Coffenbury Lake & Astoria 2

Updated 8/22/20 and 4/27/21

Astoria offers so much more than a half day stay.  I wanted to do the town right, as I didn’t have time when I was there July 2019.  My impetus to travel that way MLK weekend 2020 was to check out accessible fishing at nearby Coffenbury Lake, and I hoped to revisit Fort Clatsop and Fort Stevens as well.  For even more about Astoria, Fort Clatsop (Lewis and Clark National Historical Park), and Fort Stevens State Park (including the excellent campground and amenities), see https://www.travelpacificnw.com/accessible-travel-blog/astoria-fort-stevens-fort-clatsop
 
Jan 18 we toured the town of Astoria to see the sites
Jan 19 we traveled the hills of Astoria admiring local architecture, and I rolled the Riverwalk
Jan 20 we made brief visits to Coffenbury Lake, Fort Clatsop, and Fort Stevens State Park
 
We stayed at Best Western Astoria Bayfront Hotel one night, and 2 nights at Hampton Inn & Suites.  I’ll talk a little about them at the end of this article.  We traveled home over the Astoria-Megler Bridge (not quite as spectacular as when skies are clear and bright), and east on Hwy 4 to Longview WA, thence south on I-5.  Hwy 4 added a half hour to the trip, vs Hwy 30.  But I always prefer to make a loop rather than go to and fro the same route.  Update:  April 15, 2021 we stayed at Astoria Crest Motel, could not stay at Astoria Rivershore Motel--comments and photos at bottom.
 
Astoria sites:
Because the forecast was rainy, I tried to arrange my plans accordingly: indoor venues for rainy hours and outdoor venues when there was more hope for less wet weather.  We were very fortunate, and only got spotted a little, a time or two.  Mid-day Sunday we even saw sunshine and blue sky between the clouds!  It was beautiful.
 
Columbia River Maritime Museum—I visited July 2019.  See my blog post of 10-31-19
https://www.travelpacificnw.com/accessible-travel-blog/astoria-fort-stevens-fort-clatsop
 
Heritage Museum, operated by Clatsop County Historical Society--$5 adults, $2 youth
Well worth the admission.  More perspectives on the first peoples who lived in the area, the fur trade that brought Astoria into being way back in 1811, more about the colorful history of Astoria and its development over the last 200+ years, even as a microcosm of US history.  At first I was a bit shocked they included something about the KKK, but then I admired the honesty of acknowledging some embarrassing past. They have a neat shop with books for different ages, and cute stuffed animals for all ages.  There you can ask questions, get information about what to see and do, and other venues. They have an elevator, a nice ramp, and a handicapped parking spot right by the ramp entrance on the south side of the building.  It’s scary—you are getting out in a lane of traffic.  But drivers were careful and courteous when we were there.
 
Hanthorn (Bumblebee) Cannery Museum at Pier 39—free
I was pleasantly pleased that this was free.  It’s rather rough, and as you drive over the old wooden pier, you hope they are keeping close tabs on the structure.  (There are many piers along the river that are NOT SAFE, so don’t let kids tempt tragedy by ignoring signs.)  But even though you may see great enlarged old photos at the Maritime Museum and elsewhere, to see the old machinery (even the old typewriter, etc.!), the boats and equipment and all up close gives another dimension to the memories.  They have a great video going all the time, crabs displayed, and how interesting the immigrants who brought their knowledge of fishing to the business.  There’s a gift shop, a restaurant and a coffee shop with eats, and a pier that people have been seen fishing from.  As I called around I found that it's ok to fish from the piers as long as the owner is ok with it, and you follow state laws.
 
Astoria Column--$5 parking good for a year
So much is made of “the view” everywhere, you may discount the mention.  But the view from the hilltop where the Astoria Column stands is really awe inspiring.  The column itself is awesome.  Of course, you have to be able-bodied to climb to the top of the column, but I didn’t mind waiting while my helper climbed it while I looked out over the waterways, the hills and forests, the town . . . all around.  They have some seating and picnic tables.  I can guess at the height of tourism those and parking might be at a premium, and I was glad to be there in the off season.  There are restrooms we didn’t think to check.  (Update--see photos from 8/22/20 at left)  A small gift store is chock full of souvenirs you would like to buy for yourself or loved ones.
 
