Astoria
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.
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.
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 activities
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Long Beach Peninsula Visitors Bureau
The Long Beach Peninsula welcomes visitors with all the ingredients of an authentic Northwest coastal experience. Our villages offer great seafood, comfortable lodging, cute shops, colorful festivals, and one-of-a-kind attractions. Surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, Columbia River and Willapa Bay, nature's wonders are plentiful.
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Columbia River Maritime Museum
Six galleries, the Great Hall, and the Lightship Columbia interpret the region's rich maritime history. Visitors of all ages experience what it's like to pilot a tugboat, participate in a Coast Guard rescue, and live in Astoria during the height of salmon fishing. Explore marine transportation from the days of dugout canoes, through the age of sail, to the present. Walk the bridge of a WW II warship, marvel at the 44-ft motor lifeboat plowing through a wave in a rescue mission. Interactive, hands-on exhibits. Board the Lightship Columbia, a National Historic Landmark that once guided ships to safety at the mouth of the Columbia River. Watch family friendly movies in the 3D theater. Take classes at the Barbey Martime Center. Sail a model boat on the newly opened Warnock Model Boat Pond.
Featured accommodations
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Comfort Suites Columbia River
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Cannery Pier Hotel & Spa
Cannery Pier Hotel & Spa, named "one of the top 25 hotels in the West" by Sunset Magazine, is a luxury boutique hotel built on the historic site of the former Union Fish Cannery 600 feet into the Columbia River Estuary. Waterfront balconies offer unparalleled views of a real working river and special amenities such as breakfast, wine & hors d'oeuvres, chauffeur driven vintage cars and a full-service Spa with authentic Finnish Sauna and Mineral Therapy Hot Tub make a stay here an extraordinary experience.
Events
For more info
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Astoria Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce
111 West Marine Drive
Astoria, Oregon 97103
503-325-6311 or 800-875-6807
Email: [email protected]
website: TravelAstoria.com
