Fort Clatsop

Fort Clatsop Reconstruction

  • Easy (tour of the fort)
  • 0.4-mile loop
  • No elevation gain


  • Moderate (3 walks)
  • 4.4 miles round trip
  • 50 feet elevation gain


  • Difficult (Fort-To-Sea Trail, with shuttle)
  • 6.9 miles one way
  • 340 feet elevation gain

Lewis and Clark’s band of explorers built Fort Clatsop in a mere two weeks, just in time to spend the Christmas of 1805 indoors. For the next three months they waited out the cold, rainy winter on a river south of present-day Astoria

In 2006 the National Park Service rebuilt a replica of the log stockade at what is thought to be the original site. For a one-hour visit, stroll a 0.4-mile loop path from a visitor center to the fort. If you have a couple of hours, explore the park on three short walks. For a longer visit, hike the entire Fort-To-Sea Trail, a route blazed by the explorers through the rainforest to Sunset Beach on their way to boil saltwater to restock their salt supply.

Drive Highway 101 south . . .


This chapter taken from the book 100 Hikes/Travel Guide: Oregon Coast & Coast Range.