Find the top rated walking trails in Astoria, whether you're looking for an easy short walking trail or a long walking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a walking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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As its name implies, the Seaside Promenade is a north-south route along the Pacific Ocean in the Oregon coastal community of Seaside. The Prom, as it's affectionately known, dates back to the 1920s...
The Discovery Trail is one of the most scenic in the Pacific Northwest with outstanding views of the ocean, grassy dunes and forest groves. As it's named for Lewis and Clark’s explorative trek here...
The Kestrel Dune Trail is one of several multi-use pathways in the park that houses historic Fort Stevens, built at the mouth of the Columbia River near the end of the Civil War. The trail begins on...
The Astoria Riverwalk, also known as the Astoria River Trail, stretches along part of the Astoria & Columbia River Railroad, providing a lively, nonmotorized tour of the city's waterfront. Along the...
The Banks-Vernonia State Trail stretches through the hills (east of the Coast Mountains) between its two namesake towns. The former railroad corridor—once part of the Spokane, Portland & Seattle...
The Coweeman River Trail follows the dike on the west side of the river for 4 miles, giving access to the riverfront and Tam O'Shanter Park. The setting on the northern section is residential, and the...
The Cowlitz River Trail follows its namesake river along a dike on the east bank. The trail is asphalt and connects Kelso residents with the riverfront. The trail parallels the active BNSF line that...
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Castle Rock's popular Riverfront Trail originates at its main trailhead in Lion's Pride Park, which offers covered picnic areas. Following a dike north along the Cowlitz River from the park, the trail...
Closure Notice: A portion of the trail between Adna and Chehalis will be closed starting at the end of April 2021 for approximately one year, due to construction work to install a trail overpass above...
The Warrenton Waterfront Trail runs for nearly 5 miles through the small city of Warrenton, located near where the mighty Columbia River empties into the Pacific Ocean in northwestern Oregon. Portions...
Closure Notice: A portion of the trail between Adna and Chehalis will be closed starting at the end of April 2021 for approximately one year, due to construction work to install a trail overpass above...
Castle Rock's popular Riverfront Trail originates at its main trailhead in Lion's Pride Park, which offers covered picnic areas. Following a dike north along the Cowlitz River from the park, the trail...
As its name implies, the Seaside Promenade is a north-south route along the Pacific Ocean in the Oregon coastal community of Seaside. The Prom, as it's affectionately known, dates back to the 1920s...
The Warrenton Waterfront Trail runs for nearly 5 miles through the small city of Warrenton, located near where the mighty Columbia River empties into the Pacific Ocean in northwestern Oregon. Portions...
The Cowlitz River Trail follows its namesake river along a dike on the east bank. The trail is asphalt and connects Kelso residents with the riverfront. The trail parallels the active BNSF line that...
The Kestrel Dune Trail is one of several multi-use pathways in the park that houses historic Fort Stevens, built at the mouth of the Columbia River near the end of the Civil War. The trail begins on...
The Coweeman River Trail follows the dike on the west side of the river for 4 miles, giving access to the riverfront and Tam O'Shanter Park. The setting on the northern section is residential, and the...
The Astoria Riverwalk, also known as the Astoria River Trail, stretches along part of the Astoria & Columbia River Railroad, providing a lively, nonmotorized tour of the city's waterfront. Along the...
The Crown Zellerbach Trail, known locally as the CZ Trail, follows a former logging railroad through quiet and picturesque forests in northwest Oregon. Its east end begins at Multnomah Channel and,...
The Discovery Trail is one of the most scenic in the Pacific Northwest with outstanding views of the ocean, grassy dunes and forest groves. As it's named for Lewis and Clark’s explorative trek here...
The Banks-Vernonia State Trail stretches through the hills (east of the Coast Mountains) between its two namesake towns. The former railroad corridor—once part of the Spokane, Portland & Seattle...
The Kestrel Dune Trail is one of several multi-use pathways in the park that houses historic Fort Stevens, built at the mouth of the Columbia River near the end of the Civil War. The trail begins on...
The Discovery Trail is one of the most scenic in the Pacific Northwest with outstanding views of the ocean, grassy dunes and forest groves. As it's named for Lewis and Clark’s explorative trek here...
The Warrenton Waterfront Trail runs for nearly 5 miles through the small city of Warrenton, located near where the mighty Columbia River empties into the Pacific Ocean in northwestern Oregon. Portions...
The Coweeman River Trail follows the dike on the west side of the river for 4 miles, giving access to the riverfront and Tam O'Shanter Park. The setting on the northern section is residential, and the...
The Cowlitz River Trail follows its namesake river along a dike on the east bank. The trail is asphalt and connects Kelso residents with the riverfront. The trail parallels the active BNSF line that...
As its name implies, the Seaside Promenade is a north-south route along the Pacific Ocean in the Oregon coastal community of Seaside. The Prom, as it's affectionately known, dates back to the 1920s...
Closure Notice: A portion of the trail between Adna and Chehalis will be closed starting at the end of April 2021 for approximately one year, due to construction work to install a trail overpass above...
