Lewis and Clark Discovery Trail

The only trail at Cape Disappointment State Park to allow bikes, the Lewis and Clark Discovery trail makes a wonderful outing for folks staying in the park, or anyone wanting to travel between Ilwaco and Long Beach.

Beginning in the park, park at the Beard’s Hollow overlook, where it’s possible to take the Discovery Trail over a boardwalk through swamp to the right, or straight on through coastal forest out to the beach, where the paved route zigs and zags across the sand and through dunes, grasses, and trees for three miles into the heart of Long Beach.

Several opportunities to branch into Long Beach present themselves before arriving at the main cross street, Sid Snyder Road. Here, a boardwalk lifts hikers above the dunes, offering a chance to gaze out over the big water and big skies of the Pacific Ocean, complete with kites flying and waves crashing.

Closer in, look for the gray whale skeleton and sculpture. Other landmarks dot the trail, too. Further north, a basalt pillar and sculpture of William Clark commemorate his participation in the Corps of Discovery, and still further is a weathered tree, marking the end of Clark’s northward voyage on the west coast.

Walk for a short bit, or embark on the whole thing for a round-trip hike of 16.4 miles! If instead, you want a more rugged experience, it's possible to head south from the trailhead at Beards Hollow into Cape Disappointment State Park and beyond to Ilwaco.