Lewis and Clark Discovery Trail

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Signature Image. Photo by Long Beach Peninsula Visitors Bureau

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Signature Image LBPVB -Long Beach Peninsula Boardwalk

Signature Image LBPVB- Historic North Head Lighthouse

Photo of Beard's Hollow by Damian Mulinix

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Trailhead signage

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This paved, 8.5-mile trail is ideal for families with its benches, restrooms, water, ocean views, and enough turns and dips to make it fun and accessible for all ages. The Discovery Trail features hiking and biking coastal beauty through many easy access points and is ADA-accessible for most of its length. The trail is named after the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery. Their journey ended on the Long Beach Peninsula, and there are several bronze sculptures along the path that commemorate the expedition. The Long Beach Peninsula recreation area offers lodging, camping, restaurants, and many family activities and excursions.

Lewis & Clark Discovery Trail The Lewis & Clark Discovery Trail runs for 8.5 miles from Ilwaco, through Cape Disappointment State Park to North Long Beach. It is a mostly paved, multi-use trail dedicated to pedestrian and bicycle use. Its southern trailhead begins at the Port of Ilwaco. The Port waterfront area offers free parking, public restrooms, and a covered picnic area. The trail follows an easement through private property and then enters Cape Disappointment State Park There is parking and interpretive signage and a map at the scenic overlook. west of North Head Lighthouse, the trail then drops down to Beards Hollow, with additional parking and a bathroom. The trail goes down to the beach and runs north along the shore through the beach dunes. There are several access points, parking areas, and public restrooms along the trail through Seaview and Long Beach. Management is shared between State Parks and the cities of Ilwaco and Long Beach. One section in Cape Disappointment State Park between the Overlook and Beard Hollow is very steep and therefore has not been paved. Most of the trail is ADA-accessible. Visitors can learn about the expedition of the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery at the park's Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. Alternately, take the North fork along the beach, through Seaview and Long Beach, at one point paralleling the city's extensive wooden boardwalk from Bolstad Ave. to Sid Snyder Drive, and terminating at a bronze sculpture: Clark's Tree, a sculpture in memory of Clark's northernmost trek on the beach.

National Significance Dedicated in 2004, the Lewis and Clark National and State Historical Parks, near the mouth of the Columbia River, commemorate the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The parks include areas of historic significance on the Long Beach Peninsula, adjacent to the Lewis and Clark Discovery Trail. The trail is located on SW Washington's 28-mile Long Beach Peninsula recreation destination. Bound by the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Columbia River to the south, and Willapa Bay to the east, the Lewis and Clark Discovery Trail crosses several distinct ecosystems and is adjacent to Cape Disappointment State Park, the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge, and the longest continuous truss bridge in North America; the breathtaking Astoria Megler Bridge spanning the 4.1-mile mouth of the Columbia River between Washington and Oregon.

The Lewis and Clark Discovery Trail is one of the most scenic in the Pacific Northwest with outstanding views of the ocean, grassy dunes, transitional wetlands, and forest groves. The trail also offers a collection of impressive public art and artifacts from the Lewis and Clark Expedition that add to the trail's natural beauty. Whale-watching and bird-watching are two very popular pastimes on the Peninsula. Hikers and bikers may see deer, bald eagles, shorebirds, and other wildlife on the trail. 45,000 acres of Willapa Bay and Long Beach Peninsula have been designated as a Site of International Importance by the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WSHRN). The Long Beach Peninsula provides beach and dune habitats and supports up to 50,000 shorebirds that forage or roost on the peninsula's outer beach. The Pacific County Tourism Bureau, located at the Seaview Trailhead (mile 3.6), provides visitor information on migratory patterns and viewing locations.

Cape Disappointment State Park Cape Disappointment State Park (formerly Fort Canby State Park) is a 1,882-acre park, on the Columbia River and Pacific Ocean. It is owned and managed by Washington State Parks & Recreation. It is part of a collection of sites that make up the Lewis and Clark National and State Historical Parks. The park offers four miles of ocean beach, three miles of Columbia River frontage, two lighthouses, the Lewis and Clark interpretive center, a museum, 6.5 miles of hiking and bicycling trails, and camping. A portion of the Discovery Trail runs through the park. State park parking is plentiful with disabled parking at most sites.

The Lewis and Clark Discovery Trail represents a successful collaboration between Washington State Parks, Pacific County, the Cities of Ilwaco and Long Beach, and the community. As the trail is extended, it will create a unique link between the ocean shore and the Wlillapa Bay Wildlife Refuge.

Allowed Uses:

Other Activities

• Heritage and history
• Wildlife viewing / observation

• Certified as an NRT
  Oct 23, 2020