The Lower Columbia doesn't get written up the way the mountain and coastal routes do. There are good roads here anyway. Some follow rivers, some run through timber country, some track the Columbia itself.

All five of these work in a normal car. None need a permit. All are inside about two hours of Longview.

1. SR-4 West: Longview to Cathlamet

38 miles one way, two-lane state highway, paved. Best in October and November for color, or any overcast day.

SR-4 follows the north shore of the Columbia west from Longview to Cathlamet and past it. The road stays close to the river for most of its length and runs through small communities, Stella and Skamokawa Vista among them, that look like they've been there a long time because they have.

Stella to Cathlamet is the best stretch. The river is wide there and the Washington shore is low and marshy. On a still morning with fog on the water it's as good as anything in the region.

Stop in Cathlamet. The town sits on a bluff above the river with a quiet main street and a few pullouts worth using.

2. South Fork Road: Kelso to Weyerhaeuser Country

About 25 miles, two-lane, mostly paved with gravel sections. Year-round, better overcast.

The South Fork of the Toutle runs east of Kelso through active and recovering timber ground. The road follows the river most of the way, past clear-cuts and older second growth, and gives you a clear picture of how managed forestry works at scale.

This is not a wilderness drive. You'll see logging operations, slash piles, active harvest. What you get instead is an honest look at what the regional economy actually runs on. The contrast between the cut hillsides and the river corridor underneath is stark and worth photographing.

3. Willow Grove Road Loop: Longview's Quiet East Side

About 12 miles, paved two-lane. Early morning.

Willow Grove Road runs east out of Longview through a residential-to-rural transition most people never see, because there's no reason to be out there. Past the park it continues through horse properties and small farms before looping back on Industrial Way.

Short drive. The morning light across the low fields east of the park is reliably good, and the pastoral edge of east Longview is a different town from the industrial side most people see.

4. Coal Creek Road: Into the Coweeman Drainage

About 20 miles, paved on the main route, gravel past that. April through June, or October.

The Coweeman drains the hills east of Kelso and meets the Cowlitz near town. Coal Creek Road follows the main drainage east before it branches off into private timber land. The accessible part runs through mature second growth that stays green and is often fogged in through spring.

There's a small bridge crossing around mile 8 that makes the right turnaround point before the road degrades. The Coweeman is narrow and clear there, with fish in it in fall. Unremarkable stream, in the way all small Northwest rivers are unremarkable, which is to say very good to stand next to.

5. I-5 North: Vancouver to Longview

About 50 miles, four-lane dropping to two in places. Southbound in afternoon light.

I-5 on the Washington side between Vancouver and Longview is not a scenic road. It's mostly industrial and suburban. But the bridge crossings, the river views north of Ridgefield, and the sheer scale of the Portland-Vancouver port complex are worth doing once with the intent of actually looking at it.

Best section is the 15 miles north of Ridgefield where the highway pulls in close to the Columbia and the river runs wide and straight. Southbound in the afternoon, the view across to the Oregon side is clean.