Castle Rock's popular Riverfront Trail originates at its main trailhead in Lion's Pride Park, which offers covered picnic areas. Following a dike north along the Cowlitz River from the park, the trail...
The Astoria Riverwalk, also known as the Astoria River Trail, stretches along part of the Astoria & Columbia River Railroad, providing a lively, nonmotorized tour of the city's waterfront. Along the...
The Crown Zellerbach Trail, known locally as the CZ Trail, follows a former logging railroad through quiet and picturesque forests in northwest Oregon. Its east end begins at Multnomah Channel and,...
The Banks-Vernonia State Trail stretches through the hills (east of the Coast Mountains) between its two namesake towns. The former railroad corridor—once part of the Spokane, Portland & Seattle...
We hiked the trail last weekend going east from Pe Ell to Frances. This is really a beautiful portion of the Willapa Hills Trail. However, there are two dangerous trestles between the towns of Pluvious and Frances that should be avoided. They are 2.3 and 2.6 miles east of Frances. Be aware that the trestle at the west end is marked as closed but there are no closed signs when you approach the trestles from the east. With a 50' drop, one of the trestles has very narrow ties with a wide gap between them. Two of the ties are loose with one of them about to give way. Be careful. We will continue our hike from Frances with a stop in Menlo next. Even with some hazards, the Willapa Hills Trail is a remarkable trail.
I use this trail to workout a lot
Enjoyed this ride as a family. Such a fun variety of terrain...grassy sand dunes to forest. Multiple beach access points. The climb to the light house is quite steep, but very worthwhile.
We started on the east end and biked all the way to the west end and back. We enjoyed the large boats coming up the river, charming old homes, picking wild blackberries, and various piers. Scenic, easy flat ride.
Due to the generous width of this multi-use trail it’s suitable for fitness walking with its smooth consistent asphalt surface.
Be alert to bicycles approaching from behind - as in most locales bicyclists typically don’t provide an audible warning before passing. Thanks to those of you who do.
While signs at major trail access points state that motorized vehicles are prohibited I regularly encounter motorized bicycles on the trail, an unpleasant trend.
I rode my gravel bike from the banks trailhead and the path is plenty doable up until around 4.6mi in. At that point it starts getting pretty rough, but it’s a nice fun path otherwise, friendly for all types (there were plenty of families & kids scattered around the first chunk of the path). Parking is quite limited & tight, so plan ahead carefully!
I rode the full 45 miles from Banks Bike shop where I rented an old, heavy mountain bike (the best they had). This trail is not for road bikes or old, heave mountain bikes. You will want a gravel bike or cyclocross at the least. Best option is a new hard tail mountain bike.
Most of the trail is smooth paved but there are several areas of rough terrain. There are big holes usually in the middle of the trail with a painted circle around them. Also tree roots have pushed the path up in several locations. The edges of the bridges where their wooden floor touches the asphalt have a considerable dip in the asphalt so you'll have to jump these sections.
About 3 miles outside of Banks there is a 2% grade for about 10 miles. Alternating between 1% and 2%. It gives you time to enjoy the scenery! Recommend walking the switchbacks if you have rim brakes. Good luck on their climbs as a few sections range from 8% - 12% There is a repair stand near the 12 mile mark. I didn't see anywhere to refill water but I also didn't stop for the restrooms, maybe it's there.
Overall a good short ride — there’s parking at both sides of the trail. Be sure to watch out for dogs & walkers who may not hear/be responsive to your calls — especially right around the aquarium, where they tend to bunch up. The aquarium itself is worth a quick visit, if you have the time, too!
This gem of a trail has been my go-to for over 15 years, including the outstanding refurb of Buxton Trestle and the 'final mile' into namesake Banks trailhead (used to just end outside of town). Many happy memories. While the pavement is still fine for mountain bikes and most hybrids, it has become increasingly unsafe for the skinny tire set, and any repairs have been mere band-aids. The unsafe ruts and root heaves have been helpfully painted as a warning, but I was still knocked off-trail into the grass last week by an unmarked bump (with both hands on the handlebars). I hope Oregon State Parks has a plan for repaving, considering they do a great job of cutting back blackberries and equipping trailheads with tools/workstands.
Pro-tip: Just north of the crest, near mile marker 11.5, stop by the small clear-cut on a calm day. Sheltered from traffic noise on highway 47, it's among the quietest spots I've experienced in the Portland metro area.
I started at the Banks trailhead and rode to Vernonia. Plenty of parking when I arrived, and not a ton of people on the trail. It was really beautiful, and pretty quiet almost the entire 22 miles there. There were a few sections that were a bit bumpy but just be aware of your surroundings and you should be fine. Almost every trailhead had a bathroom and bike station to use, and there were also great views!
We started at Bonnie Falls trailhead and headed up towards Vernonia. The signage was not very clear and we ended up an a logging road for an extra 4 miles. We should have gone under the bridge at about 14 miles. Instead we went on to the logging road. Good views of Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Adams but on the wrong road. So we backtracked after talking to some people. The trail was quite muddy in spots (mid-March). Most of the trail was packed dirt and gravel. It is paved from Scapoose to Ruley TH. Then it's trees, river, meadows. Very quiet and pleasant.
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