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Sign in with FacebookLatest Astoria hotel reviews
Pro
great place for a day out on the beach - alone or with your family
Con
Busy Highway Through Town makes Walkability Somewhat Limited, Not That Close to Any Beaches as it Faces the River
In a nutshell
Good place to take a break and sit along the water
glabah Says: The Coast Guard Cutter Alert is assigned to Astoria. While it does spend some considerable amount of time at sea, it also spends some time in port, here in Astoria. During certain periods of the port stay, the ship is open for tours.Going into what is essentially an open...
North Head Lighthouse (at Washington State side)
sunnywong Says: One of the first stops heading up the Washington coastline from Oregon across Columbia River on the other side of the Astoria-Megler bridge is North Head Lighthouse. The North Head Lighthouse at Fort Canby State Park was built in 1898 and is one of the windiest places in the...
sunnywong Says: The Astoria Column commemorates the westward sweep of discovery and migration. Designed by a New York architect named Electus Litchfield and inspired by the Trajan Column in Rome, the Astoria Column was completed in 1926 for a total cost of just over $27,000. The initial...
Sail A Glider From The Top Of The Tower
NESASK Says: Especially if you have kids coming, buy some balsa wood gliders in the gift shop before you go up the tower. They sell them to launch from the tower and it's great fun to watch them glide and circle their way down to the ground. If you write your name on the plane you may be...
Astoria Column: windy views of everything
glabah Says: For many years Astoria's best known landmark, this 125 foot tall column is still one of the best known landmarks on Oreogn's west coast, and offers a wonderful 360 degree view that includes the Pacific Ocean, the Columbia River, and the Cascade Mountains.The artwork that...
Columbia River Maritime Museum
glabah Says: The museum contains not just a wealth of information about the maritime history on the Columbia River, but also information more relevant to today, including one of the most spectacular displays being a full-sized Coast Guard rescue boat being pitched at a severe storm wave,...
Donna_in_India Says: From the outside the Flavel House is a beautiful example of a Queen Anne Style Victorian Home. The house was built in 1885 for Captain George Flavel and his family. Captain Flavel was a harbor master and one of Astoria's most influencial residents. He made his fortune in...
462 Opinions
Holiday Inn Express And Suites
1 Review and 302 Opinions One of the nicest hotel rooms I have stayed in. Looked directly across the river under the bridge....
Pier 11 Feed Store: Most Delicious Food and View Combo
Nankani Says: Welcome Astoria back to the Pier 11 Feedstore & Restaurant. Come in & enjoy a traditional hamburger, fresh seafood or the finest steak & potatoes you’ve had in a long time. We’ll satisfy your hunger while you enjoy the comfort & character of our historic building, watching...
Gunderson's Cannery Café: Closed Due to Fire
glabah Says: I ate at this place in 2005, and it had a reasonably good view of the water, plus decent food.However, it is now closed because it, as well as several nearby businesses, burned in a huge fire that spread to several historic waterfront buildings.
Fort George Brewery and Public House: WORST SERVICE EVER
jriekkola Says: I was born and raised in Astoria but have had the privilege of traveling and working in the restaurant business for over 3 years. I can honestly say that the only reason the Fort George Brewery is still in business is because people around here (Astoria) are used to terrible...
Astoria Coffee House: Perfect Place For A Break!
Donna_in_India Says: After walking around the quaint town of Astoria we stopped for some coffee and a quick something to eat. We had a wonderful table outside in the warm sunshine. Although the menu had some very interesting breakfast, sandwich, and salad items, we chose a couple of their...
glabah Says: Running along the riverfront through much of downtown Astoria is the Astoria Riverfront Walkway. This walkway parallels the old railroad line that is now used as the Astoria Trolley line. The walkway goes through an assortment of environments, including a few remaining...
glabah Says: The large and very long bridge (it appears to not have an end!) that crosses the mouth of the Columbia is an impressive structure, but it is only two lanes. Driving over it can feel a little intimidating when there is no where else to go but into the water should someone...
glabah Says: Public bus service through downtown Astoria only operates once every hour, and using it requires crossing from many of Astoria's waterfront attractions to the other side of Highway 30, which can sometimes be difficult.Throughout most of the 1980s and 1990s, the railroad...
