The Fort Clatsop visitor center includes a replica of Fort Clatsop similar to the one built by the explorers, an interpretive center offering an exhibit hall, bookstore, and two films.

The center features ranger-led programs, costumed rangers in the fort and trails, as well as restrooms and a picnic area.

Fort Clatsop was the winter encampment in the Oregon area for the Lewis and Clark expedition (Corps of Discovery), from December 1805 to March 1806.

Upon arriving at the west coast, the Corps made winter camp by building a wood fort located along was is now called the Lewis and Clark River at the north end of the Clatsop Plains about 5 miles southwest of present day Astoria. The fort took about three weeks for the explorers to build and it served from 8 December 1805 until they departed on 23 March 1806.

The Corps of Discovery stayed here as the last encampment before embarking eastward on their return trip to St. Louis.

The original fort decayed in the wet northwest climate, so a replica was constructed for the sesquicentennial in 1955. That replica lasted for fifty years but was damaged by fire in October 2005, only weeks before the bicentennial. A new replica which was much more rustic and rough-hewn was built by some 700 volunteers and was opened with a dedication ceremony on 9 December 2006.

The site is currently operated by the National Park Service.

I am awake early this morning because I want to tour both the state park and the national park that are nearby. After I boil a pot of water and make a cup of hot, I then prepare my meal, a cup of daystart.

After visiting Fort Stevens, I leave the fort and drive to Fort Clatsop, a full size replica of the fort that was built by Lewis and Clark during their stay on the Oregon Coast during the winter of 1805-1806.