Clark's Dismal Nitch

Clark’s Dismal Nitch earned this bleak moniker from Captain William Clark in 1805, when explorers paddling their canoes down the lower Columbia River toward the Pacific Ocean were waylaid by a fierce winter storm and sought refuge in a cove. Though trapped amid jagged rocks and battered by unrelenting wind and soaking rain for nearly a week, they were later able to continue their expedition. When visiting the site, located at a rest area in Megler, Washington, enjoy a leisurely picnic while watching ships glide along the river. Bird watchers will be rewarded for their patience upon catching a glimpse of eaglets peaking out of bald eagle nests nearby. Note to bridge buffs: Wait for the moment when the sun sets against the Astoria Bridge, which stretches across the mouth of the river from Oregon to Washington and features the longest continuous truss in the world.