobby flows into the Gorge Room, a vast, but inviting room that would hold a tennis court. The room's massive, rustic stone fireplace fits in perfectly.

Opposite the fireplace are three-story windows that provide a breathtaking view of the Gorge: the curving Columbia River, the towering bluffs that border it, the sometimes snow-capped Wind Mountain and, in the foreground, a meadow that soon will bloom with wildflowers and grasses.

Timbers in the great room are reused lumber from the dismantled Bumblebee Tuna plant in Astoria. Floors once were a mill in Atlanta, Ga. The dark wicker chairs are upholstered in colorful fabrics from the Pendleton mills in Pendleton, Ore.

Everywhere there is art. Woodcarvings, prints, water colors and wrought ironware. Hank Hickox, Salishan president, explains, "Eventually we'll produce a field guide of all the art."

Hickox guides a tour that starts with some of the lodge's 195 guest rooms.

The rooms are spacious and inviting with their craftsman furnishings, original art and Pendleton prints.

Thirty-seven rooms have fireplaces. But instead of wood, they burn logs made of recycled newspapers, impregnated with filbert shells.

"The newspaper logs release 80 percent less toxins," says Hickox.

Past the guest rooms is the spa and the recreational wing. Centerpiece is a full-sized swimming pool, enclosed in a wall of windows.

"When we opened this morning, there were two deer peering in through the windows," said Hickox. "They were staring at us and we were staring at them."

The pool is open to guests and the public ($6 for adults; $4 for children). So are the other recreational facilities, including an 18-hole golf course to open in June. There also are horseback rides, hiking trails, picnic and play areas, tennis courts and several jacuzzi pools.

Families were in the minds of the planners. There's a game room, lined with electronic games.

There are six family rooms, a mini-suite equipped with two double beds and sleeping couches. The family rooms rent for $125 in off season. Other room prices range from $85 to $265 for the Hood River presidential suite.

The restaurant seats 200, but an arrangement that separates dining areas gives it a certain intimacy.

Chef Fernando Divina's menu enlists simple cooking techniques recalling the early pioneers and Native Americans. Among the Northwest specialties on the menu are sourdough pancakes, Dungeness crab, Oregon sea bass, Chinook salmon and Pendleton beef.

The convention wing angles away from the restaurant, boasting a separate complex of rooms that can be divided to accommodate groups of varying sizes. Hallways and reception areas overlook the wooded grounds.

The lodge will employ 200, about 60 percent from Skamania County, an area that has been hard hit by reduced activity in the timber industry.

"We'll have a $3 million annual payroll, making us the largest employer in the county," says Hickox.

--------------------------------------------------------------- MORE INFORMATION

-- For reservations, contact Skamania Lodge, 1-800-221-7117, Box 189, Stevenson, WA 98648.

The lodge is on Washington SR14, two miles east of the Bridge of the Gods.

From Seattle, drive south on Interstate-5 to U.S. 205. Take 205 to Highway 14 (the more scenic route) or continue across the Columbia River and travel east on U.S. 84, crossing the river again at the Bridge of the Gods (one-way toll is 75 cents).

Allow about 3 1/2 hours to reach the lodge from Seattle on either route.