Boardman Tree Farm

A crisp breeze blew above me that left a magical ambiance in its wake, as golden feather like leaves floated down from the tree canopy, a thick layer of foliage at my feet in every shade of yellow glistened, and fog blanketed the forest floor in the distance.

It felt like a wonderland that couldn’t be real.

Along the 84 six miles of tranquil golden poplars line the highway in all its once 25,000 acre glory. The Boardman Tree Farm is a distinct element of the Columbia Gorge landscape. This popular landmark has been around since the 90’s but has now been determined to be put to better use as agricultural and farming land.

It is truly a beautiful place to experience, it would be a complete loss to nature lovers if it were to be replaced with something that would lack the magnitude that stands here currently. It more than likely would devoid you of the feelings these trees impressed upon me during my time here. There is something so wondrous about standing in a grove of trees that give off this continuous cycle of euphoria with no end in sight.

The drive to Boardman from Portland took all but three hours. It felt like a rather moody Sunday afternoon thanks in part to the pouring rain, but luckily it ceased and managed to dry up temporarily when we arrived at the farm, and we were thankful. We exited the highway and I was already anxiously dancing around in my seat too excited to jump out of the car and run through the rows of golden glory.

As we pulled up along the first set of trees we noticed several people out shooting and enjoying the surroundings, there were even some folks who brought a couch to add to the scene. We headed down a mile past the next clearing to get some space to ourselves. As soon as we found a quiet spot, I jumped out with camera in hand and did some exploring. I took a few photos of the light-yellow leaves dancing in the wind, but I had my heart set on the golden poplars way back behind some corn fields.

We hopped back in the jeep and made our way down another road only to find a dirt path heading behind the first grove of trees. While both unsure and skeptical as to whether this muddy road would lead us towards those golden groves, we ventured down said path anyway, and passed a whole lot of corn fields while traveling through the muck (thank god our 4×4 came through for us). We took a few left turns and successfully arrived at the golden grove of trees I was dreaming of, and completely alone at that. 


Don’t miss your chance to be mesmerized you won’t have another, go see the poplars at Boardman tree farm before their gone for good. Boardman Tree Farm will be cut down in its entirety by 2017.