The Columbia River Gorge is a crown jewel for recreation in the Pacific Northwest, stretching more than 80 miles along the borders of Washington and Oregon and providing a wide variety of trails, campgrounds, waterfalls, and wilderness areas for recreational use. In 2017, the western portion of the area was burned by the Eagle Creek Fire, a human-caused, wind-driven blaze that ultimately burned nearly 50,000 acres and caused temporary closures of some of the most popular sites in the area.