Fort Vancouver

A visit to this historic site today

encompasses a reconstructed Fort complete with vintage garden, fort walls, bastion, canons, trade shop, carpentry and blacksmith shops. Reenactors in historic dress, cook over open hearths, hammer steel over forged fires and using simple 19th century tools: saws, hammers and chisels create wood doors, furniture and implements needed at the time for basic living and trade. Start at the Visitor Center to get a free walking map, brochures and watch an Emmy Award documentary on Fort Vancouver the hub of the fur trade in the early 1880s. The Friends of the Fort Bookshop (where I work by the way) is open Tuesday thru Saturday stop in for unique and interpretive gifts relating to the site.

1501 E Evergreen Blvd

Free: Self-guided tours using app or simply follow the many historical markers, stroll along Officers Row, Marshall House, Pearson Museum, Chakalov Monument, Spirit Pole, First Japanese Memorial, playground, picnicing, walking trails.

Best days to visit are Friday and Saturday but one can take a self-guided tour anytime over the extensive grounds that include Pearson Museum, Officers Quarters, Barracks, Parade field, and even stroll past the old mule barns where hundreds of mules were used in the Fort’s earliest days to transport men and supplies from Alaska to California. Fort Fee: $10 for Adults (7 day pass)