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A visit to the Columbia River Maritime Museum is a fun, educational experience for children as well as adults. This is a top quality Museum with incredibly dynamic and engaging exhibits and displays. It was designated the official Oregon State Maritime Museum, and it recently underwent an impressive expansion and renovation effort.

Hands-on, interactive exhibits and interesting displays of boats as well as artifacts at the Museum detail the maritime history of the Columbia River. The exhibits address everything from nature and fishing to industry and commerce, search and rescue, and war. The Museum contains 30,000 objects and artifacts, 15,000 photographs, and 7,000 volumes are housed in its research library.

Maritime history is an exciting affair at the Columbia River Maritime Museum. You will see and learn about dugout canoes and the first sailing ships as well as present day seafaring vessels.

The first thing you will see when you arrive at the Columbia River Maritime Museum is an authentic, 44-foot long Coast Guard rescue boat. The boat is displayed at a 45-degree angle to reflect the perilous nature of crossing the Columbia River bar.
Although you may be drawn to the exhibits on site from the moment you enter the Museum, it is a good idea to watch the short introductory film at the start of your tour, "The Great River of the West." This dramatic, 12-minute film introduces visitors to the maritime history of the Columbia River. The extreme nature of Bar and River Pilots' work is depicted in the film.

One of the many fascinating exhibits you will see at the Columbia River Maritime Museum is located right at the main entrance. An entire wall is dedicated to shipwrecks that have occurred at "The Graveyard of the Pacific." This is the name given to a stretch of the coast of Oregon from Tillamook Bay northward to the tip of Vancouver Island.

Some 2000 vessels have sunk within the bounds of The Graveyard of the Pacific since 1972, and 700 lives have been lost. The Columbia Bar is part of the set of major coastal hazards making up The Graveyard. It is sometimes referred to as the most dangerous bar in the world.

The Columbia River Maritime Museum has six galleries, plus a hall for film viewing and the Lightship Columbia. The Lightship Columbia is a National Historic Landmark that served as a floating lighthouse at the mouth of the Columbia River. Visitors can also step onto the bridge of the Battleship Astoria, a WWII era US Navy Destroyer.

Throughout your tour of the Museum, views of the Columbia River are available through huge windows. The Columbia River is the ideal scenic backdrop for the exhibits at the Columbia River Maritime Museum.

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