The Gordon House in Silverton is the Pacific Northwest's only publicly accessible Frank Lloyd Wright–designed home — a beautifully restored Usonian masterpiece set within the Oregon Garden.
Oregon: Fort Clatsop – Lewis & Clark National Monument
🗺️ Jefferson’s Rather Late Due Diligence
Back in September 1803, US President Thomas Jefferson finally decided he ought to find out a bit more about the rather enormous chunk of land he’d just bought on behalf of the United States. We’re talking about the Louisiana Purchase — quite possibly the greatest bargain in the history of real estate, and also quite possibly the most spectacularly uninformed property acquisition in the history of real estate.
To give you a sense of the scale of what Jefferson had signed for, the Louisiana Purchase covered roughly 828,000 square miles — more or less doubling the size of the young United States in one stroke of a pen. He’d paid Napoleon Bonaparte around $15 million for it, which works out to about three cents an acre. Bargain of the century, certainly. But here’s the thing — Jefferson had absolutely no idea what was actually out there. None. He’d bought it first and thought about it second, which is not generally how sensible people are supposed to conduct large transactions.
We imagine the due diligence process for most purchases involves at least a cursory look at what you’re buying. A quick scout around. Perhaps reading a few reports. Jefferson, to be fair, had been trying to negotiate merely the port of New Orleans when Napoleon — cash-strapped, distracted by wars, and apparently in a generous mood — simply offered him the whole lot in April 1803. One doesn’t say no to that sort of thing, obviously. But still.
To be entirely fair to the man, Jefferson had actually been curious about the western interior of the continent long before the purchase was finalised. He’d been quietly lobbying Congress for an expedition as early as January 1803, months before Napoleon made his astonishing offer. So perhaps it’s slightly less reckless than it sounds. Only slightly, mind you.
In any case, by September 1803, with the ink well and truly dry on the deal, Jefferson got properly serious about finding out what on earth he’d acquired. No come-back mechanism exists, after all, when you’re President for a handful of years and you’ve just committed the nation to the largest land acquisition in its short history. You simply send some chaps off to have a look and hope for the best.
🧭 Lewis, Clark and the World’s Worst Camping Holiday
Jefferson wasted no time. He recruited his two most trusted men — Meriwether Lewis, his personal secretary and a capable army officer, and William Clark, a seasoned frontiersman and younger brother of the Revolutionary War hero George Rogers Clark — to lead what would become one of the most remarkable expeditions in American history.
The brief was straightforward enough, at least on paper: head up the Missouri River, chart the vast new territory the United States had just acquired, and find a navigable route through to the Pacific Ocean. Simple. What could possibly go wrong?
The assembled crew numbered 45 men in total, a motley collection of soldiers, frontiersmen, hunters and one or two souls who probably had no idea what they’d signed up for. They called themselves the Corps of Discovery, which sounds rather grand, and on 14 May 1804 they pushed off from Camp Dubois, near present-day Hartford, Illinois, and set off into the genuinely unknown.
It was not a gentle stroll. Over the following months they battled ferocious weather, treacherous river currents, grizzly bears (which nobody back in Washington had properly warned them about), mosquitoes in biblical quantities, and the constant challenge of forging workable relationships with the Native American tribes they encountered along the way. Some of those encounters went well. Others, less so. They relied enormously on a young Shoshone woman named Sacagawea, who joined the expedition in what is now North Dakota in November 1804 and proved utterly indispensable as a guide and interpreter — considerably more useful, one suspects, than several of the actual soldiers.
🌊 They Made It. Eventually.
It was not until November 1805 — a full eighteen months after setting out — that the Corps of Discovery finally clapped eyes on the Pacific Ocean, having worked their way down the mighty Columbia River through what is now Washington and Oregon. One can only imagine the relief. Also, possibly, the smell.
They were exhausted, they were short of supplies, and winter was closing in fast. A vote was held — remarkably democratic for 1805 — and the decision was made to find somewhere to hole up until spring. They chose a spot in the dense coastal forest just outside what is now the town of Astoria, right on the north-eastern tip of Oregon, where the Columbia meets the sea. They built a small wooden fort, named it Fort Clatsop after the local tribe, and settled in.
🌧️ Oregon in Winter. Nobody Warned Them.
This is where it all gets rather grim, and where one has to feel a certain sympathy for the Corps of Discovery — though not too much, given they’d just pulled off one of history’s great overland journeys.
The problem was that nobody had told them about Oregon in winter. In fairness, there wasn’t exactly a TripAdvisor review to consult. The Oregon coast is, to put it diplomatically, one of the wetter corners of North America. The prevailing Pacific winds dump extraordinary quantities of rain on the coastal ranges from roughly October through to April, and 1805 to 1806 was no exception.
