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“Heeeyy, you guys!” Astoria, Oregon, offers a picturesque waterfront small town loved by locals, so beautiful it’s a longtime favorite of the film community too. While most well-known for cult-classic “The Goonies,” you’ll also find locations from “Free Willy 2,” “Kindergarten Cop” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III” within a space of a few miles.
The area isn’t limited to movie nostalgia, though, as this unique town boasts panoramic views, water everywhere and some impressive engineering, just a few hours’ drive from Seattle. Better still: The majority of attractions are highly accessible, affordable and family-friendly.
Start your adventure in Astoria at an affordable spot
With admission costing around $10 per person (or less!), these attractions are worth adding to your itinerary.
Oregon Film Museum
The Oregon Film Museum is tiny but affordable, built into an old-fashioned and often-photographed old jail built in 1914. The museum highlights the many movies that feature the area, from “Coraline” to “The Shining” to “Grimm.” There is a green-screen self-filming station, the classic jail with cells and beds, and a “Goonies” exhibit featuring the different connections to Corey Feldman, à la “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.”
We filmed our video on a super-packed summer day, so we didn’t get to complete the entire green-screen experience but we still got a fun video to send home and share later. It’s probably for the best as we veered a little off script anyway. My tween had a blast in the old jail cells waiting to hide and jump-scare his teen cousins.
Tickets cost $6 for adults and $2 for kids, even if the 15-year-old in your group doesn’t consider themself a kid anymore. FYI: There are gold-wrapped chocolate coins in the gift shop for those who can’t wait to find their coastal treasures.
Add to your movie-themed adventure with a visit to The Goonies House in Astoria. Free to visit, this popular movie filming location can help expand your museum experience. Follow the signs to park and be mindful of the neighbors. Truffle shuffles advised. For other popular filming locations, check out the Clatsop County Historical Society’s Map of Featured Scenes.
Astoria Column
You could drive through Astoria and never notice this giant column on top of a hill, but the view is too fantastic to miss. Visit the column for a $10 parking fee per vehicle per year, and save a few dollars to purchase a souvenir or your choice of wooden glider airplanes. You can picnic at the column base and enjoy the hilltop views, or climb the 125-foot-high column with 164 steps and launch your wooden airplanes over the railing. There are bathrooms on-site.
Half our party decided to climb to the top while the others stayed down below and tried to catch the wooden gliders. The gift shop also had our favorite trinket of our trip: a small painted metal heart with a jingly bell inside. We all enjoyed a stunning view.
Pair your visit with a trip to the Heritage Museum just down the hill. As part of the Astoria Column’s 100-year celebration, your parking pass offers free admission to the museum.
Fort Stevens State Park
Visiting the state park is free, but Washington visitors take note: There is a required $12 parking permit for out-of-state visitors ($10 for Oregon residents). This state park is extensive enough that you may want a whole day or two to explore. In addition to traditional oceanfront park features, the standouts at Fort Stevens include the wreck of the Peter Iredale and the concrete artillery gun batteries. These names may cause a little alarm, but rest assured, the area is serene and family-friendly. The sand is the soft dune-style sand (as opposed to our more rocky coastal beaches) and we saw sand sledders at the top of the hills.
The Peter Iredale juts from the sand like a pointed iron skeleton with many tiny climbing pirates crawling through its ribs. Despite our best efforts, we didn’t find many cool beach rocks, though we saw a few shells and lots of tiny moon jellies.
The gun batteries refer to a series of cement housings that once held World War II defenses. In modern times, this area provides the perfect backdrop for your maze and video game enthusiasts. My kid said it looked like the Backrooms. There is also a free visitor center on-site, featuring additional info about the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Insider tip: Purchase your parking pass before you park. While there are signs in the lot, service can be difficult and passes must be purchased online. We had to wander around for quite a while before our digital pass processed.
Astoria Riverfront Trolley
Trolley rides are fun for all ages and a great way to get between the different food spots and many attractions in downtown Astoria. For $2, you can hop on and off all day. With a group of eight, we didn’t take the trolley this time, but had fun waving to the passengers from our seat at Astoria Brewing.
Keep the fun going with these free things to do
From outdoor attractions to indoor exhibits, these iconic stops are free to visit.
Astoria–Megler Bridge
Sometimes called the Columbia River Bridge, or “that giant bridge near the old movie place Mom likes,” the Astoria-Megler Bridge is a feat of engineering for those with kids who love building — and even those who don’t will be impressed by this massive structure. The bridge is enormous, spanning 4.1 miles across a two-lane highway, and soars high in the air with a clearance of 196 feet so that large ships can pass below. You can watch cars cross between Washington and Oregon from multiple vantage spots, or take a trip across the longest continuous truss bridge in North America. Currently, there are no tolls.
