parking at the gorge, and location

[galeforce79]

i plan to go to the gorge this summer, i am staying in Yakima, and i hope to drive down, any good spots to park that have a good location for short distance to the water?

[isobars]

All the dozens of Gorge spots except one are close to the water. Even if they werent, the issue each and every day is Wheres it gonna blow today?, not where can I park or walk the least? Parking ranges from perfect, painted asphalt to high-ground-clearance-only to none past 8:AM, depending on that magic, all-important first question: Wheres it gonna blow today? Your driving time to the wind will range from < one hour (eastern Gorge) to 2:15 (Hood River, etc.) to >3 hours if you need to go to Clatskenie to find wind. Add two more for the coast, WELL worth the trip even if you dont sail there.

It will be vital for you to be hard-wired to Gorge wind conditions, via this site or its pager system. That will make or break half your sailing days. If you have access to this site in Yakima, youll also have access to WX maps, which are quiter helpful in second-guessing the forecasts. Most important if you sail out of Yakima (rather than spending days on end chasing wind around Hood River) is glueing yourself to iWindsurf, watching the wind at nearby sites like a hawk in a prairie dawg colony; LOTsa unforecast stuff happens unexpectedly.

Mike \m/