Over the four months they sheltered at Fort Clatsop, the Corps of Discovery recorded just a single day — one solitary, glorious day — when it did not rain. One day. In four months. They recorded in their journals that the men were perpetually damp, their leather clothing was rotting, the elk meat was spoiling, and morale was, understandably, not at its highest. Clark wrote with magnificent understatement that the men were “much fatigued and wet.” You don’t say, William.
Still, they survived. In March 1806, they packed up Fort Clatsop, began the long journey home, and eventually arrived back in St. Louis on 23 September 1806 — two years, four months and ten days after they’d left. Rather them than me.
🏕️ Replica of Fort Clatsop
Sadly, the visitor centre was firmly shut — Covid-19 had seen to that — so we had to make do with poking around outside like a couple of tourists who’d turned up on the wrong day, which, in a sense, we had. Still, unlike the Corps of Discovery, who endured what can only be described as a spectacularly miserable winter here in 1805–06, we’d been blessed with rather splendid weather. Small mercies.
The original fort that Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark had their men knock together in just three weeks back in December 1805 was never intended as a grand military installation. It was essentially a wooden stockade — about 50 feet square — designed mainly to keep out the local wildlife rather than any marauding Clatsop tribespeople, with whom, to their credit, the Corps maintained largely cordial relations. The Clatsop people had lived in the region for thousands of years and were, by all accounts, rather better suited to the relentless Pacific Northwest rain than thirty-odd men from Virginia and Missouri. Unsurprisingly, the original structure didn’t survive long in this sodden climate. Wood rots. Oregon sees to that with considerable enthusiasm.
What stands today is a replica — a careful reconstruction the National Park Service pieced together from the meticulous journals Lewis and Clark kept throughout their epic 8,000-mile journey. And it has to be said, it’s compact. Cosy, even, if you’re feeling generous. During the season, Rangers and enthusiastic volunteers bring the place to life with tales of the expedition and what daily existence would have looked like during that long, damp winter — 106 days in total, during which it apparently rained on all but twelve of them. Twelve. The rest were, by Lewis’s own account, thoroughly wretched.
Life for the Corps would have been genuinely hard going — wet kit, monotonous food (mostly elk, which they grew absolutely sick of), and nowhere decent to sit down. They were clearly made of considerably sterner stuff than we are. I’m fairly confident I wouldn’t last five minutes if someone catapulted me back to 1805 as a member of the Corps. I’d be asking about the nearest pub before the stockade gate had even swung shut.
As for the fort itself — blink and you’ll miss it. Wander in and out of the handful of small rooms three times over and you’ve still only used up about ten minutes. Which, given the parking charges in America, feels like something of an imbalance.
🥾 2. Explore the Trails
If you fancy stretching your legs a bit — and after a long drive, who wouldn’t — Fort Clatsop National Memorial has several trails winding through the park that are well worth your time.
The shortest of these, and the one we’d recommend as a first port of call, takes you down through the trees to the Netul River. And this isn’t just any old riverside stroll, mind you. This is the actual spot where Meriwether Lewis and William Clark tied up their canoes in the winter of 1805 to 1806, having paddled and portaged their way across an entire continent. When the Corps of Discovery finally arrived here after travelling something in the region of 8,000 miles from Camp Dubois in Illinois — which had taken them the best part of 18 months — this was the landing point. Right here. You’re essentially standing on the exact piece of mud where two of America’s most celebrated explorers hopped out of their boats, probably soaking wet and thoroughly fed up with the relentless Pacific Northwest rain. Which, to be fair, hasn’t changed much.
From the landing point, the trail then meanders on to the site where Fort Clatsop itself was erected. The Corps knocked the original fort together in remarkably short order — the men began construction on the 7th of December 1805 and had it essentially finished by Christmas Eve. Not bad going for a group of blokes who’d just spent a year and a half in the wilderness. The fort served as their winter quarters until the 23rd of March 1806, when they packed up and headed back east. They named it after the local Clatsop people, the indigenous tribe who proved to be genuinely helpful neighbours throughout that long, damp, monotonous winter.
The walk itself is a pleasant wooded affair through old-growth forest — Douglas fir, Sitka spruce, that sort of thing — and not in the least bit strenuous. No mountain-goat fitness required. We managed it perfectly well, and we’re not exactly spring chickens.
🥾 The Fort To Sea Trail — Six And A Half Miles Of Character Building
If you fancy something a bit more taxing than a gentle woodland stroll — and I mean genuinely taxing, not just “ooh it’s a bit uphill” taxing — then the Fort To Sea Trail is waiting for you with a smug expression and muddy boots.
Stretching 6.5 miles south from Fort Clatsop through dense coastal woodland all the way to Sunset Beach on the Pacific Ocean, this is a proper trail. A trail with history, with gradient, and with the particular kind of wet underfoot that ruins a good pair of trainers before you’ve gone half a mile.
