The Lewis and Clark National Historical Park (including the former Fort Clatsop National Memorial), located in the vicinity of the mouth of the Columbia River, commemorates the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gr ...

. Administration of the park, which includes both federal and state lands, is a cooperative effort of the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

and the states of

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. The

National Historical Park National Historic Site (NHS) is a designation for an officially recognized area of national historic significance in the United States. An NHS usually contains a single historical feature directly associated with its subject. The National Historic ...

was dedicated on November 12, 2004. After reaching the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

, the

Corps of Discovery The Corps of Discovery was a specially established unit of the United States Army which formed the nucleus of the Lewis and Clark Expedition that took place between May 1804 and September 1806. The Corps was led jointly by Captain Meriwether Lew ...

camped at

Fort Clatsop Fort Clatsop was the encampment of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the Oregon Country near the mouth of the Columbia River during the winter of 1805–1806. Located along the Lewis and Clark River at the north end of the Clatsop Plains approxi ...

in the winter of 1805–1806. The park features a replica of the fort and a nearby visitor center. Also included in the park are several sites on the north bank of the river in Washington and other sites in Oregon.

Lewis and Clark National Historical Park

Map of Lewis and Clark National Historic Park

The federal park began as Fort Clatsop National Memorial which was established on May 29, 1958. The memorial was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on October 15, 1966. On October 30, 2004, it was redesignated Lewis and Clark National Historical Park with expanded jurisdiction over multiple sites, including: *

* Fort to Sea Trail (dedicated on November 14, 2005) * Netul Landing * Salt Works * Station Camp/Middle Village * Clark's

Dismal Nitch Dismal Nitch is the name of a cove along the lower Columbia River in Washington state, notable as the Lewis and Clark Expedition's last campsite before sighting the Pacific Ocean. Today it is a rest stop on the Washington State Route 401 highway j ...

Oregon State Parks

Ecola State Park

Ecola State Park Ecola State Park is a state park located approximately 3 miles north of Cannon Beach in Clatsop County in the U.S. state of Oregon on the Oregon Coast. It is administered by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. The park encompasses of ...

was the site of the Corps of Discovery's 1806 trek over difficult terrain to see a beached whale. Today, it features several miles of hiking trails through old-growth forest and several beaches.

Haystack Rock Haystack Rock is a sea stack in Cannon Beach, Oregon. It is the third-tallest such intertidal structure in the world. A popular tourist destination on the Oregon Coast, the monolithic rock is adjacent to the beach and accessible by foot at low ...

and the Needles are visible from many sites in the park.

Fort Stevens State Park

Fort Stevens, with its park, offers exploration of history, nature, and recreational opportunities. The fort was the Oregon component of the three-fort

Harbor Defense Command A Harbor Defense Command was a military organization of the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps designated in 1925 from predecessor organizations dating from circa 1895. It consisted of the forts, controlled underwater minefields, and other c ...

area at the mouth of the Columbia River ( Fort Canby and Fort Columbia were the other two).

Sunset Beach State Recreation Site

Sunset Beach is the terminus of the Fort To Sea Trail, which begins in Fort Clatsop. Sunset Beach also provides visitors with direct access to the Pacific Ocean with expansive views from Cape Disappointment to the north and

Tillamook Head Tillamook Head is a high promontory on the Pacific coast of northwest Oregon in the United States. It is located in west-central Clatsop County, approximately 5 mi (8 km) southwest of Seaside. The promontory forms a steep rocky bluff ...

to the south.

Washington State Parks

Cape Disappointment State Park

Cape Disappointment State Park Cape Disappointment State Park (formerly Fort Canby State Park) is a public recreation area on Cape Disappointment, located southwest of Ilwaco, Washington, on the bottom end of Long Beach Peninsula, the northern headlands where the Columbia ...

, formerly known as Fort Canby State Park, is a camping park on Cape Disappointment on the

Long Beach Peninsula The Long Beach Peninsula is an arm of land on the southern coast of the state of Washington in the United States. Entirely within Pacific County, it is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the south by the Columbia River, and the east by Wi ...

, fronted by the Pacific Ocean. The park offers of ocean beach, two lighthouses, an interpretive center, hiking trails, and the remains of Fort Canby. The Cape Disappointment Historic District was listed on the National Register on August 15, 1975.

Fort Columbia State Park

Fort Columbia State Park Fort Columbia State Park is a public recreation area and historic preserve at the site of former Fort Columbia, located on Chinook Point at the mouth of the Columbia River in Chinook, Washington. The state park features twelve historic wood-fram ...

preserves Fort Columbia, a

coastal artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of ...

post along the north side of the Columbia river outlet. At , the park includes an interpretive center focused on the fort and regional history.

Chinook Point Chinook Point is a headland in Pacific County, Washington. Located just northwest of the mouth of the Columbia River, it is historically significant for several reasons. Captain Robert Gray, the first non-native to enter the river, saw it from ...

, the site from which an American captain, Robert Gray, first saw the Columbia River, is part of the park. His explorations gave the United States a strong position in its later territorial contests with

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

was named a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1961.

Notes

References

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External links

* * * * * * *
"Writings of Lewis and Clark", broadcast from Fort Clatsop National Memorial
from C-SPAN's '' American Writers'' {{authority control Historical Parks National Historical Parks of the United States State parks of Oregon State parks of Washington (state) Parks in Clatsop County, Oregon Parks in Pacific County, Washington National Register of Historic Places in Clatsop County, Oregon National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state) Protected areas established in 1958 Protected areas established in 2004 National Park Service areas in Oregon National Park Service areas in Washington (state) Columbia River National Register of Historic Places in Pacific County, Washington Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state)