The Discovery Trail begins at the Port of Ilwaco where you’ll find a brass sculpture of a California Condor spreading its wings. This sculpture commemorates a journal entry by William Clark, of Lewis and Clark, about a “buzzard of a large kind”. This is just the start of the 8.5-mile long hiking and biking trail named after the Corps of Discovery. Their journey ended here on the Long Beach Peninsula, and you will find several art installments and interpretive panels dedicated to their experiences along the trail.

Continue along the Port of Ilwaco where you can watch fishing boats coming and going in Baker Bay. The trail goes up a steep hillside and takes you straight to Cape Disappointment State Park where you can take slight detours to view the North Head Lighthouse and Beard’s Hollow. Continue on through a grove of ancient Sitka spruce, coastal forests, transitional wetlands, and windswept dunes. Let the sounds and sights of the beautiful Washington coast reinvigorate your soul.