I’ve been wanting to remain in a yurt with Chester and Gretel for some time. So when the Astoria Warrenton Chamber of Commerce contacted me and asked if we desired to stay in one in all the dog friendly yurts at Fort Steven’s State Park, I jumped at the prospect!
Fort Stevens was once the first military defense installation within the three-fort, Harbor Defense System on the mouth of the Columbia River (together with Forts Canby and Columbia in Washington). The fort saw service for 84 years, from the Civil War to World War II.
We’d traveled to the Astoria-Warrenton area in 2011 when Hubby and I bike toured from Astoria to Canon Beach, pulling the dogs in a trailer. I’d never been for Fort Steven’s State Park before though.
The night we arrived, the winds should have been 40 mph or more… or at the very least it felt prefer it. It was pouring down rain. Neither unexpected for the Pacific Ocean coast in winter.
Once we found our yurt in the dead of night, we hunkered down for the night. The winds howled outside and the rain pelted the little yurt. I used to be super impressed because the perimeters of the yurt didn’t flap and rain didn’t drip in from the windows or seams.
I do know some people live in yurts yr round but it surely was great to get confirmation through personal experience that they really can handle bad weather. Occasionally, Hubby and I speak about constructing one to live in.
The great thing in regards to the weather on the coast is that, although it may be super stormy in winter, there are sometimes clear breaks in between.
We took advantage of one in all these to go all the way down to the beach and see our first shipwreck.
Unlike some “shipwrecks”, this wasn’t just pieces of metal on the beach. You possibly can actually tell it was a ship.
The stays are from a ship called the Peter Iredale and it’s 111 years old! It was a four-masted steel barque sailing vessel that ran ashore October 25, 1906 on it’s strategy to the mouth of the Columbia River. Everyone on board – 27 crewmembers and a couple of stowaways – survived.
When it began to rain again, we headed into Astoria for lunch on the Rogue Ales Public House. The restaurant is dog friendly in summer when patio seating is accessible. I hear they actually have a special dog menu.
Unfortunately, Chester and Gretel had to remain within the automotive this time. They were drained from our beach walk though so that they happily “time traveled” while we munched on fish and chips.
We made an unexpected discovery while we were there.
The restaurant is inside a converted smoke house for old Bumble Bee Cannery. The remainder of the constructing has been converted to non-public shops, storage… and a Hanthorn Cannery Museum! That was a totally unexpected surprise.
Several rooms were full of displays and old cannery equipment. It was neat to explore and it was free!
Within the late afternoon, we explored the remaining of Fort Stevens State Park. That place is large!
There are over 475 campsites total (that’s no including the yurts and cabins). The park itself is 4,300 acres and has historic wartime bunkers, an enormous freshwater lake, miles of shoreline, 9 miles of biking trails and 6 miles of climbing trails.
We could imagine that a ton of individuals are there in the summertime however the park was so big I’m wondering if it doesn’t feel uber crowded since people can opened up. Perhaps we’ll need to return sometime in the summertime to see.
The subsequent morning we drove to a different area of the park to see the military bunkers. It began to rain again so we didn’t stay long but it surely was cool because they were very well preserved.
Most of the bunkers had locked doors but you’ll be able to take guided tours inside a few of them in summer. You too can tour the grounds in a historic military jeep.
Before we began the 4-hour drive back to Seattle, we swung through Astoria again to try the fish and chips on the famous Bowpicker.
The last time we were there, I used to be inquisitive about it but we never stopped. Their claim to fame is that they’re take-away dining from an old, converted Bowpicker-style boat and so they were the primary within the country to serve fish and chips make of albacore tuna (rumored).
They’ve a pair of out of doors benches where you’ll be able to sit all the way down to eat along with your dog. The road was 10 people deep and this was in winter. On a weekday!
I hear it’s nuts in the summertime so, if we ever go then, we’ll prepare for a protracted wait and to take our food some place else to sit down down and eat.
A few blocks away is the Astoria Riverwalk Trail. I’d probably search for an empty bench along there or drive as much as the Astoria Column and eat with a view of the Columbia River.
Regardless that we were stuffed, we stopped by Frite & Scoop for ice cream (there’s at all times room for ice cream, right? Ha, ha).
While the road for this place is out the door in summer, we had the entire place to ourselves that day.
The owner was very friendly and told us the story of how he and his wife ended up opening an ice cream store in Astoria, how he makes his French-style custard ice cream by hand and invents all of his own flavors, and in regards to the historic constructing the shop was positioned in.
To be honest, I wasn’t super impressed with the dog friendly-ness of Astoria after we visited 7 years ago. Nonetheless, it definitely appeared like things have modified and there are more options for dog owners now.
I believe the “off season” is the perfect time to go to a spot like that. There are few tourists and also you get to speak with the locals greater than you do within the super-busy summer season.
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Disclaimer: A part of our trip was sponsored by the Astoria Warrenton Chamber of Commerce in exchange for telling you in regards to the area and our trip. This compensation didn’t influence my opinion of the experience.
