A trip to the Long Beach Peninsula can pack in the beach fun, but it can also include taking in natural beauty and visiting historical sites that tell the tale of discovering this region of North America.
On the southern tip of the peninsula, also the southwesternmost point in Washington, resides the geological land form called Cape Disappointment near Ilwaco.
Cape Disappointment State Park boasts beaches, a jetty popular for surf fishing, two lighthouses and plenty of recreational camping and activities. Due to construction, camping from Sept. 16, 2025, to April 30, 2026, will be unavailable.
For history buffs, the Cape Disappointment area marks the spot where the Lewis and Clark Expedition reached the Pacific Ocean in November 1805. The landmark of note was already named by the time they reached it, but the name was given out of emotion and not appearance.
Surely, the state park is not disappointing in nature.
British trader John Meares named it Cape Disappointment in 1788 after he mistakenly believed the mouth of the Columbia River to be just a bay after 1775 Spanish explorer Bruno Heceta marked the spot to be a river, according to various historical writings.
Cape Disappointment State Park now pays homage to the many uses of the area, including a military outpost in the Civil War and World War II, lighthouses, old growth forests and new land formed from sediment growth north of the jetty.
Cape Disappointment State Park is located at 244 Robert Gray Drive near Ilwaco. The site is open from 6:30 a.m. to dusk year round. For more information, visit parks.wa.gov/find-parks/state-parks/cape-disappointment-state-park.
On the way to the Long Beach Peninsula, drivers can consider the Washington route, which is a bit slower from the Clark County area, but packs a lot of history into the early settlements along the Columbia River as well as Chinook Indian Nation sites.
Nirvana co-founder and bass guitarist Krist Novoselic has played a big role in preserving historical sites in Wahkiakum County after becoming a Deep River resident, including the Deep River Lutheran Church, built 1902, and the Grays River Covered Bridge, built 1905. Novoselic led a major renovation of the Deep River Lutheran Church in 2022 and has done upkeep for the covered bridge.
The Grays River Covered Bridge spans 155 feet across the Grays River and serves as the only covered bridge still in use as a public highway in the state of Washington.
The Deep River Lutheran Church is located along West Deep River Road, and the Grays River Covered Bridge is located on Covered Bridge Road in the Grays River census-designated area.
