Start from 34 curated places around Astoria, OR, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
Bridgewater Bistro
A Pacific Northwest seafood and grill room in a converted boatworks building right on the river near the bridge. The high-ceilinged dining room and pier seating draw people for a longer dinner, and the menu leans local fish with broad gluten-free and dairy-free options. Good for a special-occasion meal that is not stuffy.
South Bay Wild Fish House
A counter-service fish house run by a family that owns its own commercial fishing boat, so the catch is genuinely theirs. Expect rockfish, tuna, and seasonal local fish rather than a big menu. The kind of place locals send visitors who want the real thing without a white tablecloth.
Trails & outdoors
Astoria Riverwalk
A flat, paved path that runs the length of Astoria's Columbia River waterfront, past canneries, breweries, the maritime museum, and sea lion docks. It is the easy, accessible walk that ties the whole town together, with the historic trolley running alongside. Do a section rather than the whole thing unless you have the day.
Cathedral Tree Trail
A short forest climb through ferns and big old spruce, with a boardwalk past the hollow 300-year-old Cathedral Tree, that connects to the Astoria Column on the hill above. Around 1.6 miles out and back, or longer if you push on to the Column. The in-town hike that feels like deep woods.
Things to do
Oregon Film Museum
A small museum in the old Clatsop County Jail, the actual building used for the opening of The Goonies, celebrating films shot in Oregon. Hands-on exhibits let you film your own scene, which keeps kids busy. A quick, fun stop more than a deep museum.
Liberty Theatre
A restored 1925 vaudeville and silent-film palace downtown, modeled on an Italian opera house, now hosting jazz, theater, film, and touring acts. The painted ceiling and gilt balconies are worth seeing even if you skip a show. The cultural anchor of downtown Astoria.
Landmarks & sights
Astoria Column
A 125-foot tower on Coxcomb Hill wrapped in a spiral mural of Pacific Northwest history, with 164 steps to an open-air deck. From the top you can see the Columbia River mouth, the bridge, and on clear days the Pacific. The balsa-wood gliders sold at the gift shop are meant to be launched off the top.
Columbia River Maritime Museum
The waterfront museum about the Columbia Bar, one of the deadliest river entrances anywhere, and the Coast Guard crews who run it. The motion-simulator pilot boat and the moored Lightship Columbia out back are the parts kids remember. Plan a couple of hours.