Garden of Surging Waves—free
This is a nice little garden to spend some time admiring the art and contemplating Life, the Universe, your Self, or just slow your life down.  1095 Duane St.
 
Fort Astoria—free
Not to be confused with Fort Clatsop--built originally by Lewis and Clark (Corps of Discovery) in 1805/6--Fort Astoria was originally built by fur traders.  The representative replica is just a place of remembrance, but worth walking to from the Heritage Museum, only a block away.

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Liberty Theater—just took a shot at this time
“Music, dance, theatre, and one magnificent chandelier.”  You can rent it for your event, too.  I called ahead to check on accessibility, and was told it is accessible.  For events and tickets, see https://libertyastoria.org/  
 
Other Arts venues are the Astor Street Opry Company http://asocplay.com/  , and
Clatsop Community College Performing Arts Center (PAC)  https://partnersforthepac.org/
 
Flavel House—not wheelchair accessible, but the exterior is worth seeing if you can’t go in.  441 8th St.
If you Google “flavel house museum astoria or”, then click on the little map associated with the Wikipedia box at the right of your screen, you can get a map that pinpoints lots of places in Astoria.
Oregon Film Museum—not wheelchair accessible, across from Flavel House on Duane St.
                A peek inside:  video at http://astoriadowntown.com/
Riverfront Trolley—not running through the winter 2020; see http://www.old300.org/
Museum of Whimsy—was closed for the season, https://www.museumofwhimsy.com/
Uppertown Firefighters Museum—was closed for the season; contact CCHS for hours http://www.cumtux.org/default.asp?pageid=9&deptid=1
Astoria Victory Monument (WWI Doughboy), intersection W Marine Dr & Columbia Ave,   https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1794/23251/Yeley_SAHMDR_2018.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y 
 
More info on Astoria, and events  (check for updates)  https://www.travelastoria.com/trip-ideas/
Also, Scandinavian Midsummer Festival June 12-21, 2020  www.astoriascanfest.com
Columbia River Eco tours   https://www.columbiariverecotours.com/
Astoria Underground Tour https://www.oldastoria.com/
Astoria 2nd Saturday Artwalk,   http://astoriadowntown.com/  scroll to bottom home page for map
Astoria Sunday Market May-Oct   https://www.astoriasundaymarket.com/about
Fish off downtown piers, if you have an OR fishing license and property owner’s permission; parks OK
                I am researching this further, and will include on my “Goin’, Goin’, Gone Fishin’” post later

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​Around Astoria, and the Riverwalk
Astoria is well-hilled, but it does have some flats. The town also has a lot of one-way and quirky streets.  One is difficult for the disabled, the other is difficult for a visitor trying to find and get to things.  In general, the streets roughly parallel to the river are in alphabetical order:  Astor, Bond, Commercial, Duane, Exchange, etc.  But then there’s Marine Drive, which is Hwy 30 running roughly the route of the river through town.
 
If you enjoy architecture, especially Victorian and Craftsman, it’s interesting to drive the hilly streets of residential Astoria.  Beside the historic houses, there are plenty of churches to stir your admiration.  
 
Astoria’s Riverwalk is a nice wide, paved and flat path along the river--popular for 2 and 4-legged walkers, and people on non-motorized wheels (a motorized wheelchair would be ok).  On one side is the river with its human interest and natural beauty.  On the other side is town, some new and some old—including recent Neo-Victorian housing, places to shop, eat, and just enjoy the exercise or the unhurried pace. Along the way are posts of distance and informative signs.  I rolled from 39th St to 15th St and back, taking photos along the way, so I was out for perhaps an hour and a half.  Google says it’s 1.5 miles and takes 28 minutes each way. Some evidence of temporarily permanent  or permanently temporary campers in the vegetation along the river (despite signs warning against overnight camping) is less than picturesque.
 
