Reviews of Fort Columbia - Historical State Park (Park)

Veronica Santos-Rivas

Beautiful place.

Danielle Settlemyre

Beautiful old buildings and lots of great historical information. An overall great family destination that is free and full of history and fun. I recommend checking the weather that day because a large part of the grounds are uncovered and it is quite windy. Wear layers for sure.

Ashley Gibson

Kids loved it.

Brett Ellibee

Guided tours are worth the wait. Read the Information areas and a self-guided tour provides a glimpse back to the past.

Jeanne Munoz

Love the view historical

Jason Bays

Lots of cool history

Nancy Henderson

Will be going back to see more!

Carleigh Williams

This was a really neat place to explore & learn about. Beautiful views with no crowds.

Sam

Interesting historical spot. Beautiful vistas.

Doug Funk

It's pretty interesting. I like historical things so it was a good time.

Abdul Ambon

Great place to explore

Leah Stange

Best day ever

Robin

Great place to take kids to explore.

Brandon H

Great park with a lot of history!

Kimberly Woods

Loved the bunkers, but to much dog poo on the picnic area, hard to enjoy the picnic,

matthew woods

It's a cool spot to see some fun history, make sure you verify when the interpretive center and meusem are open(both times I have come they were closed and it greatly diminishes the experience and makes the $10pass seem over priced. Without getting to enjoy the full experience yet I have to say if you have to choose between fort Columbia and fort Stevens then choose Stevens, lots more to see.

Mirra Woods

It was overpriced for how little you could access. None of the museums were open and there was no hours listed for when they would be.

ZachH 318

Cool place to visit

Elaine Bradtke

Quiet gem with lovely views of the Columbia River

Jeff Sturgeon

The volunteers are full of great information about the fort and it's history.

larry cooper

This is a really nice historical park. It is a former U.S. Army Coastal artillery base, one of three built to protect the mouth of the Columbia River from invading naval forces. It includes barracks, officers homes, and massive concrete bunkers. Today it offers scenic vistas of the Columbia River estuary. If you are lucky, the barracks may be open and allow visitors into the small museum area.

Susan Beals

Amazing views and interesting history. Plenty of signs explain what you are seeing.

Stevie Tommie

I love this place for a date with my lifestyle theirs no where better it's beautiful private. Educational trails that go to a large spectacler waterfall. In the back. Straight up half mile you'll hear it. We sat their for an hour frezzing. Lol he kept me warm. Then we. ..... U know lol. Best place around if you want to be alone. . need more places like this.

Damon Starnes

Great history here. Lots of buildings to look at. Fun place to walk around.

Sarah Stockman

Our family favorite place. We come here at least one a month. We live in Seaside. Historical, view, nature, photo shots perfect. We hide eggs for Easter here grass thick flowers blooming.

Kathie Gonzales

I actually haven't visited the Fort in a couple of years, but I drive under it almost daily, thru a tunnel of course lol. As of right now at Fort Columbia, one of the buildings is being used by PaPla, a local theatre company. They are performing Mary Poppins. There are bunkers, and trailers, and lots of buildings and trails up there. Please be respectful to the residents in the housing area.

William Hudson

A must see when traveling to the area

Candice Strange

Cool spot, nice view

Jeremy Wekell

Deep historical area. This was Chinook Indian Land that is now a state park. A great place to have a picnic or a walk. An awesome view of the Columbia river to Astoria.

Daniel Owen

Love history....such a beautiful view. Just visited again today. Love it

Anthony Winner

Kind of interesting. We stopped just to attach pour legs, ended up spending several hours

Chelle B

Cause you get to freely explore the bunkers.

Ora May Winston

Great views lots of investigative things to see. Beautiful history.

Kia s

Gorgeous views. Interesting history and no tour guide needed. Fun exploring.

Rob Hill

Interesting place. Great history

Kas Leg

Explore it it's nice.

