Astoria Excursions

[sheallpet]

We're booked on the HAL Zaandam on Sept 26. I see that they have just added a shore excursion for 7 1/2 hours to Mt. St. Helens. I wasn't too keen on what they had to offer previously, but this sounds good to me - anyone have comments/suggestions?

[Angelcreek]

Im not sure what your tour involves, but visiting Mt. St. Helens is amazing! They have built visitors' centers all along the route up to the mountain that have amazing views of the mud and debris flows and great exhibits with actual pieces and photos of the devastation that occurred. The culmination of the drive is a visitors center up on a ridge that is directly across from the mountain and has direct views right in to the crater....you are so close you feel like you can touch it! Having lived most of my life in the Pacific Northwest, this is a big part of our history and I remember that day like it was yesterday, even though I was only 10 at the time. Every time I go there, I get the strangest, eeriest feeling.....and every time we go I enjoy it just as much as the first.;) If you decide not to do that, Astoria has some great places to visit as well, even if you do it on your own. Fort Stevens State Park has great hiking and biking trails (and they rent bikes there too) and the beaches there have the hull of a shipwreck from long ago which is neat to see. They also have tours of the old military facilities there and a museum about what took place there during WWII. We have taken the tour and it was extremely interesting or you can explore some of them on your own. The Astoria Column is also great to see, but there are alot of narrow stairs to climb to get to the top so be aware of that. The views from up there are second to none. Have a great cruise!:D

[Cruise Gypsy]

I haven't done the tour - but did experience the eruption in 1980.

 

I think it would be worth the trip and please give us a review when you get back. Also, St. Helens is continues a little activity every few years (just a little smoke) which you might see.:)

 

Also, I think Astoria is a neat little town which you would get to tour as well on your way to the mountain.

[sheallpet]

Thank you both so much for your advice. Now I wish we had more time there!

[welldone60]

Just a bit of warning! Mt St Helens is covered in the clouds quite often. We were in Longview Wash, just this last week. We tried several times to see the Mt. but she was well hidden. There are 5 tourist stops on the way up. 3 are govt. and two are private firms. They all are very interesting stops with lots of info. Weyerhouser has one of the stops and has alot of info on what happend to the logging industry.

Astoria is a very nice older town with lots of Museums, shops, etc. You could easly spend a day there just siteseeing.

[doublenickelgal]

Our family did a road trip up the coast of Oregon and Washington in 2002. Beautiful country! Mount Saint Helens was a highlight of the trip. The visitor's center at Johnston's Ridge is very well done. Here is a link to the USGS web-cam:

http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/volcanocams/msh/

 

On the other hand, Astoria was so lovely. We especially enjoyed the Columbia River Maritime Museum and the Astoria Column. It's such a beautiful area and has been in many films. Our hotel was within view of the school where "Kindergarten Cop" was filmed. "The Goonies" was filmed in the area and especially featured Cannon Beach. The Columbia River, Bonneville Dam and Multunomah Falls were also highlights.

 

We always have tough decisions when booking shore excursions. Good luck!

[Lynda90]

For those of us living in the pacific northwest, we will probably never forget the Mt. St. Helens eruption. We didn't have sun for an entire year due to all the ash. It was all over the streets and when visitors came, they were buying up vials filled with the ash. We wore medical masks for the first few days after the eruption and didn't know whether or not there would be any long time effects from it. Quite a time! I live about 90 miles from Astoria, Oregon and it is a very quaint little town. As a matter of fact, I will be spending a few days on the Oregon coast starting tomorrow. Have a wonderful cruise.:p :D

[sheallpet]

That had to be a scarry time and I can imagine something you'll never forget. We've decided to do the coast tour (Cannon Beach) and walk around Astoria, itself. I hate to have a couple of hour drive up and back and find out that we're fogged in. We would love to get back to the area on our own and see more of rural Washington and Oregon and hopefully have more input into the planning (timewise) of the trip to Mt. St. Helens

[doublenickelgal]

You can't go wrong with a trip through rural Washington and Oregon. As a resident of the Sacramento Valley, I found the lush green hillsides of both states to be breathtaking. The Oregon coast is dotted with beautiful lighthouses and historical bridges and fishing communities. We saw a covered bridge and beautiful farms in Southern, WA. Longview, WA on the 4th of July, looked almost like a Norman Rockwell painting. I would love to go back someday.

[Lynda90]

That had to be a scarry time and I can imagine something you'll never forget. We've decided to do the coast tour (Cannon Beach) and walk around Astoria, itself. I hate to have a couple of hour drive up and back and find out that we're fogged in. We would love to get back to the area on our own and see more of rural Washington and Oregon and hopefully have more input into the planning (timewise) of the trip to Mt. St. Helens

You will love Cannon Beach. A great place to walk around with lots of galleries and local restaurants. One of my favorite places. I have a little condo in Gearhart which is between Seaside and Astoria. I call it my little corner of the world.:p