Size: 25 acres
Location: Klickitat County, WA
Acquired: 2017
This oak-covered land consists of 25 acres high atop Friends’ 540-acre Cherry Orchard property (originally purchased by Friends’ founder Nancy Russell) and near state land managed for the protection of the western gray squirrel. The Oregon white oaks that cover Lyle Peak are a keystone species that provides feeding, resting, and breeding habitat for many other species of wildlife. One day this land could also offer a trail with panoramic views from one of the highest points in the Gorge.
Latest News
Keep updated on Friends' work, news stories, and the work happening in the Columbia Gorge.
The Lyle Hill Fire burning sections of the Lyle Cherry Orchard Preserve. Photo by Cate Hotchkiss.
An Update on the Lyle Cherry Orchard Preserve After the Lyle Hill Fire
July 16, 2026
At the end of June, the Lyle Hill Fire broke out near the community of Lyle, Washington, and reached our Lyle Cherry Orchard Preserve, which is now closed indefinitely. Here’s […]
An Interview with Gabe Sheoships, Friends’ New Executive Director
May 4, 2026
Get to know Gabe Sheoships, Friends' new executive director, through this conversation with Acting Public Engagement & Communications Director Melissa Gonzalez, exploring his connection to the Gorge, his background, and the person behind the role.
Gabe Sheoships. Photo by Alex Milan Tracy, Underscore News.
Friends of the Columbia Gorge Announces Gabe Sheoships as New Executive Director
April 7, 2026
PRESS RELEASE Sheoships is Cayuse and Walla Walla, an enrolled citizen of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and becomes the first enrolled member of a Gorge Treaty […]