Fort Columbia State Park

46°15′36″N 123°55′08″W / 46.26000°N 123.91889°W / 46.26000; -123.91889^[1]Area618 acres (250 ha)Elevation709 ft (216 m)^[1]Established1950OperatorWashington State Parks and Recreation CommissionWebsiteFort Columbia State Park

Fort Columbia State Park is a public recreation area and historic preserve at the site of former Fort Columbia, located on Chinook Point at the mouth of the Columbia River in Chinook, Washington. The 618-acre (250 ha) state park features twelve historic wood-frame fort buildings as well as an interpretive center and hiking trails.^[2] The park's grounds are located over a tunneled section of U.S. Route 101.

History

Fort Columbia was built from 1896 to 1904 to support the defense of the Columbia River. The fort was constructed on the Chinook Point promontory as part of a "triangle of fire" defensive strategy that included Fort Canby and Fort Stevens.^[3] Fort Columbia was declared surplus at the end of World War II and was transferred to the custody of the state of Washington in 1950.^[2]

In the 1960s and 1970s, Battery 246 was outfitted to serve as a Civil Defense Emergency Operating Center and was one of several possible locations the governor could use in an emergency. In 1993, the park received a pair of 6-inch guns that were transferred to Battery 246 from the former Fort McAndrew, Naval Station Argentia, Newfoundland, Canada.^[4]

Features

Exhibits at the Fort Columbia Interpretive Center focus on the fort's history, early explorers and pioneer history. The Commanding Officers Quarters is decorated with turn-of-the-century furnishings. The park grounds feature three artillery batteries and two coastal artillery guns. There are picnicking facilities and 5 miles (8.0 km) of hiking trails that work their way up Scarborough Hill. Two historic homes, the Steward's House and Scarborough House, are offered for rental.^[2] The park is one of several state parks and sites in Washington and Oregon that make up the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park.

References

External links

Federal

National Parks	Mount Rainier North Cascades Olympic
National Monuments	Hanford Reach (USFWS) Mount St. Helens Volcanic (USFS) San Juan Islands (BLM)
National Historical Parks and Sites	Fort Vancouver NHS Klondike Gold Rush NHP Lewis and Clark NHP Manhattan Project NHP Nez Perce NHP San Juan Island NHP Whitman Mission NHS
National Historical Reserves	Ebey's Landing
National Trails	Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Pacific Crest Trail Pacific Northwest Trail
NPS National Recreation Areas	Lake Chelan Lake Roosevelt Ross Lake
National Wildlife Refuges	Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually Columbia Conboy Lake Copalis Dungeness Flattery Rocks Franz Lake Grays Harbor Julia Butler Hansen Refuge for the Columbian White-Tailed Deer Little Pend Oreille McNary Pierce Protection Island Quillayute Needles Ridgefield Saddle Mountain San Juan Islands Steigerwald Lake Toppenish Turnbull Umatilla Willapa
National Forests	Colville Gifford Pinchot Idaho Panhandle Kaniksu Mount Baker–Snoqualmie Okanogan–Wenatchee Olympic Umatilla Wenatchee
USFS National Recreation Areas	Mount Baker
National Wilderness	Alpine Lakes Boulder River The Brothers Buckhorn Clearwater Colonel Bob Daniel J. Evans Glacier Peak Glacier View Goat Rocks Henry M. Jackson Indian Heaven Juniper Dunes Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Ridge Mount Adams Mount Baker Mount Rainier Mount Skokomish Noisy-Diobsud Norse Peak Pasayten Salmo-Priest San Juan Stephen Mather Tatoosh Trapper Creek Washington Islands Wenaha–Tucannon Wild Sky William O. Douglas Wonder Mountain
National Marine Sanctuary and National Estuarine Research Reserve	Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
National Wild and Scenic Rivers	Illabot Klickitat Pratt Skagit Snoqualmie White Salmon

