Cascade Locks, Oregon

thumb|[[Sternwheeler J.N. Teal in Cascade Locks, 1911

Note the Brass Era cars on foredeck.]]

Cascade Locks is a city in Hood River County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2020 census, Cascade Locks had a population of 1,379.

thumb|City hall

thumb|Post office in Cascade Locks, with the [[Columbia River in the background]]

Cascade Locks is just upstream from the Bridge of the Gods, a toll bridge that spans the Columbia River. It is the only bridge across the Columbia between Portland and Hood River. Cascade Locks is a few miles upstream of Eagle Creek Gorge, a popular scenic area that doubles as an alternate route for the Pacific Crest Trail. Cascade Locks is used frequently by hikers along the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) to cross the Columbia River. Cascade Locks is the lowest point along the trail, which runs from the Mexico–US border in California to the Canada–US border in Washington, and the largest city directly on the trail.

Since 1999 the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs have been pursuing an off-reservation casino to be sited in Cascade Locks. Starting in 2008, city officials began pursuing an arrangement that would allow them to trade city well water for state-owned spring water and to sell it to Nestlé for bottling. In May 2016, Hood River County voters voted over 68% in favor to stop the project permanently.

Geography

Cascade Locks is in the northwest corner of Hood River County, on the south side of the Columbia River. It is bordered to the north (in the middle of the river) by Skamania County, Washington. The city of Stevenson, Washington, is north of Cascade Locks across the river.

U.S. Route 30 passes through the center of Cascade Locks as Wa Na Pa Street, joining Interstate 84 at the east and west end of the downtown. Both exits with I-84 are labeled "44". I-84 and US 30 lead east to Hood River and west to Portland. US 30 provides access to the Bridge of the Gods, a toll bridge which crosses the Columbia River to connect with Washington State Route 14 between North Bonneville and Stevenson.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city of Cascade Locks has a total area of , of which are land and are water.

Climate

This region experiences warm and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above . According to the Köppen climate classification system, Cascade Locks has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate which is abbreviated as "Csb" on climate maps. The city receives an average of of precipitation per year.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Cascade Locks had a population of 1,379. The median age was 39.3 years, 22.0% of residents were under the age of 18, and 16.8% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 104.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 100.9 males age 18 and over.

0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 545 households in Cascade Locks, of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 44.4% were married-couple households, 22.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 25.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

! Race !! Number !! Percent

| White || 1,060 || 76.9%

| Black or African American || 6 || 0.4%

| American Indian and Alaska Native || 40 || 2.9%

| Asian || 21 || 1.5%

| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 5 || 0.4%

| Some other race || 69 || 5.0%

| Two or more races || 178 || 12.9%

| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 167 || 12.1%

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 1,144 people, 445 households, and 305 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 502 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 87.7% White, 0.5% African American, 1.8% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0.6% Pacific Islander, 2.7% from other races, and 5.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.1% of the population.

There were 445 households, of which 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 31.5% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 2.95.

References

External links

Entry for Cascade Locks in the Oregon Blue Book
Cascade Locks Tourism
Port of Cascade Locks