Youngs River Falls
Free to walk and just a quarter-mile from car to water, Youngs River Falls is one of the easier-to-access waterfalls in Oregon with ample walk-in swimming space at the base. The falls themselves are 54 feet high, and most of your walk will be on a well-traveled path downhill to the beachy area. There aren’t any railings, but the tree roots have grown into a convenient step-like pattern, and the trek passed the “scared-of-all-heights” kid test. The base area simply feels like a space you want to hang out in, with rocky shores to sit and a shallow walk-in water entry.
The first thing my kid noted about the waterfall itself was how far the spray mists across the basin. Expect to get at least a little wet even if you stay on shore. This waterfall has appeared in films including “Free Willy 2” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III,” and it makes a great photo op for all ages. Rather than swim this trip, my kid spent time smashing rocks open to look for fossils. While it’s not impossible, this area is not known for fossils, but the rocks look very interesting.
Know if you go: This path is not ADA-accessible and cell service is spotty. There is free parking, which can fill up on busier summer days.
Pier 39 Hanthorn Cannery Museum
Open seven days a week and with free admission, the Hanthorn Cannery Museum is located at the end of the pier. Fantastic for littles, the museum allows self-guided tours where you can touch most of the fish boats, nets and machinery, and learn how your favorite Bumble Bee Seafood tuna fish sandwiches started. While the museum is free, there are several paid stores in the area. Parking is limited, so expect to park farther away and walk along the wooden pier.
This is one attraction that we missed with the full intention of visiting. We took a wrong turn toward that pier and ended up at the downtown piers instead. In a 100-degree heat wave, any backtracking was vetoed by our party.
Grab a bite to eat at these Astoria restaurants
Fuel the whole family at these budget-friendly spots.
Bowpicker
If a food truck were a boat, it would be the Bowpicker. This land boat specializes in fish and chips and often has a line. It’s a frequent sell-out favorite with just the right amount of nautical novelty. Like most food trucks, the location may be closed due to extreme heat or weather, which unfortunately was the case during our visit.
Custard King
Move over, ice cream queens, this king-worthy DQ-style restaurant is easily accessible on Commercial Street. Standout items include pastrami burgers and a blackberry lemon curd shake. Food and ice cream are served via walk-up, with picnic bench seating outside. If sticky fingers are a concern, beware there is no public restroom.
Astoria Brewing Company
Located right off the trolley line, this casual restaurant is family-friendly for both kids and pups on the patio. Try the house-made root beer in a frosty mug or pair your meal with the house hot sauces. We ate the fish and chips (after missing out at Bowpicker) and loved it. Astoria Brewing was voted the “Best Chicken Sandwich of our Entire Trip” by the visiting teenager, who is now rating all Midwestern chicken sandwiches by this scale.
Added bonus: There are two different gift store areas at this restaurant, one restaurant-themed and the other a Goonies photo op with movie-themed souvenirs.
Bluebell Bakeshop
Go early to catch the fresh-baked goods at this waterfront bakery. The menu features items such as baked brie focaccia and hazelnut s’mores cookies. It’s located just across the trolley track from Astoria Brewing. Like most good bakeries, this space closes early, so visit first if you want your treats!
Frite Scoop
Also on the trolley line, this spot offers ample seating and specializes in kid-favorite fries and ice cream. We walked down for ice cream after our brewery feast, and the open-air patio was relatively cool despite the heat, with ample seating available. The store adds a French flair to the frites (fancy fries) and custard-style ice cream, but offers dairy-free sorbet as well.
Save or splurge on lodging in Astoria
Make a weekend of it by staying at any of these family-favorite accommodations.
Fort Stevens State Park Campground
If you loved Fort Stevens State Park and don’t want to leave, consider camping on-site. Oregon state parks offer basic tent spaces beginning at $25 per night for non-residents, basic cabins at $41, and basic yurts at $61. Deluxe amenities and pets increase the cost. The park features limited sites for tents, cabins and yurts, and plentiful RV spaces with hookups. If you love nature, take note: We also saw a herd of elk while touring the park nearby.
Astoria / Warrenton / Seaside KOA Resort
Located directly across the street from Fort Stevens State Park, this KOA offers an expanded selection plus some added KOA-style amenities, including bike rentals. Summer weekends book up well in advance, but we found a cabin (no plumbing) for a family of 4 and the pup for $115 on a weekday.
Astoria Riverwalk Inn
Another spot with water views, the Riverwalk Inn offers family rooms and pet rooms. Check out their themed marina-view rooms that include a refrigerator, microwave, and handy USB ports. Two queen beds start around $229 per night in summer.
Cannery Pier Hotel & Spa
If you want to be directly on the water and enjoy a little pampering, this is the spot. It is a splurge compared to the other spots on my list, but it offers a unique experience. Besides the scenic views where kids can watch the boats and bridge, this hotel boasts rooms with a clawfoot or jetted tub if all that other adventuring has worn you out. You’ll be a quick hop from all the trolley and downtown activities too. Note for planning that rooms start in the $400 range for peak season.