Donna_in_India Says: The restored 1914 trolley is a great way to get around Astoria. It runs 3 miles along the Columbia River. You can catch a ride anywhere on the riverfront between Basin & 36th Street. Trolley Stops:• Astoria Red Lion Inn• Maritime Memorial (near Bay Street)• Columbia House...
Helpfulness
Visiting the Astoria Column (see "Things to Do" tip), you will find there is a visitor's center in a portable building that is set up to not just sell the visitor's parking permits (at $1 per year) for visiting the column, but also has an assortment of memoriabilia for the city of Astoria and related Oregon Coast material. This includes everything from Christmas ornaments to post cards and various articles designed to spin in the wind (of which Astoria has quite a lot).
What to buy: Never pay more than what you think it is worth. There are some unique items here, but there are also some things that you can get anywhere (such as some of the wind spinners). Concentrate on the items that are unique to Astoria or otherwise of local origin.
Updated May 5, 2010
Address: 2199 Coxcomb Drive, Astoria, OR 97103
Website: http://www.astoriacolumn.org/
Helpfulness
The Columbia River Bar - aka “Graveyard of the Pacific” - at the mouth of the river, can be one of the most treacherous spots for an ocean-going vessel - any vessel for that matter - in the World. This is the only Bar in the US where it is mandatory for a ship to have to take on a Bar Pilot to help navigate the ship into the river from the sea. Once over the Bar, the pilots then have to take on River Pilots to help navigate the ships up the river channel to ports like Portland or other upriver ports. The process is repeated - at some expense to the ship owner - on the return trip. Both sets of Pilots are very well-paid - and there are not a lot of them (only 19-20 Bar Pilots) - but they take on enormous responsibilities. Conditions are ever-changing and one mistake could mean an instant change in career direction or even death. The Bar Pilot boats are lime yellow (this is for the University of Duck fans) an orange (Oregon State Beavers get the newer $4 million boat. These rugged boats are engineered to take on very exacted conditions that one can encounter out on the Bar. The River Pilot boats are more like fast tugs and while strongly built, they don’t have to be able to flip over and come up singing like the Bar Pilot boats do. A great place to watch ships take on and let off their River Pilots is from the deck of the Wet Dog Café of Astoria Brewing Company - weather permitting, of course.
Written Jul 31, 2008
Website: http://www.colrip.com/ and http://www.columbiariverbarpilots.com/
Steep Stairs Slippery When Wet
thecatsmeow Says: If you go to the Astoria Column you are able to climb the 164 steps to the top viewing platform but do be careful for if it rains (What rain in the Pacific Northwest?) the stairs can be a bit slick. They are metal stairs built in a spiral up but it is not an easy climb. If...
Bald Eagle Habitat Beside the Road
glabah Says: On the way along highway 30 just east of Astoria, you will come to signs that point the way to the "Twilight Eagle Sanctuary". These point the way to a narrow road named "Burnside Loop Road", which gets a little closer to the Columbia River.There is a nesting pair of bald...
Segolily Says: On the same long and wide sandy beach where people lay out, kite surf and build sand castles is the rusting iron hulk of a shipwrecked vessel- the Peter Iredale. It ran aground in 1906 while attempting to enter the Columbia river at night in the mist and has lain there ever...
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Oldest American Settlement West of the Rockies
Astoria is a wonderful mix of history, charm,art,culinary delights,and much more. Astoria is the former " Salmon Capital of the World" so they say in one of the many brochures you can pick up around...
I'm not sure that any city in Oregon has changed as much as Astoria has in the last 20 years. Not so very long ago, this was a lumber and fishing city that most tourists only passed through on their...
The first European settlement in Oregon was established here with John Jacob Astor’s Fort Astoria in 1810. Fort Astoria was to be the main fur trading post for Astor’s Pacific Fur Company, but timing...
Going home from our day trip from the Kite Festival in Long Beach, Washington, we tried a different route going home to Seattle, Washington. The day is getting shorter and pretty soon, the sky will be...
The historical attractions of the Astoria area include a reconstruction of the Lewis and Clark winter encampment (Fort Clatsop), and a civil war bastion (Fort Stephens), built to keep possible...
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