white salmon

A self-described lifelong Husky football fan who graduated from UW in 2007, Kyle Johnson lives in White Salmon, a small town of less than 2,500 people nestled along the banks of the Columbia River, directly across from Hood River, Ore. It’s about 80 minutes from Portland, almost five hours from Seattle and Kyle Johnson believes White Salmon contains a near-equal split of UW and UO fans.

On a calm, cold day with fresh snow, it’s a picturesque setting, where you can ski along the Razor Hone trail through a veritable rainforest or cruise out from White Salmon to an overlook with a dramatic view of jagged, glacier-speckled Mount Shuksan.

The report explains that large-scale dam removal projects on the Elwha, Nooksack, Hood, Wind, White Salmon, Sandy and Rogue rivers “have all resulted in broader and quicker biological and physical benefits to local and regional riverscapes than expected.”

She said apartments with yearlong leases are so hard to come by in White Salmon that she slept in a nearby state park for five days.

And in White Salmon, the housing crunch comes with an added challenge: This scenic town is running out of room to grow.