The Astoria Column

Built in 1926 atop Coxcomb Hill, the 125-foot column carries a spiral mural depicting regional history and a 164-step interior staircase to an open-air observation deck. According to the site's own current visitor information, the park and the climb are free; parking runs $10 per vehicle (valid a year), and the gate is open daily 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. The view — the Columbia, the Astoria-Megler Bridge, and the Pacific beyond — is the best free vantage point in town and worth the stair climb rather than a photo at the base.

Columbia River Maritime Museum

At 1792 Marine Drive on the downtown waterfront, this is a serious regional museum rather than a roadside stop, covering the notoriously dangerous Columbia River Bar, commercial fishing, and Coast Guard rescue history, with a historic lightship docked outside. Current listed admission is $18 for adults, $15 for seniors, $8 for children 6-17, open daily 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Budget at least 90 minutes if maritime history interests you at all — this isn't a 20-minute stop.

Photo: Steve Morgan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Fort Clatsop

Part of Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, Fort Clatsop marks where the Corps of Discovery spent the wet winter of 1805-06. Worth knowing before you go: the structure on site today is a modern replica based on William Clark's own sketch, rebuilt in 2006 after an earlier replica burned down — not an original building. Current NPS information lists a $10 per-adult entry fee, with grounds open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. in winter and 9 a.m.-6 p.m. in summer, about 15 minutes' drive south of downtown.

Photo: Glenn Scofield Williams / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

The Goonies Sites — Manage Your Expectations

The 1985 film put Astoria on the map for a generation of visitors, and several real locations remain identifiable, including the former Clatsop County Jail, now home to the Oregon Film Museum. The one site everyone actually wants to see — the Walsh family house at 368 38th Street — is a privately owned home, not an attraction. According to the property's own visitor-guidance site, current owners tolerate quiet photos from the public sidewalk and driveway but offer no tours, and ask visitors to park away from the narrow dead-end street. The house has previously been tarped and closed off entirely after reportedly drawing over a thousand visitors a day at its worst — a reminder that this is someone's residence, not a studio backlot. Treat "walk right up" advice from older blog posts with skepticism.

The Astoria-Megler Bridge

At 4.1 miles, this is the longest continuous truss bridge in North America, completed in 1966 as the final link of US Route 101 between Washington and California. There's no pedestrian access under normal circumstances — the only legal way across on foot is the annual Great Columbia Crossing 10K each October. Otherwise, it's best appreciated from below: the Column, the riverfront trail, or a Cannery Pier Hotel room all frame it well.

Photo: Nils Huenerfuerst / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)