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Go Northwest Travel Guide
Pacific Northwest

Click to see map of southwest Washington = mapwasw4.jpg (5194 bytes)

The town and road map of Southwest Washington will help you locate cities, towns and other attractions.

Cities and Towns of Southwest Washington
Aberdeen
Battle Ground
Camas
Castle Rock
Cathlamet
Centralia
Chehalis
Kelso
Long Beach
Longview
Oak Park
Oakville
Ocean Shores
Pacific Beach
Raymond
Seaview
Silver Lake
Skamokawa
South Bend
Vancouver
Washougal
Westport
Woodland

Long Beach Peninsula

Washington Wine Country

Washington Travel Regions
Cascade Mountains
 Northeast
 Northwest
 Olympic Peninsula
Puget Sound
 San Juan Islands
 South Central
 Southeast
Southwest

Washington
Southwest Region

Southwest Washington is Lewis and Clark territory, a land rich in American heritage. It was here that Meriwether Lewis and William Clark concluded their 8,000-mile exploration, arriving at the West Coast in the autumn of 1805. Interpretive markers trace the explorers' last 100 miles to the Pacific Ocean.

Known for fertile estuaries and the Willapa National Wildlife Reserve, Southwest Washington is characterized by small towns and century-old landmarks. Meriwether Lewis's notes refer to this region as the most desirable location for a settlement west of the Rocky Mountains.

The region is also home to the lower end of the dramatic Columbia River Gorge, a protected scenic area known for its delicate ecology. The Columbia River curves through Southwestern Washington before the river ends its 1,200-mile journey at the Pacific Ocean. The vibrant city of Vancouver, Washington's fourth-largest metropolis, overlooks the Columbia, adjacent to Portland, Oregon.

And this region recognizes the accomplishments of yet another discoverer, the merchant explorer Captain Robert Gray, who discovered the Columbia River 13 years before Lewis and Clark's expedition. In the city of Aberdeen, visitors can see a replica of Captain Gray's brig vessel, the Lady Washington.

History buffs can explore this region with a driving tour that traces the last 70 miles of Lewis's and Clark's expedition to the Pacific Coast. The tour begins at the intersection of I-5 and Highway 4 and concludes at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center at Ft. Canby State Park, overlooking the mouth of the Columbia River, where Robert Grey had arrived more than 200 years earlier. Traveling north by car takes the visitor towards Gray's Harbor and the city of Aberdeen, also known as the gateway to the Olympic Peninsula.

VISITOR INFORMATION

Local Media

KUKN 94.5 FM
Country radio for Southwest Washington.

On trips designed by the Nature Conservancy and the Audubon Society, you'll see river otters, osprey, great blue heron, bald eagles, Columbian white-tailed deer and 600 year old Sitka spruce trees.

Grays Harbour Home Page
Website for Tourism Grays Harbour, a guide to local lodging and attractions.

Gorge Networks
Community and business listings for the Columbia River Gorge area, as well as links on biking, fishing, horse riding, guide services, motor-cross, mountaineering, skiing, snowboarding, whitewater rafting & kayaking, and windsurfing.

Silver Lake

Silver Shores Resort and RV Park. 4220 Spirit Lake Highway E, Silver Lake, WA 98645. Phone: 360-274-2701. E-mail

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