Cathlamet

Tiny Columbia River county seat with refuge wetlands, Puget Island, and Oregon-facing views.

Cathlamet is the county seat of Wahkiakum County — one of the least-populated counties in Washington State — and it shows. About 560 people live here, on a bluff above the Columbia River 35 miles west of Longview on WA-4. The streets are quiet, the downtown compact, and the views across the river to Oregon are the kind that remind you how big this river actually is.

What makes Cathlamet worth a detour is mostly wild. The Julia Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge flanks the river road west of town, protecting the endangered Columbian white-tailed deer — a subspecies found almost nowhere else — across 5,600 acres of Columbia bottomland. Drive out at dusk and deer in the pastures are nearly guaranteed, along with bald eagles, osprey, and Roosevelt elk.

Puget Island sits just across the Cathlamet Channel, connected by a 1938 bridge. The island is flat, quiet, and good for cycling. At its south end, the Wahkiakum County ferry makes the 10-minute crossing to Westport, Oregon — the last regularly scheduled car ferry on the lower Columbia, running hourly every day of the year since 1925.

In town, the Wahkiakum County Historical Museum covers the Kathlamet people, the fur trade, and the logging and fishing history of this corner of Washington. The Pioneer Church on Columbia Street, built in 1895 and on the National Register of Historic Places, is worth a look on any walk through the compact downtown.

The Elochoman Slough Marina at the base of town offers boat moorage and river access. Early mornings here, with mist on the water and eagles working the current, are genuinely atmospheric.

Guide

Getting There

Cathlamet is not on the way to anywhere, which is much of the point.

From Portland, Oregon: Take US-30 west along the Columbia River's south bank — a scenic two-hour drive through the Columbia River Gorge and past the industrial waterfront at Rainier. Cross into Washington via the Wahkiakum County ferry from Westport, Oregon to Puget Island (runs hourly; about 10 minutes). From Puget Island, the Julia Butler Hansen Bridge leads directly into Cathlamet. Total driving time from Portland is roughly 2 hours including the ferry.

From Longview/Kelso (Washington): Take WA-4 west along the north bank of the Columbia for about 35 miles. WA-4 runs directly into Cathlamet. This is the most direct route from anywhere on the I-5 corridor.

From Astoria, Oregon: Take US-30 east about 65 miles to Westport, then the ferry into Puget Island.

There is no public transit to Cathlamet. A car is essential.

Guide

Things to Do

Cathlamet punches above its weight for a town of 560 people. The Julia Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge protects one of the most endangered deer subspecies in North America, with sightings almost guaranteed along the river road. The Wahkiakum County Historical Museum covers the logging, fishing, and Indigenous history of this remote corner of Washington. The Pioneer Church, on the National Register of Historic Places since 1973, still stands on Columbia Street. And Puget Island, just across a short bridge, is one of the more pleasant flat bike loops in southwest Washington.