Joni Cloud

Was surprised at size, great park

Rebekkah Burbank

To4ne of old stuff extremelycool for those into history like myself

Jonathon Christensen

As an avid history buff, this place is amazing!! From the 3rd gun battery that is completely filled in, to the intact power generator that isnt found in really any other washington coastal defense forts. The public bathroom building is also pretty awesome considering it used to be the gaurdhouse and still has what looks to be an original furnace. That entrance is also pretty amazing. We stop here any time we are in the Long Beach/Ilwaco area

David C Hagerman

Great to explore and spend the day

Tamie Little

This was worth the trip❣

Rick Slossen

This is place well preserved. I was not here long but it is well maintained. You can easily imagine what it must have been like for the people that manned this station back in the day. I came up on a doe and two beautiful baby deer as I made my way around the buildings. I turned the engine off and coasted down the hill in front of them. Such a tender moment, makes you feel warm inside.

Steve M

This is a cool place to stop at if you want to explore the old Fort and run through the tunnels and stuff

Rboert Molina

Please. You must visit this place. Takes you back. Also. It's so beautiful. Just look at these pictures. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'s

Brian Cromie

fort stevens is slighty better that $10.00 parking is steep. not much there tons of hills to walk and not much payoff.

Krista Jensen

We came to grab a couple of geocaches, but stayed to enjoy the view! It was quiet and beautiful!

Kevin Wohlwend

If you're in the neighborhood this is definitely one place to stop and checkout. Great views, great trails and awesome sense of history await!

Mariko Nicoletti

you would learn things here...

Stephen Murray

Great views and creepy bunkers, great combination

Harry Everett

If you are close by here would deftly recommend to take the time check this place out the history and the view are well worth the time

Farrah Billings

Best experience we have been on. Sunset is a #1 you should do from here.

Mark Revel

Oooo cool place its just see

Molly Heath

Great signage, thoroughly self explanatory. Compact. Beautiful views

jenny valencourt

Lots of fun to visit with kids!

Sam Mcmanus

Great view of Columbia River and they have rental cabins

Becky Breshears

Loved the hike here...don’t hesitate to take the loop above the buildings. Great way to spend an hour or two. The history is fabulous...but the buildings only open on the weekends.

Steven Marston

Fun place to explore with the family, Great views!

Lynn Olpin

Great place to explore for World War 1 and 2 information. I enjoyed learning about life in the gun batteries that were used to protect the Columbia river. Lots of good things to see. I like the Washington state all access daily pass that lets you pay for 1 day and use all of the state parks nearby. An annual pass is only 3 day passes.

Mary Korte

This is my favorite place to visit for a little dose of history and a picnic.

Rebecca Rosales

Cool place to visit right off the highway you can go into old cool buildings all the time and during summer they have old homes and such you can tour plus vacation rentals

Christina Haugan

Beautiful site

Ron Barnes

Very interesting place but wood building's not used to the best tax payer dollars. Some used as vacation rentals so why not fort Vancouver and all structures.

Steven Bell

Interesting to visit and learn the history of the area.

Tyler Marriott

Very interesting peek into WWII sites and how we protected our western coast.

Janne Pohjala

Interesting and historical place to visit. Guns and the fortification and the barracks. Worth a visit.

Ryan Murray

Cool fort with a view of the bridge to Astoria. Short trail behind the fort was nice as well.

Mike W

Cool site. I did not know about these forts and their role in WWII.

Emma Ehrenberg

Nice peace of history, with a hiking trail up a hill (took me about 2 1/2 hours, no experienced hiker).

Awful Falafel

A cool place to go for a blast of the past. Not exactly sure if you're SUPPOSED to go in the bunkers, but I did. And it was cool. As an old, underground place, it could be scary for smaller kids. And also, as an old, underground place, there's graffiti. But most of it is appropriate and acceptable. It has cannons you can go inside (don't worry, there are plugs and no shells) and trails to hike on. Don't be scared by the siren tests; they're just tests. Overall, a cool tourist attraction you can stop by on a road trip.

Guy Sykes

Interesting place and one of several old coastal defense forts along the upper west coast. One of the few that still has (inactive) guns where you can touch the history versus just seeing the buildings. Fairly easy walking. Parking is not well marked.

