Vancouver WA Washington
Frequently Asked Questions
At the old Terminal 1 pier near the Interstate Bridge, at the foot of a completely rebuilt riverfront. A few steps take you from the mooring lines to the terraces of Waterfront Park.
They are two separate cities more than 500 kilometres apart. A small point of local pride: founded before its famous Canadian namesake, the Washington one happily calls itself the original Vancouver.
Yes, for the most part. Waterfront Park, the Grant Street Pier and Esther Short Park are all walkable from the pier. Fort Vancouver lies under three kilometres away: walkable for strong walkers, otherwise a short taxi.
A white cantilevered walkway over the Columbia, held by a mast and cables like a taut sail. From its tip the view runs to the Oregon hills opposite and to the barge tows pushing upstream.
A wooden stockade reconstructing the great trading post founded in 1825 by the Hudson's Bay Company, the hub of the fur trade for the entire Northwest long before Washington and Oregon became states. French, English, Chinook and a dozen other languages were spoken here.
The blacksmith shop, store and kitchen come back to life through costumed interpreters, and the garden reproduces period crops. Next door, Officers Row lines up its Victorian houses under the maples.
One of the oldest continuously operating airfields in the country, next to Fort Vancouver. Its fabric-and-wood aircraft are displayed in a hangar museum.
The riverfront and Grant Street Pier early in the day, then Fort Vancouver and Pearson Field. A stop at Esther Short Park rounds out the loop nicely before heading back down to the water.
The US dollar and English. Credit cards are accepted everywhere, including the riverfront tasting rooms.
Yes. The splash features and public art of Waterfront Park, the costumed interpreters at Fort Vancouver and the old aircraft in the hangar museum all work well with children. Esther Short Park, one of the oldest public gardens in the American West, has its fountain and carillon.
