HOOD RIVER — One of the most incredible features of an ambitious recreation corridor is set to open in the Columbia River Gorge.

The recreated Mitchell Point Tunnel, the latest addition to the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail, had an opening ceremony on Nov. 16, though it won’t officially be open to the public until later this year or early 2025, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation.

The tunnel, near Hood River, is the main attraction of a new 1.5-mile segment of the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail, a recreational corridor that retraces the historic 73-mile Historic Columbia Highway between Portland and The Dalles. While much of the trail follows remaining stretches of the scenic highway, which is open to cars, portions of it are on new, paved pathways open only to cyclists and pedestrians.

The new segment follows the interconnected openings of the Starvation Creek segment in 2016, the Wyeth segment in 2019 and the Viento segment in 2023. The Mitchell Point Tunnel will eventually be connected to those trail segments via a .7-mile pathway, expected to begin construction in 2026, according to ODOT. A temporary walking trail will be open until construction begins.

When complete, the pieces will make up a 9.5-mile car-free trail between the Wyeth Campground and Mitchell Point: a recreation corridor that offers access to waterfalls, viewpoints and picnic areas, with several access points alongside Interstate 84.

However, visitors won’t need to traverse the entire trail to get to the Mitchell Point Tunnel. Once the tunnel officially opens to the public, a small parking lot will reopen at exit 58 on the eastbound side of the interstate.

This newest segment of the state trail will join two other car-free sections: a 7-mile stretch between Elowah Falls and the Bridge of the Gods, and a 4.5-mile pathway that runs through the Mosier Twin Tunnels east of Hood River.

The trail will eventually continue on the east side of the new tunnel, extending from Ruthton Point to Hood River, and crossing underneath the freeway. That segment is currently in the design phase, ODOT said.

Of all the highlights of the new trail, the Mitchell Point Tunnel has been among the most anticipated. The tunnel mimics a historic tunnel by the same name that was blasted for the original Columbia River Highway in 1915, known for its distinctive arched windows that looked out onto the Columbia River. The tunnel was closed in 1953 due to safety issues, then destroyed in 1966 to widen the interstate.

“Constructing a tunnel through Mitchell Point 100 years ago was an amazing feat of engineering, and re-constructing it today was not a simple task either,” Rian Windsheimer, Region 1 manager for ODOT, said in a news release. “Mitchell Point Tunnel is once again the remarkable monument builders of the original Historic Columbia River Highway envisioned, and it will soon be open for future generations to experience.”