The route passes through the ancestral lands of the Clatsop people, the Indigenous nation who lived along this stretch of the Oregon coast for thousands of years before Lewis and Clark blundered through in the winter of 1805 to 1806. The Clatsop were expert fishermen, traders, and navigators of these dense coastal forests — people who actually knew what they were doing in this terrain, unlike most of us attempting it in walking shoes from a supermarket.
Now, here is the bit they don’t put in big letters on the leaflet, but absolutely should: this is not a circular trail. It goes from A to B. That’s it. Which means that unless you’ve been organised enough to leave a vehicle parked at Sunset Beach — and let’s be honest, most of us haven’t been that organised since 1987 — you will be walking all 6.5 miles back again. That’s 13 miles in total. On a trail with hills. Well done.
There are sections that go uphill. There are sections that go downhill. There are sections that are genuinely slick and muddy, particularly after rain, which — given that this is coastal Oregon — is not exactly an unusual condition. And there are open stretches with precious little vegetation to shelter under when the weather turns, which it will, because this is the Pacific Northwest and the weather does what it likes.
So pack accordingly. Wear proper boots. Bring water. Tell someone where you’re going. And maybe, just maybe, sort out that second car situation before you set off rather than realising the problem at mile six with wet socks.
Planning Your Visit to the Lewis & Clark National Monument
🏛️ Overview
Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, centred on the historic Fort Clatsop site near Astoria, Oregon, is one of the most evocative destinations in the American Pacific Northwest. The park commemorates the remarkable 1805–06 winter encampment of the Corps of Discovery, the 33-member expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, who became the first American citizens to cross the continent overland to the Pacific coast. Fort Clatsop served as the expedition’s shelter and base of operations during those wet and challenging winter months, and a visit here offers a deeply immersive window into that extraordinary chapter of American history.
The park spans sites in both Oregon and Washington state, with the main Fort Clatsop site nestled within the coastal forests and wetlands where the Coast Range meets the Columbia River Estuary, approximately five miles south of Astoria.
📍 Location
The main visitor centre and Fort Clatsop site are located at:
92343 Fort Clatsop Road Astoria, OR 97103 United States
The site sits just over Youngs Bay, south of Astoria, east of the town of Warrenton, and approximately 14 miles north of Seaside. The park also encompasses several satellite locations, including Netul Landing (1.25 miles south of the main fort site), Middle Village and Dismal Nitch (both accessible from the Astoria-Megler Bridge area), and the Salt Works site in the city of Seaside, Oregon, where expedition members processed seawater for the salt that was essential to their return journey.
🌐 Website
The official park website is managed by the US National Park Service and can be found by searching for Lewis and Clark National Historical Park on the NPS website at nps.gov/lewi. The site provides up-to-date information on events, trail conditions, ranger programmes, and current alerts or closures.
📞 Contact Telephone
Phone: (503) 861-2471
Park rangers are available to answer calls between the hours of 9:00 am and 5:00 pm Pacific Standard Time (PST).
✉️ Contact by Email
The park does not publish a direct public email address. Enquiries can be submitted via the official contact form available through the NPS website at nps.gov/lewi. The park’s news and public affairs office can also be reached directly through the park’s superintendent’s office for media or specialist enquiries.
🎟️ Entry Fees
An entrance fee is charged to visit Lewis and Clark National Historical Park. The current standard fee is $10 per adult. Children and young people under the age of 16 are admitted free of charge.
Holders of an America the Beautiful Annual Pass or other valid NPS passes are admitted at no additional cost, as the park accepts all standard National Park Service passes. From January 2026, updated fee structures and pass options for non-residents came into effect; visitors from outside the United States should check the NPS website for the most current pricing applicable to their situation.
For those planning to visit multiple sites along the Oregon coast, an Oregon Pacific Coast Passport can be purchased upon arrival at the park. This annual pass covers entry, vehicle parking, and day-use fees at more than 15 federal and state sites along the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway (Highway 101).
It is possible to purchase a site pass in advance online through Recreation.gov, or to pay in person at the visitor centre during opening hours.
🕘 Opening Hours
The park is open every day of the year with the exception of Christmas Day (25th December).
During the peak summer season (mid-June through to Labour Day), the fort and surrounding site are open from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm.
During the remainder of the year (the off-season), the site is open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm daily.
Rangers are available to answer telephone enquiries between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm PST throughout the year. Visitors are advised to check the NPS website or contact the park directly before travelling, as hours, trail access, and ranger programme availability can vary and may be subject to change at short notice due to weather conditions or other operational factors.
🏕️ What to See and Do
The centrepiece of any visit is the replica of Fort Clatsop itself, a faithful reconstruction of the compact 50-by-50-foot wooden fort based on sketches found in William Clark’s journals. The original community-built replica, completed in 1955, was tragically destroyed by fire in 2005, but a second faithful reconstruction was completed in 2006 and stands in the same location today. Visitors can walk through the rooms of the fort, gaining a visceral sense of how cramped and challenging life must have been for the expedition members throughout that long, rain-soaked winter.
