Goldendale Observatory

From cuisine to art to the starlit sky, things are looking up in Goldendale

written by James Sinks

Above the Columbia River in Central Washington—past a patchwork of vineyards, sentries of spinning windmills and the weathered farming community of Goldendale—the universe is waiting.

In a cavernous dome and with a whir, a refrigerator-sized telescope with a 24.5-inch-diameter lens pivots and focuses, bringing into view distant celestial celebrities like star clusters, planets, galaxies and nebulae.

The reflector-style scope is the star attraction—well, along with the stars—at Goldendale Observatory State Park, which invites visitors to climb a ladder for a peek during two free shows, several days a week, on a hilltop overlooking the city.

Afternoon sessions are all about the sun, and offer views of the fiery surface that you’re not able to see anyplace else. “No one else does it like we do,” said Troy Carpenter, the observatory director and frequent tour guide.

At nightfall comes the main event, when attention shifts to the polka-dotted cosmos and the futuristic, recently expanded observatory facility glows with red lights. The $6 million re-modeling project won four architecture awards, Carpenter said. Next, he envisions a rooftop observation deck and another telescope.

On the drier eastern side of the Columbia Gorge in the high desert, the sky is more reliably clear overhead than ninety minutes away in Vancouver, Washington, where the centerpiece scope was built and lived until it moved to Goldendale in 1973.

The observatory’s mission is public education, and the staff takes it seriously. There aren’t planetarium-style shows on the ceiling, but the classroom multiscreen session can feel like a fast-paced college-level astronomy class.

In front of the room, Carpenter dispatches wide-ranging questions rapid-fire, and sometimes even rings a sound effect bell from his desk.

One topic that gets his eyes rolling: aliens, or LGMs or little green men, as he calls them. “Whatever is happening, it is always reasonable to assume it is not because of aliens,” he said, before leading the way outside to show off an actual outer space thing, the Orion Nebula.

While admission is free, you’ll need a ticket, which can be reserved from the website. Quotas ensure less than 110 people per show, so that everybody gets a turn to look through the telescopes. If you want to park a car, you’ll need a Washington Parks Discover Pass, which is $10 a day or $30 for the year.

Also, bring a jacket for the night shows. The lion’s share of the time is spent outside, and the high desert gets chilly year-round when the stars come out. And wow, do they.

Also, day or night, telescopes aren’t the only things that are looking up in Goldendale.

In addition to admiring starlight that’s taken millions of light years to get here—Klickitat County invites you to gaze back in time a few decades, from century-old barns outside town to museums to old-style watering holes and eateries on Goldendale’s Main Street.

Hungry for Italian? Try alfredo and flavorful half-pound meatballs at D’Avanzo’s. Western fare? Steaks, salads and old fashioneds await at The HonkyTonk Bar and Restaurant. Greek? Gyros and baklava beckon up Highway 97 at Holy Monastery of St. John the Forerunner, a Greek Orthodox Church women’s monastic community founded in 1995.

You’ll also find surprising constellations of art. In town at Monkeyshines Studio & Gallery, browse whimsical pique-assiette mosaic art made of broken tile pieces—and creepy ones, too, if that’s your thing. At the monastery, buy site-made art prints, incense and candles.

Don’t miss world-renowned Maryhill Museum of Art, in a sprawling Italian-style mansion overlooking the Columbia. The indoor collection includes eighty pieces by French sculptor Auguste Rodin including one of his famous “Thinker” statues, plus find Native American displays and evocative outdoor art like a massive orange metalwork flower called Malabar Bombax. At the cafe, watch river barges creep past below.

Another stunning beauty is the Maryhill Museum of Art sitting on a bluff over the Columbia River.
Photo by Maryhill Museum of Art

Three miles away, Samuel Hill, whose house became the museum, in 1918 commissioned a concrete, full-sized replica of Stonehenge at the original Maryhill town site, as a World War I memorial to eighteen fallen local soldiers. Now in the shadow of power-generating windmills, the place is free to visit, and there’s a seasonal fruit stand next door.

No Druids here, but the impressive 1918 replica of Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England, is Maryhill’s tribute to WWI soldiers.
Photo by Jason Hummel Photography/State of Washington Tourism

Finally, vineyards color the landscape, which means you can admire art in a glass. At Maryhill Winery, the bistro menu includes wine flights, a brie-and-caramelized-onion panini and a Washington apple cobbler. Just west on Route 14, boutique Jacob Williams Winery welcomes with robust reds, a river view, a cherry orchard and a patio. They have blankets if there’s a breeze.