Things to Do in Astoria, Oregon

This is the official maritime museum of the State of Oregon, on the waterfront at 1792 Marine Drive. Exhibits cover the Columbia River Bar, one of the most dangerous bar crossings anywhere, plus shipwrecks, the Coast Guard and the bar pilots. Your ticket also gets you aboard the Lightship Columbia, a floating lighthouse moored outside.

★ Good to know The museum opens daily except Thanksgiving and Christmas, parking is free, and it’s adding a new Mariners Hall wing, so check the museum’s site before you go.

The Great Northern Railway dedicated this 125-foot tower on Coxcomb Hill in 1926. Its exterior artwork spirals up the column and tells the region’s story, from the land and tribes to explorers, settlers and the railroad. From the top you get a 360-degree view of the city, the Columbia and the Pacific.

★ Good to know Climbing the 164 steps is free; there is a per-vehicle parking fee, and the pass is good for a year. Buy a wooden glider at the gift shop and launch it from the top, a longtime local tradition.

The Corps of Discovery spent the rainy winter of 1805–1806 at Fort Clatsop, southwest of today’s Astoria. The park has a replica of the fort, a canoe landing, trails and a visitor center with films and exhibits. In peak season, rangers in buckskins demonstrate flintlock shooting, hide tanning and candle making.

★ Good to know Ask for the free Junior Ranger book if you have kids along.

This 4,300-acre park near the river mouth guarded the Columbia from the Civil War through World War II. It’s the only U.S. military fort fired on by an enemy since the War of 1812, when a Japanese submarine shelled it on June 21, 1942. On the beach sits the rusting wreck of the Peter Iredale, and the park also has concrete gun batteries, a military museum and Coffenbury Lake.

★ Good to know Summer brings underground tours of a World War II gun battery, run by the Friends of Old Fort Stevens; a day-use parking permit is required.

Captain George Flavel, a Columbia River bar pilot and businessman, built this late-Victorian mansion at 714 Exchange St. Architect Carl W. Leick designed it. The Clatsop County Historical Society runs it as a house museum, along with the Heritage Museum in the 1904 city hall.

★ Good to know The Society’s museums keep daily hours with a last entry 30 minutes before close; check its site for the current schedule.

This small museum at 732 Duane St. fills the old Clatsop County Jail, the building in the opening scene of The Goonies. It celebrates the many movies shot in Oregon, including Astoria’s own Kindergarten Cop, Short Circuit and Free Willy.

★ Good to know It’s a block from the Flavel House, so you can do both in one stop.

A paved path follows the Columbia along the old waterfront, past old piers, canneries and passing ships. Old 300, a trolley built in 1913, rolls along the same stretch from Basin Street to 39th Street with volunteer conductors narrating. A round trip takes about an hour.

★ Good to know The trolley runs spring through fall (roughly late March to early November) and stops in the rain; catch it at 17th Street, across from the Maritime Museum.

Every Sunday from Mother’s Day through the second Sunday in October, 12th Street downtown fills with more than 150 local vendors. You’ll find produce, prepared food, crafts and live music. It’s free to attend and runs rain or shine.

★ Good to know It runs 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; bring cash and a tote bag.