Founded — Oregon's Oldest City
Ships Lost at the Columbia Bar
Astoria-Megler Bridge — Longest Truss in N. America
From Portland
Meets the Pacific Here
Oregon's Best North Coast Brewery
Goonies Day — Annual Celebration
476-Site Campground · Peter Iredale Wreck
Best Weather Window
Most Oregon coast towns make a strong first impression from the beach. Astoria makes its first impression from a hill. You drive into town past Victorian mansions stacked on steep streets, fishing boats moored along the waterfront, and a working port where canneries have been converted into brewpubs and art galleries — all of it overlooking the Columbia River where it crashes into the Pacific Ocean.
Astoria doesn’t lead with its history or its film legacy. It leads with a brewery in a converted auto garage, albacore fish and chips served from a retired fishing boat, and the kind of small-town character that comes from 200 years of people who make their living on the water. Unlike the polished beach towns farther south, this place hasn’t been sanitized for tourists. It’s better for it.
Climb 164 spiral steps to the top of the 125-foot Astoria Column on Coxcomb Hill, and you’ll understand why every guide puts this first. The observation deck sits 600 feet above sea level with a 360-degree view: the Columbia River estuary spreading north into Washington, the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Coast Range forests to the south, and on clear days, the volcanic peaks of the Cascades in the distance.
The column itself, built in 1926 and modeled after Trajan’s Column in Rome, features a spiral mural depicting 14 significant events in early Oregon history — from Captain Robert Gray’s 1792 discovery of the Columbia River to the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
A four-masted steel barque that ran aground on Clatsop Spit in 1906. The rusted skeleton of the bow still rises from the sand — one of the most photographed spots on the entire Oregon Coast. At low tide, you can walk right up to the wreckage. The iron ribs and struts, draped in sand and salt air for over a century, are ghostly and beautiful. Captain H. Lawrence’s farewell toast to his doomed ship has become coastal legend.
Best visit: Come at sunset. The light turns the rusted iron gold against wet sand and the sky opens up over the Pacific — one of the most dramatic sunset locations on the coast.
The Goonies (1985) was set and filmed in Astoria, and the town embraces it — to a point. June 7 is officially “Goonies Day” by mayoral proclamation, with annual film screenings, scavenger hunts, costume contests, and location tours. The 40th anniversary in June 2025 drew thousands of fans with cast members returning for panels and special events.
But Astoria’s film history goes well beyond one movie. More than 500 productions have been filmed in Oregon, and Astoria has hosted a remarkable number: Kindergarten Cop, Free Willy, Short Circuit, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, Into the Wild, and others. The Historic Oregon Film Trail has markers at key locations. Astoria earned the nickname “Hollywood North” for a reason.
Visit the Oregon Film Museum, appreciate the cultural moment, then let Astoria’s 200 years of deeper history take over. That’s where the real story lives.
The house on 38th Street is a real, privately owned residence. The owner is a superfan who has worked with the community on ways to welcome visitors — please honor that goodwill:
Annual celebration with film screenings, scavenger hunts, costume contests, and location tours. A sequel with Steven Spielberg returning as producer is reportedly in development.
For a town of 10,000 people, Astoria’s food and drink scene is genuinely remarkable. See our Oregon Food & Drink Guide for the statewide picture.
What started in 2007 as a tiny brew system has grown into an entire city block: two restaurants, a taproom, two R&D breweries, a production facility, and live music venues. The pub serves burgers and sandwiches downstairs; the upstairs dining room has wood-fired pizza with territorial views. The Vortex IPA is their flagship, but the rotating experimentals are where things get interesting.
Festival of Dark Arts — Every February, Fort George hosts this stout celebration (71 breweries, 91 taps in 2026). Tickets sell out fast. One of the best beer events on the West Coast. See our Oregon Breweries Guide.
Makes some of the best beer on the Oregon Coast. Currently operating from the Astoria Food Hub while their waterfront location rebuilds — still pouring and still excellent. Their Northwest Red Ale and Cream Ale are standouts. Worth seeking out wherever they’re currently serving.
Serves legendary beer-battered albacore tuna from a retired fishing boat parked near the Maritime Museum. They sell one thing and they do it perfectly. Cash only. The line can stretch 30–45 minutes on busy days — worth every minute. This is the most Astoria thing you can do in Astoria.
Bridgewater Bistro — Upscale option with river views. Outstanding gluten-free fish and chips and a Hungarian mushroom soup regulars can’t stop talking about. Būsu — Tiny Japanese walk-up window with a rotating menu that’s become a cult favorite. Blue Scorcher Bakery — Worker-owned cooperative with excellent baked goods and vegan-friendly options.
Driving the Astoria-Megler Bridge for the first time is memorable — it climbs to 200 feet above the water at its highest point, and the scale of the river mouth below is staggering. Pedestrians are allowed one day per year during the Great Columbia Crossing, an annual walking event that draws thousands (typically October). The views from the pedestrian crossing are spectacular.
The collision of the massive Columbia River current with Pacific Ocean swells over constantly shifting sand bars has earned the river bar its grim nickname. The Maritime Museum’s bar piloting exhibits explain how specially trained pilots still board every large commercial vessel to guide it safely across. Watching a cargo ship navigate the bar from shore is a humbling spectacle — look for it from Fort Stevens or the Astoria waterfront.
Hidden on the waterfront near the East End Mooring Basin, this small museum preserves the history of Astoria’s canning industry — the economic engine that built the town. The building itself is a former working cannery. It’s free, volunteer-run, and fascinating. Almost no tourists find it, which means when you do, it’s usually just you and the volunteers who love talking about it.
A short forest walk through old-growth Sitka spruce ending at a massive tree with a cathedral-like canopy. It’s in the hills above town and feels a world away from the waterfront. One of those small discoveries that makes you feel like you’ve earned something. Takes about 30–45 minutes and rewards with solitude and old-growth forest that most visitors never see.
The best weather window. July and August are the driest months, with highs in the mid-60s and frequent sunshine. Warm enough for beach walks at Fort Stevens, clear enough for views from the Column, and lively enough with tourists and events to give the town extra energy. Book accommodations well in advance.
Temperatures drop into the 50s and rain returns, but fall has a moody beauty that suits Astoria perfectly. Autumn colors on the hillside neighborhoods, fewer crowds, and storm watching from the waterfront. The Great Columbia Crossing (bridge walk event) typically falls in October.
Wet, gray, and atmospheric — which in Astoria is a feature, not a bug. If you don’t mind rain gear, this is when Astoria’s indoor strengths shine: the museums, breweries, cozy restaurants, the Liberty Theatre. Fort George’s Festival of Dark Arts (February) is reason enough to visit. Temperatures rarely drop below freezing.
Still rainy through March and April, gradually improving into May and June. Wildflowers appear. Goonies Day falls June 7. The town begins to wake up for the summer season. Spring is when Astoria transitions from its winter-moody best to its summer-lively best.
Fort George is the flagship and where most visitors should start — it’s an entire city block of great beer, food, and atmosphere. Buoy Beer is excellent and worth seeking out at the Astoria Food Hub while their waterfront location rebuilds. If you’re here in February, the Festival of Dark Arts at Fort George is one of the best beer events on the West Coast. See our Oregon Breweries Guide.
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363 miles of public coastline — Astoria to Brookings.
