Fort Stevens State Park is located in Astoria, Oregon, not too far from Cannon Beach. We pretty much spent the day there-hiking, wildlife viewing, military fort touring, and biking. It has one of the largest state park campgrounds in the country, able to accommodate about 500 units. We didn't need a campground, but we always check them out when we are in a state or national park:)
We started the morning with a hike around Coffenbury Lake, a popular fishing spot. It also has swimming and boating, but it was pretty cool for that-at least for the swimming! We expected to see wildlife at the end of the lake, being that it was not populated down there and there were a ton of reeds, but we did not see a thing. We passed a lady birding....and she was disappointed as well.
We wanted to hike though-wildlife is a bonus. The hiking was through high brush and woods, and was alongside the lake for most of the hike. Lots of pretty wildflowers. Eewww, and a snake! Not too many others were hiking, which we were surprised about being that there were a ton of campers nearby. It was a cool and windy day though...which is usually good for crowd control...haha!
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| Ready to hike around the lake Susie? |
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| hiking around the lake |
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| gotta watch your head! |
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| its a big fishing spot here |
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| nice lake |
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| love these flowers! |
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| the joy of being vertically challenged...this trail is no problem for me |
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| isn't this a nice spot |
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| these beauties were all along the trail |
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| they come in white too |
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| making our way around the lake |
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| the trail is overgrown in a lot of spots |
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| wish you could hear the birds... |
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| the mossy trees give the hike a magical feel |
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| more |
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| a little view of a side-pool |
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| buzzzzzz |
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| getting towards the end of the lake |
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| pretty as a picture! |
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| heading back around the other side now...surprisingly, no wildlife here that we can spot |
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| brightening the trail |
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| peaceful trail right next to the water |
After the hike, we took a brief break for lunch before moving on to another area of the park. The park was a little confusing and we had to follow the map to get to the various sections of the park. So much to see and do! Haha!
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| lunching |
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| tuna salad today |
We stopped to view the remains of a ship wreck ( the Peter Iredale), a English ship that didn't make it through a storm. It ran aground in 1906, and now the rusting remains sit on the beach. To get there, we had to go down some impressive dunes, which was fun. Going up...not so much...hahah.
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| going down the dune is a lot of fun:) going up, another story...ahahhaha |
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| the shipwrecked Peter Iredale (from 1906)-looked like the hull-sobering to be standing there looking at it |
We got back in the car and drove to the South Jetty area of the park, where there is a viewing stand to see the Columbia River Bar. You can see where the ocean meets the river, and the water is extremely turbulent. We didn't see any ships going through-but we have the story of the "bar pilots" from the Columbia River Maritime Museum fresh in our minds. The water was fierce. Can't even imagine what it would be like in a storm. Yikes!
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| viewing deck |
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| the thing shakes in the wind |
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| views from the lookout stand -Pacific Ocean |
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| Pacific Ocean on the left of the jetty and to the right is the Columbia River, where they meet....raging waters!!! |
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| where the ocean meets the river...rough water |
Near this area is the Clatsop Spit (funny name!), which is a good wildlife viewing area. Again, we were so shocked with the ferocity of the water, we almost missed the bald eagle flying by. We also did see a squadron of pelicans. The most impressive thing though was the water. WOW!
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| wildlife viewing area....heading out over the dune |
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| pelicans |
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| such a windy area....check out the dune |
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| the water is sooo turbulent....see the lighthouse across the way....this is a tough area to navigate in a boat |
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| oh, there goes a bald eagle! |
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| again |
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| lighthouse |
Another area of the park had a nice wildlife viewing area over Trestle Bay. We really only saw Canadian Geese and seagulls, so we were a little disappointed. But hey...its not a zoo, its nature. And you see what you see.
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| heading through to the wildlife viewing area |
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| peaceful waters here |
Our last stop of the day was to the abandoned Fort Stevens. The Visitor Center was pretty good, and we learned that Fort Stevens was the first military base fired upon on the mainland (Pearl Harbor is not on the mainland!) since the war of 1812. Nine shots were fired upon the fort by the Japanese during WWII, and all nine missed, but the story goes that the officers didn't give the "fire back" order for some reason. The incident woke up the people of Oregon, and they became a little more serious about the war and the possibility of attack on the mainland. The military (and civilians too) were much more vigilant after that. Thankfully, nothing else happened here. The fort was eventually decomissioned, but some of the structures remain. We were impressed with the "retractable cannon", which shot out cannon balls, and then slid back down into an alcove behind the wall so it couldn't be seen by the enemy. It is still there today.
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| the military area |
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| cool exhibits |
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| the Fort facing the river....that's where the cannons were |
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| the fortress was a pretty long area |
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| deserted now...it was active in WWII |
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| heading up |
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| the retractable cannon is motorized...after it shoots, it ducks down again like this |
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| army vehicle |
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| artillery...that cannon ball can be shot our 2.8 miles and the other one goes 9 miles! I was amazed by that |
On our way to the parking area for the biking trails, we passed an elk near the road. Its the only one we've seen while here in Oregon, though there are signs everywhere. By the way, the biking was excellent! We loved the trail going through the woods, and it was slightly hilly so it was fun to ride. So glad we had our bikes!
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| elk snacking along the park road |
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| getting ready for a bike ride...there are really nice bike trails here in this park |
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| ready! |
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| no cars:) |
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| great ride through forested area |
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| wheeeee............ |
It was getting late in the day, but we still had some time to make a quick stop at Costco, which was on the way home, for some stuffed salmon. Tom is addicted to this now!!! (YEAH)!
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