Dave and my final stop along the Oregon coast was at Fort Stevens State Park in the northwest tip of Oregon. The campsite was nestled in the forest and it was only a mile walk along a paved trail to the dog-friendly Clatsop beach. Each morning, Murphy and I headed to the beach for our sunrise walks and had the beach to ourselves.
The beach is famous for the Peter Iredale shipwreck, the Iredale was stranded on the beach in 1906 and luckily the entire crew survived.
Fort Stevens State Park is located where the mouth of the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean. Known as the “Graveyard of the Pacific,” since 1792 over 2,000 vessels have been sunk, with over 700 lives lost. The mighty river, high seas from the Pacific, and a shifting sand bar makes crossing the bar treacherous. Hence, the reason for the Peter Iredale shipwreck shown above.
While in the area, Dave and I visited the Columbia River Maritime Museum in nearby Astoria. It was quite a large museum and also had the Columbia lightship docked nearby. The Columbia is the last of four lightships built which were stationed at the sand bar to help guide mariners cross the treacherous bar. Today, large vessels must have a Columbia River pilot on board prior to crossing the bar, and some must have tugs or Coast Guard ships aid as well.
After touring the museum, we found a dog friendly brewery with good eats. There must have been 10 other dogs on the patio with us. We watched the dog-friendly Astoria trolley go by as we ate. We had hoped to take a ride on the trolley, but it was jam-packed on the weekend day we were there, so we passed. It’s only a dollar for the 3- mile ride along the waterfront.
For the afternoon we headed across the Columbia River, entering Washington state to visit two lighthouses that are used to guide mariners to the Columbia River entrance. The Cape Disappointment Lighthouse was adjacent to the Lewis and Clark Interpretative center, which included a short film on the two-year challenging expedition, which departed St. Louis in 1804. The second lighthouse, called the North Head Lighthouse, included two light keepers’ residences that have been renovated and now host overnight guests.
On our second day in the area, we hiked up to the iconic 125-foot Astoria column, built in 1926, with its 500-foot mural which spirals along the column, telling the history of the area. To get to the top, you must navigate 164 steps on a spiral staircase, rewarded with 360° views. A fun tradition is to launch a small wooden glider off the top, which you can buy for only $1 at the gift shop. Dave and Murphy hung out as I cautiously ascended the spiral staircase, stopping at each landing to ease my nerves a bit. But I made it! There were magnificent views from the top. I headed over the the downwind side of the tower and launched my glider. It did about five circles before it landed on the grassy knoll below the column.
I thought the descent would be easy—but with the ground far below in plain sight, I slowly took one step at a time. After my heart stopped pounding, we hiked back to the truck and sought out another dog-friendly brewery. Once again we enjoyed a delicious lunch (and yes, a beer and a cider). We had a special treat–the outdoor patio had beautiful lilies blooming near our table. Who knew Easter Lilies bloomed in August? Afterwards, we happened to walk by a frozen custard stand. Why not? Murphy even got a free pup cup!
In the afternoon, we headed a bit south to view the last of the nine Oregon lighthouses. The Tillamook Rock Lighthouse is about a mile offshore on a basalt rock islet. To get to the viewpoint, first you drive along 3 miles of a very narrow and windy road. Luckily, there was light traffic so we didn’t have to squeeze by too many cars. Then, you park at a trailhead and head out on a mile long uphill slog (although it is a nice trail) and then another half a mile albeit flatter hike to get to the viewpoint. Murphy even stopped on our way up for a breather – it didn’t seem like we would ever reach the top. There was a small area on the cliff where you could view the lighthouse in the distance. The hike back down was great, and we took a break at the bottom to watch a few surfers. Back we go down that 3 mile narrow, windy road. Ugh.
That’s our last stop along the gorgeous rugged Oregon coast and now we head inland to visit our first Washington State national park, Mount Rainier. I am also publishing an informative (i.e. boring) blog detailing each of the nine Oregon lighthouses we visited.
Thanks for following along!
Sad to leave the Oregon Coast, but who knows what Washington will bring Brenda, I think I’m going to miss the Oregon coast Dave and sand, sand, isn’t it grand Murphy.
