Southwestern Washington: Places to Explore

Ashford sits astride an ancient trans-Cascades trail used by the Yakama Indians to trade with the people of western Washington. The town began as a logging railway terminal; today the village provides access... Read more

Centralia (sen-trail-ya) was founded by George Washington, a freed slave from Virginia, who faced serious discrimination in several states and territories before settling here in 1852. The town has a well-maintained... Read more

The pleasant Columbia River fishing village of Chinook (shi-nook) takes its name from the tribe that once controlled the river from its mouth to Celilo Falls. The same group encountered Lewis and Clark... Read more

The seat of Klickitat County and a commercial center for ranchers and farmers, Goldendale was settled in 1872 and is a down-to-earth town with many old clapboard houses. Goldendale Observatory State Park... Read more

Ilwaco (ill-wah-co) has been a fishing port for thousands of years, first as a Native American village and later as an American settlement. A 3-mi scenic loop winds past Ft. Canby State Park to North Head... Read more

Long Beach bears a striking resemblance to Brooklyn's Coney Island in the 1950s. Along its main drag, which stretches southwest from 10th Street to Bolstadt Street, you'll find everything from cotton candy... Read more

Longview, which was founded on the site of an 1805 Lewis and Clark encampment, is the largest planned community in the United States after Washington, D.C., but it's so well put together that it looks... Read more

Mossyrock is a charming small town nestled between two large lakes—Riffe and Mayfield—that were created by dams in the 1960s. The area is a haven for camping, fishing, and boating; two lakefront... Read more

On March 8, 2005, Mt. St. Helens came to life again, sending a 36,000-foot plume of steam and ash into the air. Since then, the mountain has been in a state of dome-building activity. Severe flooding in... Read more

Ocean Park is the commercial center of the peninsula's quieter north end. It was founded as a camp for the Methodist Episcopal Church of Portland in 1883. Although the law that prohibited the establishment... Read more

Oysterville is a 19th-century waterfront village, with houses set in gardens or surrounded by greenswards. Signs posted on the fence of each building tell when it was built and who lived in it. You can... Read more

Packwood is a pretty mountain village on U.S. 12, below White Pass. It's a great base for exploring wilderness areas, since it's between Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens.... Read more

Seaview, an unincorporated town, has 750 year-round residents and several homes that date from the 1800s. The Shelburne Inn, built in 1896, is on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1892 U.S... Read more

The word "funky" is often used to describe odd little towns and villages, but it fits the Willapa River town of South Bend perfectly. The community has an eclectic riverfront, with restaurants and other... Read more

The Skamania County seat, Stevenson is a hillside village overlooking the Columbia River Gorge.... An interpretive center in town has interesting displays of Native American artifacts, as well a replica of... Read more

This sprawling river town started as a Hudson's Bay Company fort and trading depot in 1824, and soon became the frontier metropolis of the Pacific Northwest. The U.S. Army built a fort on the bluff above... Read more