Now that I have scoped things out, and even though they have complimentary maps, and Google can navigate you pretty well from one place to another, here’s a suggestion for rolling/strolling to at least some of the scenic sites in the city:

1. From the Heritage Museum (at 16th & Exchange) roll/stroll west on Exchange St. one block to Fort Astoria. 
2. After a look around, continue west on Exchange St. to 14th Street, then go north on 14th to Duane St.  Go west on Duane St. to the Museum of Whimsy (check ahead for when it’s open) at the corner of 12th St. and Duane (3.5 blocks)
3. Continue west on Duane St one block to the Garden of Surging Waves (11th & Duane St.)
4. Flavel House Museum and Oregon film Museum are at 8th & Duane (3 blocks west of the Garden of Surging Waves).  Although they are not wheelchair accessible, the exterior of Flavel is an interesting sight.
5. Other nearby architecture of interest:  one block north of Flavel House on 8th St. is Commercial St, where you will see the Clatsop Courthouse and the US Post Office.
6. Half a block west of the Post Office on Commercial St is a children’s park/playground.    Info about parks at   https://www.astoriaparks.com/Parks/Parks_List.aspx
7. Three and a half​ blocks north of Commercial St., on 6th St., is the 6th St viewing platform on the Columbia River.  It’s a tower with stairs, but there is a ramp onto the fishing dock.  8/22/20  I was able to check out accessible fishing at the 6th St. pier, and then we walked a little east along the Riverwalk.  It was scary in a manual wheelchair.  The spaces between the timbers you are rolling on are wide.
8. From the 6th St pier, by summer 2020, you should be able to walk & roll east along the Riverwalk to 11th St, pier 11, for fishing off the dock. (5 blocks)  Update:  8/22/20 You can fish any dock with the permission of the owner and in accordance with state fishing laws. 
9. You can then continue along the Riverwalk (5 blocks) to 16th St and go south 3 blocks to return (uphill) to the Heritage Museum.  Alternatively, you could continue east on the Riverwalk another block and a half from 16th St to the Columbia River Maritime Museum, before heading back to the Heritage Museum.

All together this little stroll is nearly 30 blocks (I wheeled a total of 48 blocks on the flat Riverwalk, which according to Google should only take an hour).  If that’s a bit much, you could of course break it up, or only do part of it.  You might choose to start and end at a different place with better parking.  But I have tried to give the distances between sites so that one might be able to avoid the traffic and parking problems of driving a vehicle in the city when it’s possible to walk.
 
Fort Clatsop
Google guided us “over the river and through the woods” from the back side of Astoria to Fort Clatsop. The museum at Fort Clatsop (Lewis and Clark National Historical Park) is small but fills in some great details about Lewis & Clark and the Corps of Discovery.  Since it was MLK Jr. Day (a free day) when we went, I thought it apropos to learn something about York, the one black member of the team.  We had to leave, and I was left hungering to spend more time there.  (Update from visit 8/22/20--more photos, including restrooms at Fort Clatsop, and Netul Landing 1 mi walk/1.5 mi drive from Fort Clatsop:  kayak launch, covered picnic, vault toilets)  More at
​https://www.travelpacificnw.com/accessible-travel-blog/astoria-fort-stevens-fort-clatsop
 
As you drive from Fort Clatsop to Fort Stevens State Park/Coffenbury Lake, you will pass a pretty fair shopping area, with Walmart Supercenter, Costco, and many shops and restaurants.  It’s at the intersection of  Hwy 101 and SE Ensign Lane.
 
