Cape Disappointment State Park (formerly Fort Canby State Park) is a public recreation area on Cape Disappointment, located southwest of

Ilwaco, Washington Ilwaco ( ) is a city in Pacific County, Washington, United States. The population was 936 at the 2010 census. Founded in 1890, the city was home to the Ilwaco Railway and Navigation Company along the Long Beach Peninsula, with its core economy ba ...

, on the bottom end of

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 ...

, the northern headlands where the Columbia River meets 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 contine ...

. The state park's encompass a diverse landscape of

old-growth forest An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...

, freshwater lakes, freshwater and saltwater marshes, and oceanside

tidelands Tidelands are the territory between the tide line of sea coasts, and lands lying under the sea beyond the low-water limit of the tide, considered within the territorial waters of a nation. The United States Constitution does not specify wheth ...

. Park sites include Fort Canby, the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, North Head Lighthouse, and

Cape Disappointment Lighthouse The Cape Disappointment Light is a lighthouse on Cape Disappointment near the mouth of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. History In 1848, a lighthouse was recommended to be located at Cape Disappointment in what was then t ...

. Cape Disappointment is one of several state parks and sites in Washington and

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 Idah ...

that are included in Lewis and Clark National Historical Park.

History

Cape Disappointment earned its name when Captain John Meares failed to cross the river bar in 1788. The feat was accomplished in 1792 by American Captain Robert Gray. 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 ...

arrived at Cape Disappointment in 1805. In 1862, during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

, a camp called Post at Cape Disappointment was established and fortifications existed here from that date to protect the northern approaches to the mouth of the Columbia River from possible attacks by Confederate raiders or foreign fleets. It was garrisoned by Company A, U.S. 9th Infantry Regiment and Company A,

8th Regiment California Volunteer Infantry The 8th Regiment California Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Raised in the last year of the war, it spent its entire term of service serving in posts around San Francisco Bay, and on the ...

in the

District of Oregon The United States District Court for the District of Oregon (in case citations, D. Ore. or D. Or.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of Oregon. It was created in 1859 when the state was admitted to the Union. ...

. In 1863, its mate Fort Stevens was established on the south bank of the Columbia River. In 1864, the post was renamed Fort Cape Disappointment. Some Civil War-era fortifications still exist: the Tower (or Right) Battery, Left Battery, and Center Battery. Fort Cape Disappointment was expanded and renamed Fort Canby in 1875. By 1906, when construction finished under the Endicott program, Fort Canby became part of the three-fort Harbor Defenses of the Columbia River as a subpost of Fort Stevens along with

Fort Columbia 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-fr ...

. The fort was further expanded during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. After being decommissioned in the years following World War II, the fort was turned over to the state for use as a state park in the early 1950s. Workers with the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part o ...

helped restore the fort and improved roads and trails during the 1930s.

Facilities

Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center Cape Disappointment

The Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center sits on a cliff that overlooks the confluence of the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean. There are exhibits about the 1803–1806 Lewis and Clark Expedition from St. Louis, Missouri to the Pacific coast, the park's later history, including the lighthouses, U.S. Coast Guard and military activities, and the area's maritime and natural history.

Activities and amenities

Cape Disappointment State Park offers camping and other overnight accommodations, of hiking trails, stands of

old-growth An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological feature ...

Sitka spruce ''Picea sitchensis'', the Sitka spruce, is a large, coniferous, evergreen tree growing to almost tall, with a trunk diameter at breast height that can exceed 5 m (16 ft). It is by far the largest species of spruce and the fifth-larg ...

, watercraft launch sites, picnicking facilities, and tours of the North Head Lighthouse. Many of the WWII-era military facilities still exist in a ruined state throughout the park and are accessible to the public. North Head Lighthouse, Pacific Ocean

North_Head_Lighthouse_at_Cape_Disappointment

Coast Guard training near North Head Lighthouse

Cape Disappointment State Park’s camping facilities include standard campsites, full hookup RV sites, yurts, cabins, and historic vacation homes. Camp facilities include full-service restrooms with showers and a park store nearby for groceries, wood, and a café.

References

External links

Cape Disappointment State Park
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission
Cape Disappointment State Park Map
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission {{Authority control State parks of Washington (state) Parks in Pacific County, Washington Columbia River Lewis and Clark Expedition Museums in Pacific County, Washington History museums in Washington (state) Historic house museums in Washington (state) Military and war museums in Washington (state) Biographical museums in Washington (state) Maritime history of Washington (state) Civilian Conservation Corps in Washington (state) 1862 establishments in Washington Territory National Register of Historic Places in Pacific County, Washington