The Astoria Column is one of the outstanding tourist attractions in the town. It was built to commemorate Lewis and Clark's epic journey that ended here on the western-most edge of Oregon. The mural depicting scenes from that time winds around the column.
After climbing the 164 steps to the top of the column, you can see out for about 100 miles on a clear day. As you can see, the day we climbed up it was overcast, but we could still see for quite an amazing distance!
We hiked up this trail 1 1/2 miles to the column, then climbed the 164 circular steps to the top, then had to hike back 1 1/2 miles to the car through this lush, dense forrested area. Lots of beauty all around us! What a great way to spend a day turning 53! After all that climbing and hiking I felt just fine about having dessert with candles in it for dinner!