The park’s visitor centre provides a museum with thoughtful exhibits, including perspectives on the indigenous peoples of the region whose knowledge and assistance were indispensable to the expedition’s survival. A renovated theatre shows orientation films about the Lewis and Clark journey, from the eastern seaboard to the Pacific coast.
The park offers approximately 14.5 miles of trails through coastal forests and wetland environments. The Fort to Sea Trail extends 6.5 miles through the woodlands to the coast, whilst the Netul River Trail provides a gentler one-mile walk along the river. The towering old-growth trees along these routes are a highlight in themselves.
Ranger-led programmes are available seasonally, including guided canoe and kayak tours on the Netul River, which are free with park admission (equipment provided). The park also offers a popular Junior Ranger Programme for younger visitors, and National Park Passport stamp collection is available at the visitor centre and gift shop.
No camping is available within the park itself, but local state parks and private campgrounds in the surrounding area provide year-round options for those wishing to stay overnight.
🚗 Getting There
The park is easily reached by road from Astoria, which is itself served by US Highway 101. Visitors arriving from Portland can expect a drive of approximately two hours. Signage for Fort Clatsop Road and the various satellite sites uses brown National Park Service directional signs. A total of 53 public electric vehicle charging stations are available in Astoria for those travelling in electric vehicles.
The Best Time to Visit Oregon
Oregon is one of the most geographically diverse states in the USA, encompassing rugged Pacific coastline, dense temperate rainforests, volcanic peaks, high desert plateaus, and fertile river valleys. Knowing when to visit — and where to go — makes all the difference between a memorable journey and a soggy disappointment. This guide breaks down the best times to visit by season and by region, with packing advice for each time of year.
🌸 Spring (March–May)
Spring is a season of dramatic transformation in Oregon. Wildflowers carpet the Columbia River Gorge and the Willamette Valley bursts into colour with cherry blossom and tulip blooms. The crowds are thin, prices are reasonable, and the landscape feels genuinely alive.
Willamette Valley & Portland Portland springs to life in April, with the Japanese Garden at its finest and the International Rose Test Garden beginning to bud. The city’s famous food markets and coffee culture are best enjoyed without summer queues. Expect overcast skies and regular showers through March, gradually giving way to mild, bright days in May. The valley’s wine country — particularly around Dundee Hills — is lovely in spring, with green vineyards and damp, fresh air.
Columbia River Gorge This is arguably the finest time to visit the Gorge. Waterfalls are thundering at full capacity from snowmelt, and the wildflower displays on the eastern side — particularly around Rowena Crest — are extraordinary in late March and April. The Historic Columbia River Highway is fully accessible and relatively uncrowded.
Oregon Coast Spring brings dramatic, brooding skies and powerful surf to the coast. While swimming is out of the question (it nearly always is), storm-watching and grey whale migration viewing (March–May) make this a compelling time to visit. Towns like Cannon Beach and Newport are quiet, and accommodation rates are significantly lower.
Central Oregon & the High Desert Bend and the surrounding high desert thaw slowly. March can still be wintry at elevation, but by May the Smith Rock State Park trails are in excellent condition and the crowds have not yet arrived. Wildflowers begin appearing on the desert floor in April and May.
Southern Oregon (Crater Lake, Rogue Valley) Crater Lake typically remains snowbound into May or even June. The rim road is often closed, though the park itself is accessible for snowshoeing. The Rogue Valley — home to Ashland’s Shakespeare Festival — opens its theatre season in February and runs through autumn, making spring an excellent time to combine culture and scenery.
🎒 What to Pack for Spring Layering is essential: a waterproof shell or rain jacket, fleece mid-layer, and moisture-wicking base layers. Pack waterproof walking boots for trail use, a compact umbrella for city days, and sun protection for the high desert and clear-day hikes. Temperatures swing considerably between coast, city, and high elevation — a light down gilet bridges the gap neatly.
☀️ Summer (June–August)
Summer is peak season across most of Oregon, and for good reason. The Cascades are fully accessible, the coast is reliably cool and bright, and long daylight hours give visitors maximum time outdoors. It is also the busiest and most expensive time to travel.
Portland & the Willamette Valley Portland summers are warm and largely dry — a genuine surprise to many visitors expecting Pacific gloom. Temperatures typically sit between 24°C and 30°C in July and August. The Saturday Market, food truck pods, and outdoor festivals are in full swing. The valley’s lavender farms and wineries welcome visitors from June onwards.
Columbia River Gorge Waterfalls are lower in volume than spring but the hiking trails are at their best — dry underfoot, with sweeping views along the gorge rim. Popular trails like Angel’s Rest and Dog Mountain can become very busy on weekends. Visit on weekdays or arrive early to secure parking.
Oregon Coast The coast is never hot — that is part of its charm. Summer averages sit around 16°C to 19°C, with frequent morning mist burning off by midday. The coastal towns are busy but not overwhelmed. Cannon Beach, Seaside, and Pacific City all have a relaxed, unhurried atmosphere even at peak times. Haystack Rock’s tide pools are best explored at low tide during long summer evenings.
