A huge sign in the center of Goldendale welcomes you to a “Sportsman’s PARADISE.” However, the city’s Chamber of Commerce insists that this has “Always Been A Car Town” (GCC, 2025).
That’s partly because Goldendale is one of the sites for the Oregon Trail Rally. In addition, there are a number of annual car shows in the area, such as the Concours de Maryhill (2025) held in early October.
I would suggest another reason that this could be considered a “car town.” Goldendale is located in the warm and dry southwest part of Washington state, which is a pretty good place for cars to age. Local residents would appear to make the most of the climate, because they hang onto old cars to a much greater degree than in my neck of the woods — the wetter westside of Washington.
The whole town functions as a car museum
Driving around town can feel somewhat like touring a museum, but I did not find any exotic classics that frequent the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Goldendale’s assortment of old cars has more of a working-class quality — both in the kinds of cars as well as the condition they are in.
What follows is a sampling of the cars I came across. Can you identify the make, model and year of each one? In all honesty, I can’t.
Even old imports are popular in Goldendale
Those of you who live in the interior of the United States may be surprised by the mix of domestic and imported cars — particularly from the 1970s. As we discuss further here, the Pacific states saw the most rapid growth in foreign cars of any region in the country.
I don’t know if I will make it to any of the Goldendale-area car shows, but I could see coming back just to cruise around town to see what other older cars are here.
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RE:SOURCES
- Concours de Maryhill. Accessed July 13.
- GCC; 2025. “Motor Sports.” Goldendale Chamber of Commerce. Accessed July 13.
Looks and sounds like a wonderful spot for a “Senior’s Classic Car Enthusiast Retirement Community”. When can I sign up? Is there a Dunkin’ Donuts?
It’s such a small town that they don’t have much in the way of chain stores (aside from McDonald’s). Part of Goldendale’s charm is that it is still dominated by what appear to be locally owned businesses with quirky personalities. I find it to be an interesting community, so I may take the liberty of doing a follow-up feature story if I can pull together enough decent photos.
Were you able to identify the car in the first photo? I can’t quite place it.
I think it is a Toyota Crown circa 1969-70, before the weird reskinning with the two-level grille.