Skamania Stone House
A Columbia River Gorge curiosity! I’ll show you how to find the remains of the Skamania Stone House hidden in plain sight on Highway 14.
I love a good treasure hunt. I love tracking things down and searching for treasures and prizes. That’s why I have really fallen for orienteering in the past few years. And I love a good adventure. So when I first heard about the Skamania Stone House I was immediately OBSESSED.
All I knew was that it is the remains of an old house, hidden in the woods just off of highway 14. The few photos I’d seen looked enchanting, and even more intriguing, all the directions I found online were rather cryptic:
- 3 miles from Beacon Rock
- Only a few hundred feet from highway 15 but barely visible.
- “Look for a weirdly cut cedar tree”
- Across the highway from Franz Lake.
Challenge accepted. I gathered the troops and we headed for the gorge. We drove out I-84 and crossed the Bridge of the Gods, then headed back west on Highway 14. Once we past Beacon Rock we set the odometer and fired up Google Maps, watching for Franz Lake and the 3-mile point on the highway. We passed it twice, then when we were just about to give up…I saw it! The outline of an old house through the trees. We also spotted the weird cedar tree. So we quickly turned around and parked. There is a little pull out with room for one, maybe two cars.
It really is right next to the highway. It was less than a minute walk, even the baby made it. Just far enough into the woods to be nearly invisible. Plus it’s made out of river stones and covered in moss, so it camouflages into the setting beautifully.
The hearth and chimney end of the house is in great shape, but a tree has fallen across the other end. Other than a little graffiti and some candles in the fireplace, the area is clean and well taken care of. I was a little worried about things like needles and broken bottles with a baby along but I saw none of that. We hung out, took photos and examined the building for a good 45 minutes, while the baby toddled around eating Goldfish.
Not only were we thrilled that we found the place, it was really beautiful too. After pulling back onto highway 14, we celebrated our success a few miles down the road at Backwoods Brewing in Carson.
If you want to find the place yourself, here are my directions:
- It’s between milepost 31 and 32 on the north side of the road. About 200 feet west of milepost 32.
- You will see a small turnout at the end of guardrail. Park here. It is under some big power lines.
- The trail is to the east of the parking space.
Good luck and happy hunting!
This is also known as the “nellie corser stone house”, “nellie corser unit”, “nellie corser homestead”, “duncan creek stone house”. You should be able to find some more info if you google these names/titles, hope this helps! And Thank you for the info and directions! Me and my daughter have been wanting to check this out for a while now just haven’t gotten around to it, hopefully sometime this summer! Thanx again!
Thanks for the info Heather! And I hope you make it out there this summer. It’s a fun little adventure.
Here’s a video of me exploring this place https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6bjtNrSWRc
Hi!
My fiancé and I are planning on eloping here. Where did you stay when you visited? We’re from California so we won’t be in Washington until a day or two before our wedding.
Hi Melissa! Since i live here, I just drove out to this area for the day but if you are eloping and want to be in this area, I highly suggest the Skamania Lodge.
Kristi,
As the owner of this property we have asked that all references to this property be removed from the internet. We have contacted you in the past and I do not see anything to discourage people. In fact you provide the details of how to find this property. Perhaps an update to you would encourage you to take all posting down. People are now geocaching to this site and removing stones from the house. People have set fire behind the stone frame. People have stolen any and al shrubbery and small trees and used it s a dump site. Some of these same people are now trampling the neighbors property too.
The story about Nellie is false.
I would appreciate you leaving my name of this post, if you post it. Thank you, sincerely, john
My understanding this is private property.
This is private property LIKELY confiscated by the federal takeover of private property RIGHTS in the gorge.
If you would like to visit this place, please encourage the government to HONESTLY assume control by purchasing it for a fair market value and then paying to keep it up.
THIS IS PRIVATE PROPERTY. It is now gated and posted as Private Property / No Trespassing. Please respect our property right.
John requested that you remove your posting and the directions. You have not done so. Really, taking this off the internet is the right thing to do. Would you want the general public to have directions to YOUR property to trample through? Probably not.
This property is privately owned and has been ravaged in the past few years by trespassers and scavengers. We live nearby and are constantly amazed by the city folks who simply ignored the posted signs. The owner has resorted to installing a gate and more signs, but much to my dismay, the trespassers keep coming.
Were you simply never taught to respect other’s privacy? Are you so hungry for more accumulated hits on your own social media accounts that you continue to invite strangers to invade the peace and solitude, which many still value on our private land.
Please stop what you’re promoting and remove the post where you’re encouraging others to abuse this precious gorge.
Please remove this post per the wishes of the owners. I, too, live in this community and many times have had a peaceful day interrupted by “explorers” who are trespassing on private lands, often leaving trash and filth behind. There are state and national public lands nearby. Please buy the appropriate permits and visit there.
Hi. We are looking for something like this in California. Any suggestions?
#this(Comment Thread)iswhywecanthavenicethings
Perhaps it’s time for Kristi to volunteer to remove the offensive graffiti left at this site, help remove trash and replant what has been stolen from the property. Until she removes this post it’s time she help with a solution rather than continue the problem, although if I were the property owner I wouldn’t want her anywhere near the property.