State

State Parks	Alta Lake Anderson Lake Battle Ground Lake Bay View Beacon Rock Belfair Birch Bay Blake Island Blind Island Bogachiel Bottle Beach Bridgeport Bridle Trails Brooks Memorial Cama Beach Camano Island Camp Wooten Retreat Center Cape Disappointment Clark Island Columbia Hills Columbia Plateau Trail Conconully Crawford Curlew Lake Cutts Island Daroga Dash Point Deception Pass Doe Island Dosewallips Doug's Beach Eagle Island Federation Forest Fields Spring Flaming Geyser Forks of the Sky Fort Casey Fort Columbia Fort Ebey Fort Flagler Fort Simcoe Fort Townsend Fort Worden Ginkgo Petrified Forest Goldendale Observatory Grayland Beach Griffiths-Priday Harstine Island Hope Island (Mason County) Hope Island (Skagit County) Ike Kinswa Illahee Iron Horse Jackson House James Island Jarrell Cove Joemma Beach Jones Island Joseph Whidbey Kanaskat-Palmer Kinney Point Kitsap Memorial Klickitat Trail Kopachuck Lake Chelan Lake Easton Lake Lenore Caves Lake Sammamish Lake Sylvia Lake Wenatchee Larrabee Leadbetter Point Lewis and Clark Lewis and Clark Trail Lime Kiln Point Lincoln Rock Lyons Ferry Manchester Maryhill Matia Island Matilda Jackson McMicken Island Millersylvania Moran Mount Pilchuck Mount Spokane Mystery Bay Nolte Obstruction Pass Ocean City Olallie Olmstead Place Pacific Beach Pacific Pines Palouse Falls Palouse to Cascades Paradise Point Patos Island Peace Arch Pearrygin Lake Penrose Point Peshastin Pinnacles Pleasant Harbor Posey Island Potholes Potlatch Rainbow Falls Rasar Reed Island Riverside Rockport Sacajawea Saddlebag Island Saint Edward Saltwater Scenic Beach Schafer Seaquest Sequim Bay Shine Tidelands Skagit Island South Whidbey Spencer Spit Spokane River Centennial Trail Spring Creek Hatchery Squak Mountain Squilchuck Steamboat Rock Steptoe Battlefield Steptoe Butte Stretch Point Stuart Island Sucia Island Sun Lakes-Dry Falls Tolmie Triton Cove Turn Island Twanoh Twenty-Five Mile Creek Twin Harbors Wallace Falls Wanapum Recreational Area Wenatchee Confluence Westport Light Willapa Hills Trail Willie Keil's Grave Yakima Sportsman
State Forests	Ahtanum Capitol Elbe Hills Green Mountain Loomis Loup Loup Tahuya Teanaway Tiger Mountain Yacolt Burn
Natural Area Preserves	Admiralty Inlet Badger Gulch Bald Hill Barker Mountain Bone River Camas Meadows Carlisle Bog Castle Rock Charley Creek Chehalis River Surge Plain Chopaka Mountain Clearwater Bogs Cleveland Shrub Steppe Columbia Falls Columbia Hills Crowberry Bog Cypress Highlands Dabob Bay Dailey Prairie Davis Canyon Entiat Slopes Goose Island Gunpowder Island Hamma Hamma Balds Ink Blot Kahlotus Ridgetop Kennedy Creek Kings Lake Bog Kitsap Forest Lacamas Prairie Little Pend Oreille River Marcellus Shrub Steppe Methow Rapids Mima Mounds Monte Cristo Niawiakum River North Bay Oak Patch Olivine Bridge Pinecroft Point Doughty Riverside Breaks Rocky Prairie Sand Island Schumacher Creek Selah Cliffs Skagit Bald Eagle Skookum Inlet Snoqualmie Bog Spring Creek Canyon Trombetta Canyon Trout Lake The Two-Steppe Upper Dry Gulch Washougal Oaks Whitcomb Flats Willapa Divide
Natural Resources Conservation Areas	Ashford Cattle Point Clearwater Corridor Cypress Island Devils Lake Dishman Hills Elk River Ellsworth Creek Granite Lakes Hat Island Hendrickson Canyon Klickitat Canyon Lake Louise Loomis Lummi Island Merrill Lake Middle Fork Snoqualmie Morning Star Mount Si Naselle Highlands Queets River Rattlesnake Mountain Scenic Area Shipwreck Point Skamokawa Creek South Nemah South Nolan Stavis Stevenson Ridge Table Mountain Tahoma Forest Teal Slough Washougal Oaks West Tiger Mountain White Salmon Oak Woodard Bay
Aquatic Reserves	Cherry Point Cypress Island Fidalgo Bay Maury Island Nisqually Reach Protection Island Smith and Minor Islands

Other

Former state parks	Damon Point Fay Bainbridge Fort Okanogan Fort Ward Park Griffin Bay Mukilteo Lighthouse Park Osoyoos Lake Veteran's Memorial Park Skull Island Upright Channel Wenberg Westhaven