Area Information

Insitu is located in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area in Bingen, WA.  The Gorge, as we locals call it, is home to a number of small, close-knit, and laid back communities, all of which have their own charm and each of which is home to several of our employees.  All of these small towns are minutes from world-class running trails, biking routes, kayaking rapids, hiking loops, and rustic campgrounds.  And of course, you'll be on the shore of the windsurfing and kiteboarding mecca that is the Columbia River.  We are also about half an hour from Mt. Hood Meadows, the biggest ski resort on Mt. Hood.  On your way up to Meadows you will pass many Sno-parks where you can find miles and miles of snowshoe and cross-country ski trails, not to mention hundreds of acres of backcountry skiing.  This incredible outdoor playground is still only about an hour from Portland, Oregon on I-84.  It's an easy and beautiful trip along the Columbia River into town for all of the cuisine, shopping, and nightlife options you expect from a modern city.  Though, as for cuisine, many would say that the top-notch eateries in the Gorge are most satisfactory.  

The Gorge has long been famous for its breathtaking vistas.  On some of the early Euro-American expeditions to the coast, painter Alan Bierstadt created some of his most famous works.  The views of the Gorge, Mount Hood, Mount Adams, and the hundreds of nearby waterfalls, connected by agricultural vistas of fields and orchards are protected by our National Scenic Area status and the Columbia River Gorge Commission, which regulates and limits development within the Gorge.   Responsible development and an economy based on small businesses and entrepreneurship are standards in the Gorge.  This is easy to see as you walk down Oak St. in Hood River, perhaps stopping into Dog River for an Americano, or Doug's Sports to check out the year's newest Dakine gear. 

The weather in the Gorge is always changing.  The Gorge is at the crosspoint between the temperate rainforests of the coast, the wet, mossy Cascade Range, and the high desert of Eastern Oregon.  (Insitu's flight testing facility, in Arlington, is about an hour east and solidly in the desert.)  We see the full four season cycle every year, from bright fruit tree blossoms in the spring to long, windy summer days to crisp autumn nights and light winter snowfalls.   It is generally sunnier and drier here than in nearby Portland, but the temperature is more changeable, giving us hot dry summers and cool, sometimes snowy winters.  Most of the heavy snowfall happens up on Mt. Hood, but there is often a light sprinkling decorating the rooftops down in town.       

Children are a prominent feature of small town life, and you will find that they are welcomed at our excellent local schools, on sports teams, and at the many small parks and playing fields scattered though the area.  On Halloween in Hood River all of the stores downtown stay open late and give out candy to becostumed children while their parents chat, scratchy butterfly wings, and too-hot monster-masks in hand.  All told, there is an endless array of things to see and do in the Gorge, and we're sure you are going to find something that fits you.