Last Updated: June 20, 2026
Astoria is in the northwestern corner of Oregon, where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean. It’s also where the Lewis and Clark expedition spent a long and cold winter in 1805–1806 before returning east. After a month of cold, wet spring weather on the Oregon Coast, we had a pretty good sense of what they endured.
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is a port city and the oldest American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains, established by John Jacob Astor’s Pacific Fur Company in 1811. Fur trading, fishing, and lumber were its major industries. Bumble Bee Seafoods was headquartered here, but closed its Astoria cannery in 1980. The lumber industry followed in 1996 when Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railways withdrew from the city. Tourism is now Astoria’s main economic driver, and the city has a wonderfully preserved Victorian character with steep, winding streets reminiscent of San Francisco.
Astoria Lewis & Clark Golf and RV Park
We enjoyed this park — our site pulled in facing the golf course, and a small creek ran right in front of the coach.
A mallard family had nested in front of our coach. We watched the ducklings with some concern as something — a bald eagle, a mink, or possibly the feral cat we’d seen stealing our golf balls — was making off with them one by one.
They had a 9-hole course for just $15. We rarely play, but it was a fine walk nevertheless.
Lewis and Clark National Historical Park
Located at the mouth of the Columbia River, Lewis and Clark National Historical Park commemorates the Corps of Discovery expedition. When Lewis and Clark reached the Pacific Ocean, they built and wintered at Fort Clatsop from December 1805 to March 1806. The park has an excellent visitor center with an informative film, a reconstructed fort, and interpretive trails through the surrounding forest. We very much enjoyed walking the grounds with Jake.
Astoria Column
The Astoria Column sits atop Coxcomb Hill overlooking the mouth of the Columbia River. Built in 1926 and modeled after Trajan’s Column in Rome, it is decorated with a continuous 525-foot spiral mural depicting significant historical events — from the first sighting of the Pacific by Native Americans to the arrival of the first transcontinental railroad. A 164-step spiral staircase leads to the top of the 125-foot tower. Our knees were aching by the top, but the view made it worthwhile.
Washington State is visible on the far bank. We later crossed the 4.1-mile Astoria-Megler Bridge — one of the longest continuous truss bridges in North America.
Garibaldi, Oregon
We stayed at the Harborview Inn & RV Park. It felt more like a city marina park — busy with weekend turnover — but they had full hook-ups and good views of Tillamook Bay.
At low tide, locals turned out for clam digging on the tidal flats.
Most visitors had boats and went crabbing in the bay. Our neighbors were gracious enough to share their Dungeness crab bounty with us — some of the sweetest crab we’ve ever tasted.
For those without a boat, there were several small restaurants and seafood markets within easy walking distance of the harbor.
A Red-tailed Hawk was a regular visitor at the RV park — apparently unconcerned by all the human activity around the harbor.
We saw several Bald Eagles in Garibaldi — not a surprise given the abundance of fish in the bay.
Plenty of gulls patrolling the harbor, keeping an eye on the catch.
And harbor seals working the bay for their own share of the daily catch.
Garibaldi has a small collection of retired trains and vintage vehicles on outdoor display — a nod to its railroad and industrial heritage.
Tillamook Creamery & Cannon Beach
Just south of Garibaldi is the Tillamook Creamery — one of Oregon’s most visited attractions. The factory is enormous, and hundreds of tourists were there on the day we visited. Their ice cream is exceptional: extraordinarily creamy and rich. Worth every calorie.
We also stopped at the Blue Heron French Cheese Company — a fun farm-style attraction with wine and cheese tasting, a petting farm, and plenty of Oregon-made food products to browse.
On a rare sunny day we took a drive north along the coast from Garibaldi toward Cannon Beach — the cliffside views were spectacular.
Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach is one of the most photographed sea stacks on the Oregon coast. At 235 feet, it’s the third-tallest intertidal structure in the world and serves as a protected marine garden and seabird nesting site.
Cape Meares
Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint sits on a dramatic headland just south of Tillamook Bay, offering sweeping views of the Pacific and access to one of the Oregon coast’s most interesting lighthouses.
Cape Meares Lighthouse was built in 1889 and is the shortest lighthouse in Oregon. It was decommissioned in 1963 and is now open for tours. The original first-order Fresnel lens — still intact inside — is an extraordinary piece of craftsmanship.
