Adding on to the Oregon Trail

WARRENTON, Ore. – If only – when Lewis and Clark were knee-deep in mud, trying to find a protected campsite in the driving rain – all the paved trails, shelters and privies built in their honor had already been in place.

The new Fort-to-Sea Trail, at the Fort Clatsop Unit of Lewis and Clark National Historic Park, would have been handy when members of the Corps of Discovery were crawling over and under the tangles of brush and blown-down timber that surrounded their winter lodge.

And the Adirondack huts built in the past year on Tillamook Head? Well, Fort Clatsop may never have been necessary if the Corps could have moved into those.

Residents of the Pacific Northwest will benefit for years to come from the trails and amenities built in anticipation of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Celebration that runs here through Tuesday.

“The nice thing about trails is that, while interest from the celebration might fade in a few years, you’ll still have a great place to walk or hike or go for a bike ride,” said Sean Loughran, who was the state trails coordinator when the Lewis and Clark projects were being planned and constructed.

“They’ll have lasting value, regardless of the theme they were associated with.”

In honor of the Lewis and Clark jubilee, trails varying from paved to dirt to water surfaces – more than 500 miles of Lewis and Clark’s route have been dedicated as a paddling trail – have been put in place in the past year.

“Fort-to-Sea is certainly the centerpiece for Oregon and Washington, probably one of the premier trails for the entire Lewis and Clark event,” Loughran said. “The other really big one is Ecola State Park, the trail from Cannon Beach to Seaside.”

The Oregon Coast Trail, the same route that Native Americans showed Lewis and Clark 200 years ago, has crossed over Tillamook Head for hundreds of years and was renovated in the past year. In addition, a loop was built on the Cannon Beach side of the head, and the Adirondack huts were built near the summit.

The three sleeping huts are three-sided cabins with stone fire pits in the center and a fourth hut is for picnicking. A new vault toilet also was installed.

A number of other trails were built or improved up and down the Columbia River corridor, including riverfront trails in The Dalles and Astoria and two trails at Hat Rock, near Umatilla.

“The Dalles has done a fabulous job with The Dalles Riverfront Trail, and nobody realizes they have this great waterfront amenity,” said Loughran.

“It’s a fantastic multiuse trail, a lot of it built with money through the Columbia Gorge Scenic Area Act when the national scenic area was created.”

Access to the trail is from the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center at 5000 Discovery Drive, The Dalles.

“Hat Rock was a significant land feature identified by Lewis and Clark and it showed up on their maps and became a prominent feature identified by people on the Oregon Trail,” Loughran said.

“A new interpretive trail starts at the main parking lot at Hat Rock State Park and goes all the way up Hat Rock, plus there’s an old railroad grade that goes right along the Columbia River near Hat Rock, and it’s been built into the Lewis and Clark Commemorative Trail. It starts at Warehouse Beach and goes along the river to McNary Dam.”

An interpretive trail that identifies various plants has been constructed at Lewis and Clark State Park, at the confluence of the Sandy and Columbia rivers. Access is off Interstate 84, on the south side of the freeway, just after crossing the Sandy River.

And a four-mile trail with sections of concrete and sections of boardwalk was completed this summer by the city of Astoria. The Astoria Riverwalk extends four miles from the Port of Astoria on the west end of town to the East Mooring Basin, near Tongue Point. Sections of the projects have been completed over the past 10 years.

Paved trails on the Washington side of the Columbia River were built from Ilwaco to Long Beach and from French Bar at Vancouver to Vancouver Lake. In addition, interpretive panels have been erected at McKenzie Head trail at Cape Disappointment, Wash.

“But if there is a trail that actually retraces the actual route, the one that does it is the Lower Columbia Water Trail,” Loughran said.

That trail, dedicated a year ago, runs from Bonneville Dam down the Columbia to Young’s Bay, then up the Lewis and Clark River to Fort Clatsop. Two months ago, the Northwest Discovery Water Trail was established, from Canoe Camp on the Clearwater River, Idaho, downstream through the Snake River to the Columbia and to Bonneville Dam. Hence, the final 513 miles of Lewis and Clark’s westward route can be paddled as part of a continuous water trail.

A kayak and canoe launch has been constructed at Fort Clatsop at Netul Landing, the western terminus of the water trail.

“That’s a great kayak launch because you can go paddle in fresh water up the Lewis and Clark River to where the salmon spawn, or you can go all the way down to Young’s Bay to the salt water,” said Terry O’Casey, a volunteer trail builder and frequent hiker at the Fort Clatsop Unit of Lewis and Clark National Historic Park.

“It’s a mile south of the visitor center, and it has interpretive panels and parking,” said Jill Harding, the chief of visitor services at the park.

“It’s our front door during the summer when our shuttle buses are running. It’s a beautiful, tranquil spot that’s not real well known yet, but a lot of locals go there to walk their dogs and there’s always a lot of waterfowl on the river,” she said.

Chip Jensen, the superintendent at Fort Clatsop, said that additional trails would be built in coming years as spurs from the Fort-to-Sea Trail.

“There’s going to be a nice legacy of trail projects left to enjoy – state, federal and local,” he said.