Coffenbury Lake
Coffenbury Lake does have an accessible fishing pier or two.  Swimming and paddling kayaks and canoes allowed.  The complimentary life jacket station can’t be counted on to have jackets in good condition, the ranger told me. The restroom near the piers is not very accessible.  We saw a covered group picnic area is right there.  The restroom in the picnic area on the east (the ranger called it the south) side of the lake has an “accessible” stall—not very wheelchair friendly.  The east side open picnic area is very hilly—you’ll need a power chair or a pusher.  Amenities include drinking water, tables, and grills. The east picnic area might be more amenable for kids to swim.  Covered group picnic area C, on the east side, at least, has a sink, plenty of seating and fire & picnic facilities. 
https://visittheoregoncoast.com/2016/09/coffenbury-lake/
 
As you leave Coffenbury Lake or Fort Stevens State Park Campground, on Peter Iredale Road, where it Ts with NW Ridge Rd, there’s a KOA campground, and a handy little laundromat.
 
Fort Stevens State Park
Since I now had a helper, I was intent on getting to see the museum at Fort Stevens State Park.  But it wasn’t open on MLK Jr. Day. ☹  I was able to get out and read some interesting history, but didn’t have time to see if I could “hike” to the reconstructed Clatsop Longhouse.  We were worn out and ready to return home.  “Enjoy year-round military displays at the military museum and information center. Visit the only Civil War era earthen fort on the west coast, or explore the many turn-of-the-century, concrete artillery gun batteries. Underground tours are available during the summer of a gun battery that served as a World War II command center. For tour information, call the Friends of Old Fort Stevens at 503-861-2000.”  A brochure from Astoria, printed fall 2017, lists a Civil War re-enactment in September.
 
Astoria Hotel Accommodations
This trip we tried out two Astoria Hotels:
 
Best Western Astoria Bayfront Hotel--555 Hamburg Ave, Astoria, OR, 97103
I was forewarned that this hotel was a little challenging to find, and even with Google guiding us, we missed the street, because it was dark, the sign was modestly unobtrusive, and it looks like you are about to stay in a public storage unit.  Once we got past that, we found the staff at the front desk were great.
 
It seems like a lot of hotels give the ADA rooms only one king bed.  Well, I can share a room with my care giver—we can adjust our time and space for privacy—but we can’t share a bed.  So, I dared to get a two queen room that was not ADA.  I was please with the roominess of the room, it was pleasant enough, and with frig (no freezer)/bar size sink/MW/plenty storage.  It seemed like a good place to stay a few days.  I had asked for a room with a view, and half the view from our room was ok, the other half looked onto an ugly industrial area.  The view windows on the front side had a much more pleasant outlook.
 
The bathroom door accommodated my wheelchair, and I prefer a tub to a roll-in shower anyway.  I felt I could manage the toilet, but as it turned out, it was close enough to the doorway that transferring was difficult.  In the end, I was glad I only had to make it work one night. Tub height 12.5”, bath door 29” at narrowest, bed height 27”.
 
My experience with Best Western complimentary breakfast buffet has always been good.  The laundry was useful:  $2 to wash, $1 to dry, and we were lucky it’s open 24/7, because we left expensive swimwear in the dryer and didn’t remember until 1am.  They have a spa, and a sauna with temp control. The pool has a portable handicapped lift, but the battery was dead, so you may want to call ahead a day or two about that.  The pool also had steps with a railing, and I was happy to be able to use that to lower myself into the pool, gently bum-ping down a step at a time.
 
Hampton Inn & Suites--right off Hwy 30, at 39th St
Although when I was choosing hotels I considered this one too far from center of town, in the end, I thought it occupied a most excellent position.  It’s on Hwy 30, and if you miss the first turn there’s a second entrance.  It is right on the river and the Astoria Riverwalk.  It’s an easy walk to Pier 39 (Museum and eats), Safeway easy drive or Riverwalk access on 33rd.  The view from our room and the breakfast room were marvelous!  The complimentary breakfast buffet was even better than Best Western, so I was impressed.  Staff great.
 
In order to get two queens, I got a studio.  It was wonderfully roomy, even had a large desk and a sleeper sofa, so it would work well for a family.  The huge full-length mirror is actually the closet door. The bathroom was ADA, and though I usually don’t like a tall toilet, this one didn’t have such a high water mark, so not so bad.  Again, it had a tub, but lots of handle bars. You do need to have someone get the towels down where you can reach them, and the same for the handheld shower, if you want to use that.  Tub height 14.5”, toilet height 18”, bed height 25”.  The TV can swivel either toward the couch or the beds.  Of course it had frig, bar size sink, and MW.
 