Central Oregon & the High Desert Bend transforms into a hub of outdoor activity in summer. Mountain biking, white-water rafting on the Deschutes River, rock climbing at Smith Rock, and hiking around the Three Sisters Wilderness are all at their prime. Temperatures can exceed 35°C in July — hot by Oregon standards — and afternoon thunderstorms are possible. The high desert air is very dry, so hydration is critical.
Mount Hood & the Cascades Timberline Lodge is open year-round, but summer offers the full grandeur of the mountain without snow obscuring lower trails. Wildflower meadows bloom below treeline in July, and the Ramona Falls and Mirror Lake trails are among the finest day hikes in the state. Crater Lake’s rim road typically opens fully by late June, revealing one of the most vivid blue lakes on Earth.
Southern Oregon The Rogue River is superb for rafting and kayaking in summer. Illinois Valley is warm and dry, perfect for exploring the Oregon Caves National Monument. Ashland’s Shakespeare Festival is at its most vibrant in July and August, combining outdoor theatre with excellent local wine and food.
🎒 What to Pack for Summer Breathable, moisture-wicking layers work year-round on the coast; add a light fleece or windproof jacket for evenings. For the high desert and Cascades, sun cream with high SPF, sunglasses, and a wide-brimmed hat are non-negotiable. Carry at least two litres of water per person for any hike above 900 metres. Sturdy trail shoes or boots, lightweight waterproof layer for afternoon thunderstorms, and insect repellent for forest trails round out the kit.
🍂 Autumn (September–November)
Autumn is many locals’ favourite season — and for good reason. Summer crowds fade, temperatures remain pleasant, the foliage turns spectacular, and the harvest season transforms the Willamette Valley and Rogue Valley into culinary destinations.
Portland & the Willamette Valley September is arguably the finest month in Portland. The city is warm, dry, and still lively, without the peak-season pressure. The Willamette Valley’s wine harvest begins in late September, and many wineries open their crush pads to visitors. October brings golden light and falling leaves to Forest Park — one of the largest urban forests in the USA — and the city’s autumn food scene is outstanding.
Columbia River Gorge Autumn foliage along the Gorge is stunning from mid-October into early November. The eastern end of the Historic Columbia River Highway offers particularly vivid colour against the basalt cliffs. Waterfalls return to reasonable volume as autumn rains begin, and weekend crowds drop significantly after Labour Day.
Oregon Coast Storm season begins in earnest by November, which is precisely why storm-watchers descend on Cannon Beach and Depoe Bay. September and October offer the most pleasant coast conditions — mild, bright afternoons and dramatic wave action. The famous grey whale southward migration begins in November.
Central Oregon & the High Desert September remains warm and dry in Bend. Smith Rock is glorious in autumn light, and the crowds thin considerably after the school holidays end. By October, nights are cold at elevation. Snow can arrive at altitude by late October, making early-season snowshoeing possible around Mount Bachelor.
Mount Hood & the Cascades Snow arrives at Timberline Lodge as early as October, and the ski season can begin by November. The autumn foliage in the Hood River Valley is among the most beautiful in the Pacific Northwest — paired with the valley’s famous apple and pear harvest, it makes an excellent weekend destination from Portland.
Southern Oregon Crater Lake in autumn is exceptional: cooler temperatures, thinner crowds, and the possibility of first snowfall dusting the rim for dramatic contrast against the lake’s deep blue. The Rogue Valley harvest season peaks in September and October, with farm stands lining the highways.
🎒 What to Pack for Autumn A quality waterproof jacket becomes increasingly important as the season progresses. Warm mid-layers, a wool or fleece hat, and gloves are sensible from October onwards. Waterproof walking boots are strongly advised for trail use. Pack a few lighter layers for early autumn warmth, transitioning to heavier insulation and thermals for November visits, particularly at elevation.
❄️ Winter (December–February)
Winter Oregon is not for everyone — but for those who seek solitude, dramatic scenery, and a genuine sense of wilderness, it offers something remarkable. Prices plummet, crowds disappear, and the landscape takes on a raw, elemental quality.
Portland & the Willamette Valley Portland winters are grey, damp, and mild — rarely below freezing in the city itself, but consistently overcast. This is the city at its most authentic: independent bookshops, coffee houses, museums, and covered markets come into their own when outdoor activities are curtailed. The Portland Art Museum and OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) are excellent rainy-day options. Occasional ice storms do occur and can disrupt travel — worth monitoring forecasts.
Columbia River Gorge Winter transforms the Gorge into something ethereal. Waterfalls partially freeze in hard cold snaps, ice coats the basalt walls, and the whole landscape is stripped back to its geological bones. Multnomah Falls is spectacular year-round and accessible even in winter. Many of the higher trails are closed or icy — check conditions before setting out.
