Shore-time Activities
Astoria and the surrounding communities have much to offer cruise passengers who choose to come ashore.

Downtown Astoria offers a variety of quality dining experiences, unique shops, and historic storefronts. 

Warrenton, with both river and ocean frontage, is home to Fort Stevens State Park and historic military sites.

Seaside and Cannon Beach provide a beach experience, each with a different flavor. Seaside offers much in the way of family fun, a wide sandy beach and factory outlet shopping. Cannon Beach is best known for its galleries and boutique shops.

A Sampling of Sights, Museums & Activities

• The Astoria RiverTrail, a paved, 2.5 mile path from downtown Astoria to the port’s East Basin.
• The Astoria Column, atop the highest peak in Astoria, offers stunning area views.
• Lewis & Clark National Historical Park featuring Fort Clatsop, the wintering over camp of the Corps of Discovery and many other Lewis & Clark historic sites throughout the area.
• Columbia River Maritime Museum
• Flavel House Museum
• Fort Astoria Memorial
• Clatsop County Heritage Museum
• Three public, and one private golf course
• Beachcombing
• Hiking Trails
• Tennis Courts

Area Accommodations
Astoria/Warrenton = 622 rooms and 1,109 campsites.
Seaside = 1,432 rooms, 200 vacation rentals, and 100 campsites.
Cannon Beach = 1,053 rooms, 92 vacation rentals, 100 campsites.

Restaurants & Shops
32 Astoria Restaurants
22 Cannon Beach Restaurants
6 Warrenton Restaurants
23 Seaside Restaurants
52 Shops in Astoria
32 Shops in Seaside

Transportation
A variety of transportation options are available to cruise passengers.  They include:

To and From the Cruise Ships

• Public transit busses operate cruise passenger shuttle service to and from downtown Astoria.
• The Astoria Riverfront Trolley, with a passenger capacity of 40, makes regular runs between the cruise pier and downtown Astoria.
• Local taxi services, with a total of 7-8 cabs available on cruise days.
• Astoria-based rental car companies.

Astoria in the Spotlight
Astoria and the surrounding area enjoy significant media attention. As the wintering over camp for the Corps of Discovery, Ft. Clatsop, just outside Astoria,  boasts an important highlight of the famous journey.  Coupled with Astoria’s revitalization, visitors are making their own discovery...they are finding a unique  and charming Astoria.  It isn’t just what we think...here are comments and coverage from national and regional newspapers and magazines:

Northwest Travel Magazine
Feature Story—”Changing Course,”  Multiple pages with color photos, including the Port of Astoria cruise terminal.  Story outlines the active cruise business in the Pacific NW region, and includes the increase in calls made to the Port of Astoria in the last several years.

Oregon Coast Magazine
Feature Story—”Journey to the Past”,  Full page with color photo of the Ft. Clatsop National Memorial.  Outlines the activities at the fort, and discusses the historical significance of the area.

Oregon Coast Magazine
Feature Story—”Journey to the Past”,  Full page with color photo of the Ft. Clatsop National Memorial.  Outlines the activities at the fort, and discusses the historical significance of the area.

Oregon Coast Magazine
Feature Story—”Historic Elegance and comfort in downtown Astoria”,  Five full pages with color photos of the newly restored Hotel Elliott, and outlining the many activities available in Astoria, including the Liberty Theater, Columbia River Maritime Museum, Flavel House Museum, and the area’s many restaurants.

Northwest Palate Magazine
Feature Story—”Oregon Coast Getaways” Double page spread with color photo of the Flavel House Museum.  Outlines the various sites in the area, including the Astoria Column, Columbia River Maritime Museum, and Sixth Street Viewing Tower.

 “The minute I stepped into the lovely lobby of the Hotel Elliott, I know Astoria is changing.  Everything here displays an elegance that I expect to find in a large city, not in this working town near the mouth of the Columbia River.  ….(all the amenities) reinforces feeling that Astoria has moved in the 21st century while remaining steeped in the past.”

Travel & Leisure
Feature Story,  - “America’s Last Coast”, an eight page story/photos. “It (Astoria) has 200 years of history behind it and 10,000 quirky citizens living in Victorian houses and Craftsman bungalows on steep, San Francisco-like hills.  Local artist Noel Thomas says ‘Astorian’s are house-proud and lawn-proud, they are proud of their history and their old wharves and their old boats.  There is a feeling of creative enterprise that has kept the place form selling out to the tawdry and the touristic’.  “Food is a special delight: ...Restaurants range from the eccentric (the Columbian Café, where Uriah Hulsey spices his vegetarian and seafood dishes to order) to the calming (the riverside Gunderson’s Cannery Café) to the elegant (Home Spirit, in a grand Victorian up in the hills).

Portland (OR) Tribune
Feature Story,  - “All Aboard for Astoria”, two full pages with photos. Focus on Lewis & Clark Explorer Train between Portland, Oregon and Astoria.
“A recent infusion of big money, fresh ideas and young blood has the coastal city poised to become a choice tourist destination.  Proof of the growing confidence in Astoria’s appeal is everywhere: Urbane restaurants, funky cofeee shops and first-class bookstores are now commonplace in the historical city of 10,000 residents, where candy-colored Victorian homes dot the hillside overlooking the Columbia River.”
“Perhaps the reason to schedule a layover in Astoria is its stellar hospitality industry.  Restaurants such as Baked Alaska, the Urban Café and Fulio’s are generating much of the buzz, while lunchtime hot spot the Wet Dog Cafe does double duty, transforming from a micro-brewery into an after-hours disco.”

Boston Globe
Front Page: Travel Section—”On the Trail of Giants,” a three page story outlining the final leg of the L&C journey, including Astoria, Warrenton and Seaside, Oregon.

Chicago Sun Times
Front Page: Travel Section—”Trail’s end: Where Lewis & Clark Stopped,” Three page story with color photos of the Astoria Column, Columbia River Maritime Museum and Astoria Bridge.  Outlines the various historic sites throughout the area.  “...Astoria’s population of about 10,000 has stayed pretty much the same for more than a half-century.  So has Astoria itself, and therein lies its charm.”

The Oregonian
Front Page: Travel Section—”ASTORIA—New life for an old town” Two full pages, with color photos of the Hotel Elliott, Liberty Theater and Astoria’s Sunday Market.
 “History reigns here”
 
The oldest permanent American settlement west of the Mississippi River, Astoria boasts more history than any Oregon city its size. The Astoria Regatta, a waterfront celebration held every August since the late 19th century, is said to the Northwest's longest-running festival. June's Scandinavian Festival celebrates the city's ethnic heritage with colorfully costumed dancers and yummy fare.
 But the crown jewel of Astoria's historical attractions is the Columbia River Maritime Museum. Like a comely young girl who grows up into a beautiful woman, the maritime museum has evolved from a local attraction into a well-respected regional institution.“ (Note: Several months after this article went to print, the Columbia River Maritime Museum received national recognition. It is the first museum in Oregon to meet national accreditation standards, and has been designated the official state maritime museum for Oregon).

Astoria Has National Role in Lewis & Clark Bicentennial Celebration

Media attention to the region has increased dramatically due to the significant interest in Fort Clatsop, a replica of the wintering over camp of Lewis & Clark. 

Support for Fort Clatsop, just outside of Astoria,  continues to grow at the national level. Funding has been secured for a trail from the Fort to the Pacific Ocean, and the Fort and it’s substantial acreage will soon be given National Park status.

This new designation and the growth of the park will serve to further increase visitor demand to the area.