Astoria

John Jacob Astor's fur company founded a post here in 1811, making Astoria the oldest American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The city climbs steep hills above the Columbia with Victorian houses on the slopes, and the Astoria Column on the highest point carries a spiral frieze of regional history and a stair to the top. The river mouth is the Columbia Bar, where the outflow meets the Pacific over shifting shoals - conditions violent enough that it is called the Graveyard of the Pacific, with something like two thousand vessels lost, and where bar pilots board every ship. The Columbia River Maritime Museum covers that. The Goonies was filmed here and the town gets steady traffic for it.

What you actually see

• A settlement of 1811 - the oldest American one west of the Rockies.
• The Astoria Column - a spiral history frieze and a stair to the top.
• The Columbia Bar - the Graveyard of the Pacific, with bar pilots working it.
• The maritime museum - on the bar and the wrecks.

When to go

May to October; the coast is wet the rest of the year. A full day.

Honest expectations

Rain is frequent and heavy outside summer. Hills are steep. The Goonies house is a private home and the owners have restricted access at times. Bridge and river winds are strong.

Nearby

Fort Clatsop is south; Cannon Beach is down the coast.