Shelly S

Love to visit this place. Enjoy all the history

Buzz Williams

Was all by myself on this chilly March afternoon. It would have been a super place to be stationed in the forties. Still awesome with a killer view.

Bogan

A peacefully beautiful area with a lot of historical value. Great views of the mighty Columbia River and Pacific ocean.

Kerri McAferty Nelson

Views are stunning!

Timothy Dreyer

Beautiful views fun passage ways to explore. Bring a flashlight.

Stacy Frazer

Really cool, dilapidated remains of bunkers. Many you can explore. Bring a flashlight and your sense of adventure!

Rebecca Cheney

Clearly the victim of significant budget cuts. Only 1.5 miles of the 5 mile trail system is maintained. Summit trail is completely impassable unless you are in the mood for some pathfinding practice. This park is one mushroom hunter away from a SAR case.

Earth PNW

Such a unexpected fun time, and it had been raining most of the month of January so it had collected in low-lying fort areas. Bring your boots, a flash camera for underneath, and the sunset is awe-inspiring. This summer has been free of rain for weeks and weeks now. If you get a chance to visit here, you'll also love the short tunnel across the highway, which basically sits underneath what was probably a bomb shelter. There are 2 entrances to the bomb shelter in the actual park, they are opened up for tours if you check Google.

Chris Giles

This place is awesome!! Spent an hour exploring the Fort!!

David Roberts

Very interesting historical site in a beautiful location.

Barbara Woster

We love history, and this place exudes it. It's beautiful here. We love walking through the battlements and often think of renting a place to camp here one year.

Debbie Casalie

Nice little site that features a look at a gun battery.

Mark Davids

Loved the view it was awesome on a beautiful day we had

Jenny Newtson

Neat vacation spot for history buffs. The view of the river mouth from the Steward's House is AMAZING.

James Witte

Easy to miss coming from the south or east as you drive thru tunnel underneath it ... Only tunnel in forever seems like ... Great river views ... Tons of preserved history ... Concrete gun emplacements, pair of small guns and wooden housing and accessory buildings ...

Daniel Swervez

The mechanisms of this place are really interesting. Love to go here and if you are a history nerd, (in a good way) then I highly recommend this place for historians

Phade Not

Beautiful historical site. A great view to soak up the magnitude of how integral a fort would be guarding over the mouth of the mighty Columbia river!

Nickolas Small

Loved walking the kids through here and they've got a great little find and check off artifacts game for them to play

Allen-Paul Templet

Free State Park for day use and hiking trails. Lewis and Clark info, and history of early defense of Puget Sound.

Linda Hoernke

Once home to the Chinook Indians, Fort Columbia was constructed between 1896 & 1903. It was renovated during WWII. The buildings within the fort are still standing. You can visit the artillery batteries, the officer quarters and take a step back into history through photos and interpretive maps and signs. There are miles of hiking and walking trails on this almost 600 acre park along the shoreline of the Columbia River. Picnic tables and restrooms available.

Jeff R

Very awesome. Nice view. It was not completely open for the season so we didn't get to look at everything. Guess I will just have to go again

Wade Schuyler

It's a great place to visit and learn the history of the veterans that served there..

Rick Cross

Must be a great place to live, military life at this base is very beautiful. You can rent a house here now, from the state parks. Nice way to spend a holiday.

joca mail

This is such a cool place to visit and the views are amazing.

Tim Woolsey

Beautiful scenic fort. Very interesting.

matthew blair

Beautiful tgere

Ramon Sanchez

The history is awesome I enjoyed it that was cool.

Zachary Larson

The park is small but it has some good history and the fort is nice to walk around. Definitely worth a visit

Dani Wilkinson

So fun to explore! Took the kids and had a little history lesson just by exploring and reading all the information boards.

Lily Kay

It was disappointing to find that the houses were unavailable to look inside due to vandalizing, but a great experience inside the dungeon and decent sized meauseum. And there is bathrooms!