A short hike from the lighthouse leads to the Octopus Tree — a massive old-growth Sitka spruce with multiple trunks radiating from the base like tentacles. It’s estimated to be over 250 years old. One of the most unusual and impressive trees on the coast.
Visitor Information
Lewis and Clark National Historical Park is at 92343 Fort Clatsop Road, Astoria, OR 97103. Phone: 503-861-2471. Website: nps.gov/lewi. Admission: $10/adult; free for children under 15. Open year-round; visitor center has a film and exhibits on the Corps of Discovery. Astoria Column is at 1 Coxcomb Drive, Astoria, OR 97103. Admission is free; parking requires a $5 day pass or Oregon State Parks annual pass. Balsa wood gliders are sold at the top — a tradition to launch them from the viewing platform. Tillamook Creamery is at 4165 Highway 101 N, Tillamook, OR 97141. Phone: 503-815-1300. Website: tillamook.com. Free admission; cheese, ice cream, and café available. Open daily. Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint is off the Three Capes Scenic Route; free admission; lighthouse tours are free (donation appreciated). Open seasonally — check oregonstateparks.org for hours.
Practical Tips for Astoria and Garibaldi
Astoria has very steep streets — large RVs should park on the flat waterfront and use a tow vehicle to reach the Astoria Column and Victorian neighborhoods. The RV park at the golf course is well-positioned for this. The Astoria-Megler Bridge is 4.1 miles long and an experience in itself — crossing into Washington State makes a great half-day side trip. Tillamook Creamery draws enormous crowds in summer; arrive before 10am to beat the tour buses. The ice cream line moves quickly but the factory viewing area can be packed midday. Cape Meares and the Three Capes Scenic Route are narrow and winding in places — excellent for tow vehicles but challenging for large Class A coaches; consider driving the route in the Jeep. Bald Eagles are reliably spotted around Garibaldi Harbor, especially in morning hours when fishing boats are returning — bring binoculars. Cannon Beach parking fills by 10am in summer; use the satellite lots and free shuttle rather than fighting for spots near Haystack Rock. Fresh Dungeness crab is abundant and affordable in Garibaldi — locals will often share from their catch, but it’s also available live or cooked at the harbor-side markets.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Fort Clatsop and why is it historically significant?
Fort Clatsop was the winter camp built by the Lewis and Clark expedition after they reached the Pacific Ocean in November 1805. Named after the Clatsop people native to the area, the fort housed the 33-member Corps of Discovery from December 1805 to March 1806 — enduring a notoriously wet and cold Oregon coast winter before beginning their return journey east. The reconstructed fort at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park is a full-size replica built on the original site. The expedition’s journals from this period provide the most detailed ethnographic record of the Pacific Northwest’s native peoples at the time of first contact.
Can you climb to the top of the Astoria Column?
Yes — the Astoria Column is open to the public and climbing is free (parking requires a $5 day pass or Oregon State Parks annual pass). The spiral staircase has 164 steps to the top of the 125-foot tower. The views from the top are stunning: the Columbia River, the Pacific Ocean, the Astoria-Megler Bridge, and on clear days, Mount St. Helens and Mount Hood. A beloved tradition is buying a small balsa wood glider at the gift shop and launching it from the top of the column — watching dozens of gliders spiral down from the hill is a charming scene on a busy day.
What can you do at Tillamook Creamery?
The Tillamook Creamery offers free admission and includes a self-guided factory tour where you can watch cheese being made through large viewing windows, a comprehensive exhibit on the history of Tillamook dairy farming, a café with cheese-focused menu items, and what many consider the best ice cream on the Oregon coast. The facility is enormous — Oregon’s most visited attraction after Crater Lake National Park — and handles crowds well. The signature aged cheddar, smoked cheese curds, and seasonal ice cream flavors are all worth trying. Allow 1–2 hours.
Is the Octopus Tree at Cape Meares worth visiting?
Absolutely. The Octopus Tree is one of the most unusual old-growth trees on the Oregon coast — a massive Sitka spruce estimated to be over 250 years old, with enormous candelabra-like branches growing horizontally from the base rather than upward. One theory holds that it was shaped this way by the Tillamook people to serve as a ceremonial burial canoe platform. It’s a short, easy walk from the Cape Meares Lighthouse parking area and well worth combining with a lighthouse visit and the spectacular Pacific viewpoints along the headland.
