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 is an excerpt from 100 Hikes : Oregon Coast