Visit Fort Clatsop. The visitor center includes the Fort Clatsop exhibit built by the explorers and an interpretive center offering an exhibit hall.
Imagine this. It’s early 1805, the food had run out. Clothes were rotting off the backs of the members of the Corps of Discovery. They were traveling as fast as they could down the Columbia River to meet one of the last trading ships of the season. If they made it, they’d send a set of journals and some collections home as requested by President Jefferson. But foremost was the chance to use an unlimited letter of credit from the president, a chance to “charge” all the goods the tired explorers needed. What the Corps didn’t realize, was that a fierce winter storm was ahead and forced the Corps off the river. For six stormy days, the group was trapped by the storm against rocky cliffs called The Dismal Nitch by the captain. Finally, the storm broke and allowed the group to move on. They missed the trading ship, but eventually achieved their exploration goals. More than 150 acres of that historic coastal forestland surrounding Dismal Nitch are protected.
See multiple bald eagle nesting sites, or watch modern tradeships glide past on the Columbia River.
If you’re a bridge buff, check out the nearby Astoria Bridge. The 4.1 mile-long bridge features a main span 1,232 feet in length, the longest "continuous truss" in the world. Before the bridge’s construction, travelers relied upon ferry service from Astoria to Megler, near Clark’s Dismal Nitch.
Travel to the Washington end of Lewis and Clark National Historic Park. After missing the entrance to what was later named the Columbia River, English explorer John Meares dubbed the massive headland jutting out into the Pacific Ocean “Cape Disappointment.” It was almost 20 years later that Capt. William Clark and members of the Corps of Discovery explored the headland in their final push to the Pacific Ocean.
Cape Disappointment State Park today offers 27 miles of ocean beach, two lighthouses, hiking trails, camping and the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. Perched on a cliff 200 feet above the mouth of the Columbia River, the center tells the story of the Corps of Discovery’s journey.
Spot passing Gray whales on their migration. See Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, the oldest operating lighthouse on the West Coast.
There are several short hikes nearby. The park produces a helpful guide, “Hiking Trails of Cape Disappointment State Park” available at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center.
See breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean and Columbia River, with old-growth forest, lakes, freshwater and saltwater marshes, as well as streams and tidelands along the ocean.
