A bit of time travel along the Oregon coast: the event recreates Lewis and Clark on the seashore

Published 09/06/2026 at 18:55
Posted by Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Seaside, OR) – A little over 200 years ago, Seaside enjoyed its first extended stay. But it wasn’t a vacation.

It was truly like the astronauts’ flight to the moon: one group of explorers went to a completely unknown country and ended up on the coast of Washington and Oregon. At least the Apollo flights were on the radar of Mission Control. Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery had a big dog.

Part of the expedition was spent in Seaside, and the town is celebrating by holding a weekend demonstration of the Lewis and Clark Saltworkers on Saturday, September 12th and Sunday, September 13th. The Seaside Museum and Historical Society is presenting this event with support from a grant from the City of Seaside Tourism Advisory Committee.

Members of the Living Historians of the Pacific Northwest will recreate the salt mining camp founded by the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the winter of 1806 on the site of what is now Seaside Beach. Interpreters will boil seawater over a fire and demonstrate how explorers extracted salt to preserve food on the journey back to St. Louis. Visitors will be able to enter the camp, observe the process and ask questions about the expedition and its work on the coast.

The program runs from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday and 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Sunday on the beach west of Avenue U and Promenade.

“Parking is limited, so walking or carpooling is encouraged,” organizers said. “City of Seaside’s Mobi-Mats make walking along the beach convenient for people with limited mobility, as well as those with strollers or caravans.”

Lewis and Clark Saltmakers is free and open to all ages. The project is funded through an occupancy tax through the city’s Marine Tourism Advisory Committee. Additional support comes from the Seaside Museum, City of Seaside Public Works, First Interstate Bank, Sandy Cove Inn and Oregon Parks and Recreation.

Here and at Fort Clatsop near Astoria, the troupe endured the brutal, wet winter that visitors to the Oregon Coast are now accustomed to. At some point, Clark, Sacagewea, and a few others followed this path, briefly met up with people at a proto-Maritime camp, and then forged their own path through the completely rugged and untouched Tillamook Point to reach the creek on the other side.

The other side was Ecola Creek on what is now Cannon Beach, and the purpose of the visit was to catch some parts of a beached whale that was being butchered by a local tribe. Ekola is the local name for “whale”.

Those at Seaside remained until about the end of February, returning to Fort Clatsop shortly before the entire Corps of Discovery left in early March 1806.

The Primorye Museum and Historical Society, founded in 1974, is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and interpreting the history of Primorye and its surrounding areas. The museum is located at 570 Necanicum Drive and is open Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, contact Assistant Director Emily Halverson during museum hours.

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