Oregon Coast Storm-watching is the headline winter activity, and the Oregon Coast does it superbly. Hotels in Cannon Beach, Lincoln City, and Depoe Bay offer storm-watching packages during the roughest weather. The grey whale northward migration (December–January) is another draw. The coast remains relatively mild compared to inland Oregon, though wind chill can be brutal.
Central Oregon & the High Desert Mount Bachelor near Bend is one of the finest ski resorts in the Pacific Northwest, with a season typically running from November through April. Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing are popular alternatives for non-downhill skiers. Bend itself is surprisingly lively in winter, with a strong après-ski culture and a thriving local brewery scene.
Mount Hood & the Cascades Timberline Lodge — Oregon’s most iconic building — comes fully into its own in winter. Skiing and snowboarding on the mountain are excellent, and the historic lodge itself is a destination in its own right. Government Camp and surrounding communities offer a genuine mountain winter experience less than 90 minutes from Portland.
Southern Oregon (Crater Lake) Crater Lake in winter is one of Oregon’s most dramatic sights: the deep blue lake, the snow-covered rim, and the near-absolute silence. Access is limited to the south entrance, and the rim drive is closed, but ranger-led snowshoe walks are available on weekends. It is not easy to reach in winter, but for those who make the effort, it is genuinely unforgettable.
🎒 What to Pack for Winter Thermal base layers, a heavy insulating mid-layer, and a fully waterproof and windproof outer shell are essential. Waterproof boots with good ankle support and grip (or attachable microspikes for icy trails) are strongly advised. Pack warm accessories — hat, gloves, buff or scarf — and carry emergency layers if venturing to elevation. Driving in winter may require snow chains in mountain areas: check Oregon DOT road conditions before any mountain journey
🌟 The Overall Best Time to Visit Oregon
If forced to name a single best time to visit Oregon, late May through early October offers the most dependable conditions across the widest range of regions and activities. September stands out as the sweet spot: the summer crowds have thinned, the weather remains warm and mostly dry across the state, autumn colour is beginning in the mountains, the Willamette Valley harvest is under way, and accommodation rates start to ease. The coast is at its most pleasant, Crater Lake’s rim road is still open, and Portland is warm enough to explore entirely on foot.
That said, Oregon rewards visitors in every season. A winter storm-watcher on the coast, a spring wildflower hiker in the Gorge, or a ski week at Mount Bachelor will each find their own version of the state at its finest. The real key is matching your chosen region and activity to the season — Oregon is too varied and too dramatic to be reduced to a single best time. Choose your landscape, then let the season follow.
Eating and drinking in Astoria
🍺 Astoria’s Surprisingly Good Beer Scene
For a town of barely ten thousand people sitting at the soggy northern tip of the Oregon coast, Astoria punches well above its weight when it comes to breweries and pubs. We’re not entirely sure how this happened — perhaps it’s the maritime climate, which makes you want a decent pint rather more urgently than somewhere sunny — but however it came about, we were not complaining.
🏛️ Fort George Brewery and Pub
The Fort George Brewery and Pub sits in the heart of downtown Astoria, occupying a building with a history almost as interesting as the beer. The site itself was the location of the original Fort George, established in 1811 by the Pacific Fur Company — which makes it, rather satisfyingly, one of the oldest continuously used commercial sites on the entire west coast of America. The current brewery moved in during 2007 and has been doing a thoroughly good job ever since.
The space inside is large and genuinely comfortable, with the sort of relaxed, unpretentious atmosphere that good brewpubs tend to have when they’re not trying too hard to look like good brewpubs. There’s also decent outdoor seating for the summer months, which in Astoria means those two or three weeks in August when it doesn’t actually rain.
🖤 Dark Beer — In Summer, No Less
Now, here’s the thing about visiting breweries in summer. Every single one of them, from Portland to Portsmouth, seems to decide that warm weather means everyone wants to drink something that tastes faintly of fizzy lemonade. Pale ales, session IPAs, wheat beers — all perfectly fine, we’re sure, but not really what we’re after. We like our dark beers. Stouts, porters, something with a bit of body and character to it.
Fort George, to their considerable credit, actually had a couple of dark beers on tap even in the height of summer. This was, frankly, something of a minor miracle, and we appreciated it more than they probably realised.
🍕 Vegan Pizza — Better Than Expected
The food menu leans heavily on pizza, which on the face of it presents us with a problem, since we’re vegan and pizza tends to involve a fairly enthusiastic quantity of cheese. However — and this is where Fort George earned extra marks — they had vegan cheese available and were perfectly happy to veganise a pizza for us without making us feel like we’d asked for something utterly unreasonable. Which, in some establishments, we very much have.
🏭 Buoy Beer Company — Industrial Chic on the Columbia
If Fort George has the history and the downtown charm, the Buoy Beer Company has something rather different going for it — a prime spot right on the Astoria waterfront, with all the gritty, functional character you’d expect from a working river town that’s been loading and unloading ships since the early nineteenth century.