Both the pool and the spa had permanently installed handicapped lifts, as well as steps with a railing that were easy for me to use (as long as I have a helper to hold my chair from slipping).  Both the pool and the spa are saltwater, rather than chlorine. 
 
There are facilities for business and group meetings, and the “Suite Shop” offers vending machine foods and MW type meals and soups if you need to supplement.  The laundry is open 6am to midnight, I think.  Thankfully we didn’t forget anything this time.  There was only one washer, one dryer, $1.50 per load, each.

Astoria Rivershore Motel--59 W Marine Dr.
Right along the main road through Astoria, close to the Astoria-Megler Bridge (Hwy 101 across the Columbia River), and the Astoria Victory Monument (1926 celebrating WWI), this older motel was nothing like their website led us to believe, nor even when my friend called ahead and spoke extensively about our needs.  When we came to check in, the rooms were not at all ADA.  One had furniture blocking the bathroom door, and both bathroom doors were too narrow for any ordinary wheelchair.  Although the motel is non-smoking (as per OR law), it's obvious that years of smokers have left their mark on the rooms.  We didn't stay long enough to think about taking photos.  The receptionist did spend some time calling around to find other options for us.  Pretty well none of the lowest cost motels have ADA rooms, apparently.  Not too surprising, as they are generally the older ones.  They did at least refund the cost of the rooms, but I felt that for the time, stress, misinformation, and trouble that it caused (most everything was full by then), they should have arranged for and paid for suitable rooms.   https://www.astoriarivershoremotel.com/guestrooms

Astoria Crest Motel--5366 Leif Erickson Dr
With an astounding view and amenities to take full advantage, this is a gem.  It has 2 stories, but even the view out my ground floor sliding door onto the private little plaza and the Columbia River was spectacular!  The plaza had a central fountain, bistro tables, and a Lewis & Clark interpretive sign.  You could enjoy the fresh air, watch the big ships headed out to sea, or soak your bones in the outdoor spa.
 
Don't let the address throw you.  The motel is right on Hwy 30 as you are coming into Astoria from the east.  The entry is up a hill, but the parking is flat.
 
The motel has a Conference Room often in use by a local quilting group, an enticing lobby and breakfast room with large viewing windows and a fireplace.  During COVID concerns the breakfast room was closed, so they gave each guest a menu to order for the next morn, delivered to the guest room.  Good offering of breakfast choices.
 
My accessible room had a nice desk area, table and 2 comfy chairs easy to move around on their wheels, the usual amenities including a microwave and good-sized mini fridge with functional freezer.  A small doorless closet had a low shelf but high hanger bar.  A king bed still left room to maneuver on either side (in a chair minus footrests).  It was 22-23” high.  Since I had the bed to myself, I could shift away from the dippy side to the more firmly supportive side.  There was no AC, but a high, screened, private, north facing window open through the night kept me comfortable, and I didn’t need the box fan that was in the room.
 
The bathroom was maneuverable, the tub near the toilet.  Tub side was 13.5” (inside depth 13”), width 23”, and about 4’ long with a nice shape.  I got instant hot water. Towels were within reach, but the handheld shower had to be put down for me.  The toilet was about 15” high, with a bar behind it that was useless.  The sink counter was 33.5” high, and close enough to be of some help for the lack of a useful bar.  Access to the toilet was from the left, which is not as convenient for righthanded folk.  Reflecting on oneself from a chair was an easy gaze into the bathroom mirror.
 
My friends were staying in a west facing room, and it was hot at first.  Eventually it cooled with everything open.  It was a family suite, with 2 twins and I think a full bed, in different rooms but without doors between. Their frig was smaller than mine.  The toilet was sized for tykes, a problem for my friend.  Eventually the guy in the office was able to find a raised seat that was sufficient.  ​https://astoriacrestmotel.com/