Astoria is located near the mouth of the Columbia River and is the oldest settlement West of the Rockies. It’s often visited as part of an Oregon Coast road trip and has a wide variety of things to do. But not every activity in Astoria is worth the stop.
With one day in Astoria, visitors should visit the Columbia River Maritime Museum, throw a wooden glider off the Astoria Column, drive across the Astoria-Megler Bridge, and grab some seafood from Bowpicker Fish and Chips. If there’s interest, visitors can also visit Fort Clatsop, Fort Stevens, and check out some movie sites and historic buildings.
I’m Cheryl, and my husband and I spent a full day in Astoria and tried to do every possible activity a tourist may be interested in. We have been writing travel guides since 2020, and have helped over 20,000 people have amazing trips. We know that not every activity is worth your time and money. Read on for the itinerary we recommend to our friends and family when visiting Astoria.
One thing that surprised me during my visit to Astoria was the diversity of activities available. For example, Fort Stevens State Park is an incredible stop for someone interested in military history, but it may not be that interesting for other travelers. I found this to be the case with many of the tourist spots here. However, there were a few activities that I think the regular traveler would enjoy, so I included these things in the itinerary. For the other activities that will only appeal to a few people, I included them under Optional Activities.
This itinerary will work year-round. Astoria has only mild changes in weather throughout the year. One thing to be aware of is that Astoria receives over 60 inches of rainfall a year and often has grey, cloudy skies. It’s also common for there to be fog in the morning. June and July are the most likely months to be sunny, but we did get misted and rained on a few times during our visit in July. And it was windy. Wear a rain jacket and pack an umbrella, and you should be comfortable. There’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes!
Astoria actually has a very interesting history! Lewis and Clark arrived in the Astoria area in the early 1800s. They actually weren’t the first Europeans to explore here. There had been others looking for a way to connect the Columbia River to the ocean. In 1811, some fur traders moved in and named the town Astoria after Jacob Astor, who owned the fur company. It’s the oldest settlement west of the Rocky Mountains!
Astoria was hoped to be a big port town, but the Columbia River was super treacherous for ships. Due to high sandbars and foggy weather, there have been over 2,000 shipwrecks here and it’s nicknamed the Graveyard of the Pacific. Even though Portland became the big town for ships to come in and out of for Oregon, Astoria still has a strong maritime legacy- especially in fishing.
As you walk around town, you’ll notice that everything looks old. Now you know why- it’s been around for over 200 years!
GOOD TO KNOW: Astoria is not a very big town. We parked our car at the Maritime Museum and walked to many of the activities we did.
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Who is ready to explore Astoria? Hopefully you are. Let’s get started with what I believe to be the #1 thing to do in Astoria, the Columbia River Maritime Museum.
This museum really has something for everyone. It opened in the 1960s, but everything in here is fresh and colorful. It’s obvious they maintain it well and frequently switch out or improve their exhibits.
The exhibits on the shipwrecks and the Coast Guard are especially awesome. Did you know the Coast Guard rescues over 600 people a year? The museum has a full-size Coast Guard ship, and they teach you all about how these ships work and how they rescue people. It’s really interesting.
The exhibit on the fishing industry is great, too. They have several boats that have been used over the years. They also teach you about how the fish are processed and the types of fish in the waters here.
One especially touching exhibit is the one about the Japanese flags. During WWII, it was common for the friends and family of Japanese soldiers to gift them a Japanese flag that had well-wishes and messages for the soldiers written on it. The soldiers would carry this flag with them. When a Japanese soldier was killed, American soldiers would find these flags and keep them as souvenirs, not knowing the purpose of the flag. In recent years, great efforts have been made to return these flags to the soldiers’ families.
Lastly, the Lightship Columbia is behind the museum in the marina and is available for visitors to explore. It’s actually a moving lighthouse that was in service in the mid-1900s.
Plan on being here ~ 2 hours and paying ~$18 for entrance. You can learn more about their hours and current exhibits on their website, Columbia River Maritime Museum.
Not too far away from the Columbia River Maritime Museum is the famous Bowpicker Fish and Chips! This is an Astoria icon and people often wait an hour for their signature fish and chips.
It has two things going for it. First, they use a secret batter recipe and the fish is albacore instead of cod, which makes it better than the average fish and chips. Second, they serve the food out of an actual fishing boat. It’s super cool and fun.
On the day we visited, the line was 20 minutes. I asked the elderly gentleman behind me, who was a local, if it was worth it. He said, “Absolutely.”
All they serve are steak fries and fish and you can plan on your meal costing ~$15. This is grab and go, no seating available. See their website, Bowpicker Fish and Chips.
