Astoria is gritty, and likes it that way. But that rustic exterior is just a cover for the many enchanting dichotomies you’ll find waiting around the next corner. Here, fisherman are poets, loggers drink espresso, and Main Street welcomes both nouveau gallery and five n’ dime.
For Astoria, it’s about character, and it’s also about characters: the people who call this place home with a passion that borders on evangelical. The skipper who challenges the same mighty river his great grandfather once fished. The artist who migrated here in search of a new palette. The hotelier who resurrected a once-bustling pier.
Astoria is that little town that could, a city of 10,000 people on the Columbia River, just a few miles from the Pacific Ocean. Founded 200 years ago at the beginning of Oregon’s North Coast, Astoria has been through boom and bust times more than once, weathering the collapse of both the Columbia River fishery and Oregon timber industry. It has risen once again as a cultural haven, often referred to as “little San Francisco.” Astoria is an old place that is newly hip. Here, Victorian mansions and maritime relics live in harmony with chef-driven restaurants and tattoo parlors.
Once you come here and learn these stories, you’ll want to share them with others, and hope they’ll tell others, too. And, it’s a place to which you’ll want to return, to see what other stories you might have missed.
Featured Spots
North Coast
Heritage Museum
Built in 1904 as Astoria’s City Hall, this building is now home to the Clatsop County Historical Society’s Heritage Museum, Research Center & Archives. Explore the history of Clatsop County through temporary and permanent exhibits featuring Native Americans, early pioneers,...
1618 Exchange StreetAstoria, OR
503-338-4849
Email us (cchs[at]cumtux[dot]org)
North Coast
Field Guide Service
Astoria, OR
(503) 539-0587
Email us (petercfield[at]gmail[dot]com)
North Coast
Hazen’s Guide Service
When was the last time you took your favorite people out fishing? Cherish the memories made while fishing on the rivers and bays of the Astoria, Tillamook, and St. Helens areas with your boat captain, Mike Hazen. Because salmon, steelhead...
Astoria, OR
503-440-1354
Email us (gofishwithmike[at]gmail[dot]com)
North Coast
R & T Guide Service
Captains Tom and Rocio Wick are a husband and wife guide team that specialize in Salmon, Sturgeon, Bottom Fishing and crabbing in the Astoria area as well as the Columbia River tributaries. They also provide Salmon and Steelhead fishing trips...
Astoria, OR
(503) 930-8344
Email us (rtguideservice[at]gmail[dot]com)
North Coast
Triple C Outfitters
Professionally guided Salmon, Sturgeon & Steelhead fishing based on the Columbia river.
74734 Good RdAstoria, OR
(503) 791-2314
Email us (RHFishKiller[at]gmail[dot]com)
North Coast
Columbia River Maritime Museum
Explore the world of marine transportation from the days of dugout canoes, through the age of sail, to the present. Watch a dramatic 12-minute film introducing the history and perils of the the Columbia River. Sail a model boat on...
1792 Marine Dr.Astoria, OR
(503)325-2323
North Coast
Sunset Beach State Recreation Site
Sunset Beach State Recreation Site comes with a very famous past. The park marks the west trailhead of the historic Fort-to-Sea Trail – a 6.5 mile route that recreates the experience Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery encountered...
Astoria, OR503-861-3170
North Coast
Liberty Theatre
The Liberty Theatre in downtown Astoria, Oregon, is one of the best examples of the 1920s vaudeville-motion picture palace in the Pacific Northwest.
1203 Commercial StreetAstoria, OR
503-325-5922
Email us (director[at]liberty-theater[dot]org)
North Coast
West Coast Artisans
Discover unique gifts and a variety of art at this gallery in Astoria.
160 10th StreetAstoria, OR
(503) 739-3953
North Coast
Lance Fisher Fishing
The great thing for fishermen here in the Pacific Northwest is that you have year around runs of Salmon, Steelhead, and Sturgeon. Some months are certainly better than others, but to enjoy such an abundance of different types of fishing...
422 Gateway Ave.Astoria, OR
503-822-6188
Email us (info[at]lancefisherfishing[dot]com)
North Coast
Astoria–Megler Bridge
Connecting Oregon to Washington across the mouth of the Columbia River, the Astoria–Megler Bridge is the longest continuous truss bridge in North America. Pedestrians are allowed on the bridge just one day per year, during the Great Columbia Crossing. The 4.1-mile-long Astoria...
Astoria–Megler BridgeAstoria, OR
North Coast
Captain Flavel Trees – Heritage Tree
This grove of nine trees is a part of the original landscaping planted around the historic 1886 Queen Anne style house of Captain George Flavel. The grove consists of a giant sequoia, ginkgo, Camperdown elm, bay laurel, pear, and four...
441 8th St.Astoria, OR
More Info
Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce
Astoria, OR Mail: PO Box 176
Astoria, OR
503-325-6311
Email us (visitors[at]oldoregon[dot]com)