If you close your eyes, you can almost hear Lewis and Clark bustling around Ft. Clatsop. Standing next to the many batteries, you can feel the presence of countless soldiers ready to defend the entrance to the Columbia River at Ft. Stevens.
From Sunday Jun 22 through Wednesday Jun 25, I had the opportunity to explore the Ft. Stevens State Park and surrounding area. Here are some pictures from the adventure.
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The trip began Sunday afternoon after returning from a Boy Scout outing in Florence, OR. I quickly cleaned up and packed my clothes and then we were off for the Northern Oregon coast. The weather was great and provided us with excellent views of the ocean on the drive up US Hwy 101.
The main focus of our trip was to explore Ft. Stevens. According to Wikipedia,
Fort Stevens guarded the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon. Named for slain Civil War general Isaac Stevens, it was an active military reservation from 1863–1947. On the night of June 21, 1942, a Japanese submarine fired 17 shells at it, making Stevens the only military installation in the continental United States to receive hostile fire during World War II, though it caused no damage. Like many others in the Pacific Northwest, the fort was built to defend the mouth of the Columbia from potential British attack during ongoing regional tensions related to the San Juan Islands Dispute of 1859-70, and remained relevant during the Alaska Boundary Dispute when British-American tensions were high and once again on the brink of war.
Built near the end of the American Civil War, Fort Stevens and its gun batteries protected the river until shortly after World War II. It was the primary military installation in the Three Fort Harbor Defense System at the mouth of the Columbia. The other two forts in the system were Fort Canby and Fort Columbia (Washington).
Fort Stevens is preserved within Fort Stevens State Park, part of Lewis and Clark National and State Historical Parks.
Source
While we spent most of our time biking around the numerous trails in Ft. Stevens State Park, we also drove up to nearby Astoria, OR to capture a few images of the Astoria-Megler Bridge which spans the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington. It is the longest continuous truss bridge in North America and is just over 4 miles in length.
After four days and over 300 pictures later, it was time to head back home. I had a blast and can’t wait until I get a chance to head back into that area again.
