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Cape Disappointment

Cape Disappointment near Ilwaco. Storm waves, two lighthouses, and where Lewis and Clark ended.

Stand on the cliffs where the Columbia River crashes into the Pacific and see the spot where Lewis and Clark's journey ended. Walk the trail out to the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, then drive up to North Head Lighthouse for the view down the long beach. The photo to get: you with a lighthouse and the waves behind. Come in winter to watch storm waves blow over the jetty, then warm up with fish and chips in Ilwaco.

  • Date or adventure
  • Half day
  • Easy
  • Under $20
  • Outdoors
  • Daytime

Good with just you, friends, family, and kids

Check before you go: opening hours, and weather and trail conditions

Cape Disappointment State Park (Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center), Ilwaco, mouth of the Columbia River244 Robert Gray Dr, Ilwaco, WA 98624
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Kids' version

Lighthouse hunt! Find each thing.

  1. A lighthouse
  2. A giant wave
  3. A ship
  4. A pelican or seagull
  5. A selfie at the ocean!

Checked November 2026

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About this place

Lewis and Clark reached the Pacific here in November 1805, and the interpretive center on the cliff tells the story of their trip. The cape got its name in 1788, when the British trader John Meares sailed past looking for a great river and missed it.

The bar where the river meets the ocean is so rough it's called the Graveyard of the Pacific, with around 2,000 shipwrecks. The Coast Guard trains its lifeboat crews here because the water is so dangerous.

Cape Disappointment Lighthouse dates to 1856, making it one of the oldest on the West Coast. North Head, built in 1898, has the bigger views. Parking needs a Discover Pass.

Also in: Kid-Friendly Adventures

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