Attractions

Fort Columbia State Park (tel. 360/642-3078), a former military base that guarded the mouth of the Columbia River from 1896 until the end of World War II, is 9 miles east of Ilwaco on Wash. 103 near the Astoria-Megler Bridge, which is a 4 1/2-mile-long span that connects Washington with Oregon. The views from the park's wooded bluff are breathtaking, and at picnic tables, you can enjoy the views. The park also has 5 miles of hiking trails. Its 1903-vintage buildings have been restored and house an interpretive center with displays on the history of the fort. There are also exhibits on the local Chinook Indian tribe. From Memorial Day through September, an interpretive center is open daily from 10am to 5pm, and the old commanding officer's home is open daily from 11am to 4pm. A couple of vacation rental homes are here. For reservations, contact Washington State Parks (tel. 888/226-7688; www.parks.wa.gov/reserve.asp).

To learn more about the history of the area, stop by the Ilwaco Heritage Museum, 115 SE Lake St., Ilwaco (tel. 360/642-3446; www.ilwacoheritagemuseum.org). This modern museum has displays on the history of southwest Washington and an excellent collection of Native American baskets and other artifacts. A railroad exhibit has a model railroad of Long Beach's Clamshell Railroad, with an actual passenger car. The museum is open Monday through Saturday from 10am to 4pm and Sunday from 1 to 5pm (Oct-Apr Mon-Sat 10am-4pm). Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, $2.50 for youths ages 12 to 17, $1 for children ages 6 to 11, free for children age 5 and under.

Also in Ilwaco is the historic Colbert House, which is operated by the Cape Disappointment State Park . You'll find this restored home at the corner of Quaker and Spruce streets. It's open Friday through Sunday from 10am to 4pm, Memorial Day through September.

Anchoring the south end of the peninsula is forested Cape Disappointment State Park (tel. 360/642-3078), at the mouth of the Columbia River. The park is a former military installation used to guard the river mouth, and many bunkers and batteries are still visible. Also within the boundaries of the park are the North Head and Cape Disappointment lighthouses. The North Head Lighthouse is open for tours in summer ($1 per person). This lighthouse suffers some of the highest winds on the West Coast, some as high as 160 mph. The Cape Disappointment Lighthouse was built in 1856 and is the oldest lighthouse on the West Coast. The park is also home to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center (tel. 360/642-3078), which chronicles the 1805-06 journey of the two explorers; it's open daily from 10am to 5pm and admission is $3 for adults and $1 for children ages 7 to 17. Cape Disappointment, here in the park, was the end of the westward trail for Lewis and Clark. Also within the park are several picnic areas, hiking trails, a campground, and Waikiki Beach, the prettiest little beach between here and Moclips. This tiny cove backed by steep cliffs is named for several Hawaiian sailors who lost their lives nearby. The park is open from dawn to dusk, and admission is $5.

In the past 300 years, more than 2,000 vessels and 700 lives have been lost in the treacherous waters at the mouth of the Columbia River. Consequently, the U.S. Coast Guard has its National Motor Life Boat School here. Lifeboat drills can sometimes be observed from observation platforms on the North Jetty. This jetty, completed in 1917, was built to improve the channel across the Columbia Bar. A side effect of the 2-mile-long jetty was the creation of a much wider beach to the north. This widening of the beach accounts for the town of Long Beach's current distance from the waves.

If you're a kite flyer, or even if you're not, you may want to stop by the World Kite Museum & Hall of Fame, 112 N. Third St., Long Beach (tel. 360/642-4020; www.worldkitemuseum.com), which has displays on kites of the world. May through September, it's open daily from 11am to 5pm; October through April, it's open Friday through Monday from 11am to 5pm; admission is $3 for adults, $2 for seniors and children, or $8 per family.

Up toward the north end of the peninsula, you'll find the historic village of Oysterville, an old oystering community that is a National Historic District and by far the quaintest little village on the peninsula. Old homes with spacious lawns cling to the edge of the marsh, creating a timeless scene. Oysterville had its heyday in the days of the California gold rush, when the village shipped tons of oysters to San Francisco, where people were willing to pay as much as $50 a plate for fresh oysters. Today Oysterville is a sleepy little community of restored homes. In the town's white clapboard church, there are occasional music performances. Oysterville Sea Farms (tel. 800/272-6237 or 360/665-6585; www.oysterville.net) has a seafood and cranberry-products shop on the waterfront at the north end of the village.

Willapa Bay, which is one of the cleanest estuaries on the West Coast, is still known for its oysters. Up and down the peninsula, there are oyster farms and processing plants. To learn more about the history of the area's oystering industry, drop by the Willapa Bay Interpretive Center (tel. 360/665-4547) on the breakwater beside The Ark Restaurant in Nahcotta. The interpretive center is open Friday through Sunday, and holidays from 10am to 3pm, between Memorial Day and Labor Day, and it's free.

The peninsula is also a major producer of cranberries, and if you take a drive down almost any side road north of Long Beach, you'll pass acres of cranberry bogs. If you're curious to learn how cranberries are grown, stop in at the Pacific Coast Cranberry Museum, 2907 Pioneer Rd., Long Beach (tel. 360/642-5553; www.cranberrymuseum.com). Located on a demonstration cranberry farm, it has exhibits on all the stages of cranberry growing, both past and present. It's open from April to December 15, daily from 10am to 5pm. Admission is free.

Believe It or Not!--Children and other fans of the bizarre won't want to miss Marsh's Free Museum, 409 S. Pacific Ave., Long Beach (tel. 360/642-2188; www.marshsfreemuseum.com), a beachy gift shop filled with all manner of antique arcade games, oddities a la Ripley's Believe It or Not!, and, best of all, Jake the alligator man, who has been made famous by tabloids that rank this half-man, half-alligator creature right up there with aliens, Bigfoot, and the latest Elvis sighting.