FUN FACT: The boat they serve the fish and chips out of was actually a fishing boat in Astoria for 40 years.
This is a unique, quirky stop that is just outside of downtown. It’s a giant column that has murals of the town’s history on it. You can climb 164 stairs to the top and you have great views of the town and the Columbia River (if it’s not foggy!) What makes it special is that the gift shop on-site sells small wooden gliders for $1, and you can throw them off the top of the column. It’s really fun to see where they land.
TRY THIS: Sometimes people will just grab a plane off the ground instead of buying one. I tried this and found that the plane I picked up had a woman’s name and phone number with a message asking me to take a pic of the plane and to tell her what time I found it. She was so excited when I texted her. If you are comfortable giving a stranger your cell number, you may want to try this out!
Plan on this taking around 30 minutes and costing $5 to park your car, plus money to buy gliders. You can learn more on their website, Astoria Column. Fun fact- the Astoria Column is an NPS site.
Lewis and Clark left St. Louis, traveled across the plains, and finally made it to the ocean in Oregon, but were faced with the tough decision of whether to return home or wait out the winter. They chose to spend the winter here (100 days!) at Fort Clatsop.
This is an NPS Historic Site and is very well done. They have two great movies, really interesting displays on how Lewis and Clark and their group survived and studied the area. They also teach a lot about the Clatsop tribe that they frequently traded and interacted with.
Outside of the museum is a recreation of what their fort would have looked like. It was super cool to explore and the volunteers and rangers had great stories and history to share.
On the day we visited, they were having a special celebration- Seaman Days. A Newfoundland dog named Seaman accompanied Lewis and Clark on their journey, so once a year, people are invited to bring their Newfoundland dog to the park. They have all sorts of education and activities to teach you about these very cool (and huge!) dogs.
Plan on hanging out here for about an hour and paying a ~$10 entrance fee, unless you have an America the Beautiful Pass for national parks. You can learn more on their website, Lewis and Clark National Historic Park.
FUN FACT: Lewis and Clark brought Seaman to be a rescue dog in the water. Apparently, that was something special about Seaman. Not all Newfoundland dogs enjoy the water. Newfoundland dogs are big and weigh between 130 and 170 pounds.
The only way to cross the Columbia River to Washington used to be by ferry. It took 30 minutes and it didn’t operate in bad weather. In the 1960s, the Astoria-Megler Bridge was built. It’s four miles long and took four years to complete. And…it’s really fun to drive across it. You get great views of the Columbia River and it’s common to see lots of different types of birds, too.
What I really enjoyed was seeing how shallow the Columbia River is in certain parts. You can see why so many shipwrecks happened here because sandbars would come out of nowhere and the ships would get stuck and then pounded by the winds and waves. After learning about the Graveyard of the Pacific, it was neat to see in real life why these waters are so treacherous.
Plan on it taking ~ 30 minutes to drive across the bridge and back.
What an attractive name! Cape Disappointment got its name because one of the early explorers was trying to find the entrance of the Columbia River from the ocean. He found it and went around the cape dozens of times, but could never figure out how to get in there, so he called it Cape Disappointment.
There’s a battery and lots of hiking trails, but the real draw is that it has two lighthouses. The Cape Disappointment Lighthouse was built in 1856 and is pretty beat up. It’s about a mile to get to and I would skip it and see the other one. However, I did enjoy the walk here. It’s full of vegetation and you feel like you are walking through the rainforest in the jungle.
North Head Light House is easier to get to and is beautiful. Tours are actually offered here. We didn’t get to do this because it was closed when we visited, but we have toured other lighthouses and they are worth 30 minutes of your time and the $3 fee they charge. Even if you can’t catch a tour, the views of the ocean are beautiful, as long as there isn’t fog.
There is also a very cool beach here called Wikiki Beach. There is tons of driftwood that people have built forts out of.
Visiting Cape Disappointment could be an hour to a full day stop, depending on what you want to do. It costs ~$10 to park your car. Learn more at their website, Cape Disappointment State Park.
This is located outside of Astoria, about as far northwest as you can go and still be in Oregon. It’s a state park because it protected the Columbia River during the Civil War, WWI, and WWII. Bunkers, batteries, and cannons remain to explore. Besides war history, there are other things to do, including disc golf, kayak tours, and bike rentals. The ranger told us that they also have the biggest campground west of the Mississippi, over 500 campsites, including cabins and yurts.
INTERESTING: Fort Stevens was the only place on the mainland that the Japanese fired on in WWII. A Japanese submarine fired a torpedo at Fort Stevens and Fort Stevens was ordered not to fire back because it would have given away their location.
There is tons to see here and they actually do some guided tours of an underground battery. We got to do a self-guided tour through one of the batteries above ground and it was pretty cool.