The building itself leans into that industrial feel without apology. Exposed fittings, utilitarian layout, the general aesthetic of somewhere that used to do something genuinely useful before beer got involved. It’s not cosy in the Fort George sense, but it has its own sort of honest, no-nonsense atmosphere that feels entirely appropriate for a brewery sitting on the banks of the Columbia River — one of the great working rivers of the American west, stretching some 1,243 miles from the Canadian Rockies all the way down to where it meets the Pacific, right here at Astoria.
🌊 The View Makes Up For a Lot
What Buoy does have, and what genuinely sets it apart, is the outdoor seating with views straight out across the Columbia. On a decent day — and we were fortunate enough to have one — this is really rather special. The river here is enormous, nearly three miles wide as it approaches the coast, and watching the traffic move across it while nursing a pint is one of those simple pleasures that reminds you why you bothered leaving home in the first place.
🍺 The Porter Was the Right Call
We went for their porter, which was very good indeed — dark, smooth, properly flavoured, exactly what a porter ought to be. No complaints whatsoever on that front.
🥗 Less Good News for the Vegans
The food menu, however, was where things became a little more challenging. The fare on offer was fairly standard brewpub territory — burgers, sandwiches, that sort of thing — which is perfectly fine if you eat everything, but the options for vegans and vegetarians were, to put it generously, limited. We managed, as we always do, but it required a certain amount of creative menu reading and the quiet resignation of people who have been in this situation rather a lot.
🍺 Astoria Brewing Company — Astoria’s Oldest Microbrewery
Not far from the Buoy Brewery — and I mean not far at all, which either speaks brilliantly to Astoria’s commitment to craft beer or rather poorly to its commitment to anything else — sits the Astoria Brewing Company, the oldest microbrewery in town. It has been serving the good people of Astoria since 1994, which in American microbrewery terms practically makes it a medieval institution.
The place has outside seating with views across the Columbia River, which, for those unfamiliar, is an absolute beast of a waterway — over 1,900 miles long and the largest river flowing into the Pacific from North America. On a clear day, sitting out there with a cold pint, you could almost convince yourself you were somewhere terrifically important. Almost.
Now, I’ll be honest — and regular readers will know this is becoming a somewhat tedious theme of this trip — the vegan options were, once again, not exactly inspiring. I suspect that somewhere in the Pacific Northwest there exists a mythical restaurant that caters brilliantly to both craft beer enthusiasts and dedicated vegans, but we had clearly not found it yet. So, in the grand tradition of the British abroad making the best of things, we ordered a bowl of chips — sorry, fries — and got on with the important business of drinking.
And that important business took the form of a flight of tasters, which is really the only sensible way to approach a brewery of this age and reputation. A flight, for the uninitiated, is essentially a row of small glasses containing different beers, allowing you to sample your way across the menu without committing to a full pint of something you might not enjoy. It is, frankly, one of America’s better ideas.
I must say — and I don’t hand out compliments lightly, particularly not to former colonies — the beers were very good indeed. Proper, well-crafted stuff.
🍺 Rogue Pub — Pier 39
A couple of miles out from the centre, sitting at the end of Pier 39, we found the Rogue Pub — and very glad we were too. Now, Pier 39 itself has been around since 1978, when it was developed as a tourist attraction on the old San Francisco waterfront, which has a history stretching back to the Gold Rush days of the 1840s and 1850s, when this stretch of the bay was a chaotic tangle of ships, saloons, and men with very questionable personal hygiene. These days it’s a good deal more civilised, and the Rogue Pub sits out there doing its bit to uphold the noble tradition of cold beer and decent food.
🥩 The Food and the Beer
The food here was genuinely good — and I don’t say that lightly, because I’ve eaten my fair share of mediocre pub meals in places that clearly thought presentation was more important than flavour. The Rogue, to its considerable credit, got it right. But the real star of the show was the stouts. Mighty fine, as we said at the time, and we stand by that. The Rogue Brewing Company, which runs the pub, has been making craft beer since 1988, originally down in Ashland, Oregon, before eventually spreading its considerable tentacles across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. They know what they’re doing with a dark beer, and it showed.
🌅 The Sunset Deck — Get There Early
The best thing about the Rogue, though — and this is the bit worth knowing before you turn up — was the outdoor deck. If we managed to grab a spot on the far west side of the deck, we had ourselves a front-row seat for the sunset over San Francisco Bay. San Francisco sunsets, it should be said, are a genuinely spectacular business. The combination of the bay, the hills, the Golden Gate Bridge off to the left, and the particular quality of the late afternoon light on the Pacific coast produces something that even the most jaded of us had to admit was rather lovely.