Random Girl

Loved taking the kids here was a rondom stop to stretch out legs turned into the best historic adventure

Marilyn Mobley

Very nice

Becky Zsido

Historic & stunningly beautiful!

Chuck Huntting

Been coming here for 60 years. Great history, well maintained.

Ian Healy

This is a fun place to see a little history and it is not as big or crowded as Fort Stevens. Be careful with small children around the gun battery area as there are many fall hazards and large steel doors that are rusted through and unsecured. Great place to explore for adults. This site requires a discovery pass for Washington State Parks, unless you go on a designated free day. We went on MLK day and so it was free. You may also want to check out Astoria just across the river.

Rick Standring

I really enjoyed the history around here

Brian Glodek

I love this park. Being a fan of history it is great being able to walk around history and explore it. There are a plethora of signs and informative plaques to aid in your hunt for historical facts. Being a spacious grounds, you definitely get your walk in for the day. There is even a little hidden cove to explore and see the river from a more unique perspective.

Lei Lie

Large areas to camp in & great sights to see in any direction we went!

Bulldozer T

Great historical place to take the kids.

Karic Gibbs

Also have summer rentals

Alan Martinez

Awesome place.

Brent Stratton

An interesting park who's history is that it was never used and out of date almost as soon as it was built. It has some beautiful views and its fun to explore the old arraments

Dawn Starr

Lots of history

Mark Hack

Hike the trail or explore the batteries or simply enjoy a great view of the Columbia

Beth Gantenbein

Beautiful and fun

Jeanne Hudson

Excellent history. Cool large guns rate to see

Ian mac

Can be difficult to walk to all the sites. Hilly, dirt and grass.

ken christenson

Great Historical place Highly recommended.

Jonathan Carter

It's a fort from the early 1900s which is super cool just needs a little maintenance.

Average Bear

Such an awesome place to visit! Definitely worth a stop if you have a few extra hours.

Ingrid Orndoff

Awesome so fun to explore

Lewis Leech

Amazing old fort with lots of rooms and hallways

vincent branch

A great Park not many people visit.

Toby Harrison

I've been bye (literally under actually) this place soo many times. NEVER realized it was there. Which is exactly what they wanted.. Was there at dusk so didn't get much time. But the grounds were amazing, bathrooms clean. AND the ONLY weaponized fort that I know of.

Kim Oman

It's a beautiful spot overlooking the ocean and the Captain's Quarters, enlisted men quarters, are fun to visit. There's also a trail behind the quarters that I just mentioned.

Brian Call

At the risk of attracting more folks to this park, Fort Columbia is anther hidden gem in Washington State. It's easy to miss from the highway, but if you stop off you're rewarded with old military ruins can explore and learn more about. If you rather hike, there are tons of trails up in the hills behind the fort; watch your step because you'll find more historical ruins buried throughout the woods.

Nicholas French

Beautiful spot for family to learn about history of Washington.

lou cadinha

Such a great place to explore

Todd Treloar

Very good place to walk and learn about history

Renee Kemppainen

Interesting & well maintained historical fort where they had disappearing canons.

Dave Hart

Nicely restored relic of the early 20th century

Max O'Toole

Fort Columbia provides the amazing historical experience of Fort Stevens without all the people. Beautiful park with plenty to explore, I would recommend planning a visit when the museum is open, or if you're lucky- when they're doing tours of the civil defence bunker.

Brad Hill

Great little park, with awesome views of the Columbia River.

Bryan Hermans

I only wish we had more time there. Exploring the old batteries brought the kid out in me. It also illustrated living history. One may not realize that by WW1 & 2 the United States had developed the most sophisticated coastal defenses in the world. This one combined with Fort Canby and Stevens made any hostile naval infiltration of the Columbia suicidal.

Coders N

Great for kids and adults for an educational stop.

Don Mix

Nice place to relax and stretch for an hour. There is a lot of history in a place that never had to be put to use. Keep a watchful eye on the kids. You can even rent a few of the old buildings.

Carolyn Fleming

It's nice for a picnic and for the view of the river and the megler bridge BUT there is NEVER any toilet paper in the bathrooms