The actual star of the show is the shipwreck of the Peter Iredale. This is a shipwreck where the boat was pushed up onto the beach and is still there, just rusting away. There are no guardrails, so you are welcome to touch it or even climb on it, though I wouldn’t because it’s super rusty. It’s over 100 years old and some of it is buried in the sand.
It’s a 15-minute stop and you don’t have to pay the state park fee to see it. Even if you aren’t interested in Fort Stevens, I think the Peter Iredale is worth a stop.
If you want to visit more of Fort Stevens, you could spend half a day here. Plan on paying $12 to park your car and an extra fee if you book a guided tour. Check out their website Fort Stevens State Park .
IMPORTANT: It’s common to have to pay $12 to park your car at several spots along the Oregon Coast. If you are on a road trip and want to see several sites, pick up the Oregon Pacific Coast Passport. It’s a multi-agency day-use passport that covers entry or day-use fees at dozens of federal fee sites (Forest Service, National Parks Service, and Bureau of Land Management) and Oregon State Park sites along Highway 101 and the Siuslaw National Forest. A 5-day pass costs $12 and Fort Stevens is one of the places you can pick one up.
George Flavel earned his fortune by discovering where the sandbars in the Columbia River were and charged top dollar to help ships navigate safely through. He built this very fancy house, which you can visit today. It’s impressive, and the grounds are beautiful.
This 30-45 minute stop is great for people who love history and architecture. My husband was more interested in this site than I was. It costs ~$7 to enter and you can learn about it on their website, Flavel House Museum.
This is an old jail converted into a museum and is dedicated to the movies that were filmed here. Kindergarten Cop, Free Willy, and The Ring II were all filmed here in Astoria, but the most famous is The Goonies.
This is a very small, simple museum and since we were not interested in any of these movies, we say, “skip it”.
If you have memories of watching The Goonies as a child, plan on taking 30 minutes at this stop and paying $6 to enter. You can learn more on their website, Oregon Film Museum.
MORE GOONIES: If The Goonies is your jam, you can also visit the Goonies House. It’s located at 368 38th Street in Astoria. It’s privately owned and you are not allowed to go inside, but you can park at the baseball field and walk up to it.
This is a one-mile walk along the river that departs from the Columbia River Maritime Museum. As you walk, you’ll notice it looking pretty run-down with lots of decaying wood. Remember, Astoria is over 200 years old and it’s a humid climate. I kept thinking that Astoria was losing the battle with Mother Nature.
Sometimes you can see sea lions along this walk, but they were out in the river when we visited (July) because it was mating season.
Overall, we think most visitors should skip this. There is a large homeless population in Astoria and they hang out along the Riverwalk. Plus, if you are on a larger Oregon road trip, there will be better opportunities to do this in other towns.
INSTEAD OF THE RIVERWALK: Check out the Nordic Park. It’s almost right across the street from the Columbia River Maritime Museum. It’s about the size of a basketball court and it has cute little trolls you can search for.
When to Start Your Day. Many of the businesses in town don’t open until 10 am, so there is
no reason to get up first thing in the morning.
What to Wear. Shoes you feel comfortable walking in and a rain jacket.
What to Bring. An unbrella! Astoria is one of the rainiest places in the country.
Cell Phone Service. Your phone will work well here.
As mentioned before, grab some seafood at Bowpicker Fish and Chips. It’s super good, but you may want something sweet to chase it down.
We think that Schwietert’s Cone and Candy fits the bill. Not only do they have ice cream, but they also have fudge and tons of bulk candy, including 50 different kinds of saltwater taffy (estimation). My kids weren’t with me on this trip, but I know they would have loved the endless possibilities of getting a bag and choosing so many different varieties of candy to try.
DON’T MISS: 15 Best Places to Eat on the Oregon Coast (Seafood, Views & More)
Schwietert’s has a few locations along the Oregon Coast, which leads me to…
Astoria is just the beginning of cool things you can do along the Oregon Coast. Our day in Astoria was just one day of our 21-day Pacific Northwest road trip, where we explored Olympic National Park, Mount Rainier National Park, the Columbia River Gorge, and the Oregon Coast! It was absolutely amazing. Check out our articles and YouTube videos for tips on how to make this trip happen for yourself. If you really want to make planning your trip easy, check out our travel guides! Hope you make it to Astoria soon.
Driving the Oregon Coast HWY 101: 10 Things to Know Before You Go
One PERFECT DAY at Crater Lake National Park (+ Where to Stay and Eat)
Quick and Easy Guide to Hiking in Mount Rainier
What We Wish We Knew Before Visiting the Oregon Coast
The Best (and Worst) Times of Year to Visit Olympic National Park
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