🚶 No Room? No Problem
If the deck was full — and it does fill up, because evidently other people have also worked out that sunsets are nice — we simply wandered off the pub and strolled down the west side of the pier. There’s a perfectly decent vantage point down there, free of charge, and the view is more or less the same. You just don’t have a pint in your hand, which is obviously a significant disadvantage, but one can’t have everything.
🌱 Finding Vegan Food on the Road — A Minor Miracle
Being vegan whilst travelling is, if we’re completely honest, a bit of a pain in the backside. Not a catastrophic, end-of-the-world kind of pain — more the sort of low-level, grinding inconvenience that British people are absolutely brilliant at enduring quietly whilst muttering under their breath. When we were staying in smaller towns, the options had a tendency to shrink considerably. You’d wander into what passed for a restaurant, squint hopefully at the menu, and find yourself staring at a column of steaks, a column of burgers, and one sad little asterisk pointing to a side salad. Thrilling stuff.
To be fair, things had been improving. It genuinely had been getting easier to track down decent vegan options, both in restaurants and in supermarkets — which, when you think back even ten years, would have seemed like pure fantasy. In the early 2010s, asking for a vegan meal in a small American town could produce a reaction roughly equivalent to asking for the moon on a stick. These days, at least there’s usually something edible hiding on the menu if you look hard enough.
But the real jackpot — the holy grail, if you will — was stumbling across somewhere that was exclusively vegan or vegetarian. No picking through the menu like a detective. No anxious questioning of a bewildered waiter. No mysterious “may contain” disclaimers. Just food you could actually eat, made by people who actually understood what that meant.
So we were genuinely taken aback — pleasantly gobsmacked, in fact — when we discovered the Blue Scorcher Cafe Bakery. We hadn’t expected anything of the sort. We were, after all, in Astoria, Oregon — a small, handsome port city perched at the mouth of the Columbia River, with a population of not much more than ten thousand souls. Astoria, incidentally, has been kicking around since 1811, making it one of the oldest American settlements west of the Rocky Mountains, which gives it a pleasingly battered, lived-in sort of character. It was a major fur trading hub in the early nineteenth century, and later became a significant fishing and canning port — salted salmon being the great industry of the region for much of the late 1800s. These days it trades more on its considerable charm than on fish, though it still smells faintly of the sea, which we considered a bonus.
The Blue Scorcher shared its building with the Fort George Brewery, which — given that we don’t drink — was absolutely no use to us whatsoever, but we appreciated the neighbourhood. Fort George itself is named after a trading post established on that site in 1811 by John Jacob Astor’s Pacific Fur Company, later renamed Fort George by the British during the War of 1812. History, then, lurking in the foundations.
The one fly in the ointment — and there’s always a fly — was that the Blue Scorcher only opened for breakfast and lunch. Which meant that come evening, we were back to squinting at menus again. Can’t have everything, apparently.
Where to stay
1. At the Helm Hotel
At The Helm Hotel and Pub sits right on the waterfront in Ilwaco, Washington, a short drive across the Columbia River from Astoria. Housed in a building constructed from reclaimed timber, the adults-only boutique hotel has nine individually designed rooms, many with port views, eco-friendly fireplaces, and heated bathroom floors. Guests receive a complimentary drink on arrival and breakfast delivered to their room each morning. The on-site Waterline Pub serves locally sourced seafood and a solid selection of local beers. A cedar sauna and bookable hot tub are also available on site. Rooms start from around $325 per night. It’s a well-regarded option for couples looking for a quiet, maritime-themed stay in the area.
2. Astoria Riverwalk Inn
The Astoria Riverwalk Inn sits on the waterfront in Astoria, Oregon, and has the distinction of being the town’s first waterfront hotel, originally opened in 1968 as the Red Lion-Thunderbird Motor Inn. Owned by the Port of Astoria, the property has undergone significant renovation and now offers 115 rooms, each with a private balcony looking out over the marina, the Columbia River, and the Astoria-Megler Bridge. Complimentary amenities include continental breakfast, Wi-Fi, parking, use of bicycles for exploring the four-mile Riverwalk, and a 24-hour gym. The lobby features a fireplace and serves coffee and tea around the clock. The hotel is within easy reach of the Riverfront Trolley and several local museums, making it a practical base for exploring the area.
3. The Norblad Hotel
The Norblad Hotel opened in 1924 in a building designed by architect John E. Wicks, and it remains the oldest operating hotel in Astoria — itself the oldest settlement west of the Rockies. Situated in the heart of downtown, it sits within a block of Fort George Brewery, local distilleries, coffee shops and restaurants, with the waterfront a short walk away. The building was sympathetically renovated after 2007, with the original floor plan preserved and period details — apron sinks, crystal doorknobs, the original check-in desk — all retained. Rooms are simply furnished with timber floors and a minimalist aesthetic; some share bathrooms, though these are single-use and well maintained. There is a communal kitchen, free Wi-fi, and the whole thing is kept notably clean. Good value for a characterful base in a genuinely interesting town.
More to Explore
