It’s a must see if you visit Astoria. You need to pay $5 for each car (you can use the pass for 1 year) You get 360’ awesome views. You can climb the stairs to the top of the column which is a great experience itself. There are picnic tables and a gift shop. Grab a sandwich and enjoy the million dollar views.

First time in the museum & absolutely loved it. Lots of hands on things to try & learn about. Lots of audio so not just a bunch to read about, which is fantastic! Real ships & some incredible history. We would definitely go again. My boys 4 & 8 had a great time.

This area is great for all ages! I was delighted to see so many trails and places to visit in the park. We visited after Christmas and were staying at a hotel in Astoria. It was very cold, but walking on frozen sand was much easier. Lol. There were very few people around, so that was a plus too! Be sure to visit the shipwreck, South Jetty, Wildlife Viewing Bunker/Beach, and Ft Stevensand visitor Center/museum. And watch for wildlife!

Super awesome high bridge which is amazing and free for private vehicles to drive the 4+ miles across on (no pedestrian/bike access) as seagulls try to match your speed. Restrooms at Dismal Nitch rest area on Washington side (plus great Lewis and Clark history!). On Astoria side, free parking at the end of Columbia Avenue for amazing views of the high end of the bridge from right underneath it. Also some benches and a very tiny sand beach. While there, be sure to visit the very nice and free maritime memorial with many interesting names and tidbits carved into it which give you a great sense of the history of the area. If this information was helpful, I'd appreciate it quick like or follow. Thank you!

Well worth it! We ended up taking the steep trail and it was aptly named. If your into identifying plants make sure you check out the pressed plants before your walk, that will make it easier to find them. The park rangers we very helpful.

Super affordable at only $1 round trip or $2 all day, nice little ride with neat information on the sights you see.

This house is so well preserved and beautifully furnished. I loved the tall doors and windows, amazing woodwork, and fireplaces. The bathrooms and kitchen were fun to see too! The self tour gave you lots of interesting facts to read about the house details, furniture, and those who lived there. You will not be disappointed. Oh, and the huge tree on the northwest corner was magnificent!

"Hey You Guys"..I have always been and always will be a goonies fan for life... I finally got to fulfill a childhood dream to visit the town of the goonies and what a perfect place to start then the jailhouse where it all began.. this place is small and for a small fee you get to tour the jailhouse completely dedicated to the movie The Goonies...there's a small gift shop where you can get a few souvenirs you can also record a scene from the movie there for those who may want to do that... and remember "Goonies Never Say Die"

This historical sight and its replicated Fort is extremely impressive. There is an abundance of historical information throughout the Fort, trails, and exhibit. The exhibit is quite mind-blowing and almost takes you into the footsteps of the explorers. Entrance fees for 16 years and older is $10 per person (good for 7 days) and 15 years and younger have free admission. If you go, I suggest planning on staying for at least 2 hours to absorb everything!

Such a great museum. Free! Has some many rooms with awesome old and current information machines tv presentations and interactive items. The place is just a great representation of the hard work and dedication of the fishing fleet and maritime era

Unique ship with a lot of history. If you are not claustrophobic there is access to basement of the ship to see the places used by the crew when it was operational like Beds, Kitchen etc. Easy to enter with small steps. Entrance is included with Columbia River maritime museum tickets. Open only till 3PM though.

One of the best places to stop and have a beer in Astoria. Beers were delicious, pizza was tasty, with fresh ingredients and cooked in a wood fired oven. It’s worth sitting upstairs, especially on a sunny day. The Captain Phantasmic IPA was yummy!

I didn't hesitate to stop here for a small break from the long Riverwalk, as well as admire the memorial here. So many ships and sailors names rest here, on the site to remember those who died or were lost at sea. The area is very specious, so you can walk around and between the walls without ending up bumping shoulders with other people. The place is also very tidy and clean, indicating that there is some maintenance done here to preserve this memorial. The Maritime Memorial is free to visit, it was not busy at all when I visited on a weekend early noon. Do make this a stop if you are also walking westwards along the pier - you won't regret it!

There's lots to read in this museum so come prepared! The over all museum was much larger than I was expecting it to be. I hope they can expand the Black Pioneer room soon. If you enjoy museums and/or you want to learn more about Astoria, this is the place to do it!

{ 2005 03 30 } The Shallon Winery I have to tell you about one of my favorite places and people. It’s Mr.Paul VanDerveltd‘s Shallon Winery. Born in Seaside(!) because his mother wanted him born there, he went to school in Astoria and eventually graduated from Astoria High School before going on to Reed College. He had to leave after his first year when his father found out that Reed was red1 and left to serve in the Navy during Korea and eventually came back to Astoria to take over his father’s construction company. He proceeded do to many things, one of which was to spend over a million dollars of grant money from the University to make a whey wine. Paul says, Whey wines: As far as I know, I had the first good tasting commercially produced whey wine in the world and still produce the only whey wine. These wines should be good for you; they should have the vitamins, minerals, and some of the protein that milk has. Several universities have in the past spent a great deal of grant money trying to make wine from the whey, and have essentially failed (I don’t get any grant money). If you come to his winery, he will give you the full tour, practiced and rehearsed to perfection. So practiced that if you come a few times, you will start learning your role and play it as well as you can. Sometimes he will tell you about the Black Raspberry wine and sometimes he won’t. Sometimes he will offer it to you and sometimes he won’t. Its a rare treat – he will take out consecrated silver cups and pour a tiny bit of wine that is inky black and unfathomably deep. Paul says, Wild BLACK Raspberry: A dessert wine too precious to even mention, the berries picked one at a time in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest! Talk about precious desert wines like Chateau d’Yquem at $200 a bottle, but they are available. This you can’t get. If I ever have any, it’s $85 for 375 ml. And then depending on his mood, maybe reflective or maybe a bit sad, he will tell you about his close friend (“an out of work fisherman like so many of them here”) that would go into those woods alone for weeks at a time and bring back those black raspberries and tell you that he was murdered two years ago(2) and how the cops* thought he was just a vagrant and let him go and how he (Paul) will keep his picture on his mantle to remember him and will never make that black raspberry wine again. Go back and look at the mantle on the far left. 1. The old sense of red as in commie red (funny how words change their meanings) [↩] 2. it’s always two years [↩]