Read This If You’re Visiting Astoria, Oregon With Your Dog

We visited Astoria a few weeks ago on our Oregon Bike Tour.

Astoria is where we were going to leave our car and launch or trip from.

Before we left, I did a search of dog-friendly stuff in town.

I didn’t really find anything except hotels and restaurants on BringFido when I searched “stuff to do with your dog in Astoria, OR”.

Upon further research, I found that the one pet store listed had closed, one restaurant (the Gunderson’s Cannery Café) had burned down and one restaurant was inaccurate.

It wasn’t looking too promising.

I don’t think I would call Astoria “Dog Friendly”.

As with any average town, you can find a couple of things to do there with your dog but it’s a stretch.

The City certainly does not cater to dogs.

When we got to Astoria we went straight to the visitor center and asked them about dog-friendly restaurants in town.

I mentioned the Astoria co-op I had seen mentioned but all I got was a funny look.

They asked, “You mean the health food store??” They didn’t know of any outside seating there (and a later drive by confirmed that there wasn’t any) so that was out.

They said besides the Wet Dog Café/Astoria Brewery, the only other dog-friendly dining in town was at the BowPicker – an excellent fish and chips bar.

We went with the Wet Dog Café because we wanted more of a restaurant atmosphere. It has outdoor seating with a view of the Columbia River.

The seating area is not covered so if it raining it’s probably not an option.

They serve beer with names like Old Red Beard Amber and Poop Deck Porter, have a gift shop with a lot of doggie-themed wines, and you can order a plain hamburger patty for your dog brought to you on a plate.

The food was your usual pub fare but the service was great.

After eating dinner we checked into the Best Western Lincoln Inn at the west end of town.

They book the pet rooms on the first floor (call ahead for availability) and they have a big potty area across the hotel parking lot.

They also serve the breakfast basics plus eggs, sausage and waffles and have a 24 hour pool ), but you can’t use it if you bring your dog because leaving them in the room unattended is against policy.

Our room left something to be desired with a burned out lightbulb, thin blankets, and a TV remote that didn’t work despite a change of batteries.

That evening we visited the Goonies House.

Someone lives in the house so all we could see was the outside but we took a few pictures.

Note: As of January 2023, the house is under new ownership and may eventually be opened up to visitors.

There is a grassy area and picnic table across from the house so you could sit and enjoy your lunch there if you wanted to.

We could hear the Sea Lions from the East Mooring Basin barking.

The neighbor, who lives next door in Data’s house, saw our Dachshunds and came out on his porch.

He said he just had to let his Dachshund Toby say hi to any other Doxie visitors.

It turns out the man used to work for Channel 13 in Tacoma, WA and his family owned the Goonies house during filming.

He said it needed a lot of work so they eventually sold it to a woman from Maine and settled for Data’s house next door.

Next on our list was the Astoria Tower.

Dogs are allowed on grounds but not inside so we took turns climbing the 164 tight, windy stairs to the top of the tower.

On the way up, you occasionally have to let go of the railing to squeeze past the people coming down and the balcony is high and crowded so this one is not for the height-phobic or claustrophobic people. 

There are amazing views of Washington and the area surrounding Astoria though so it is worth it though.

Before we went back to the hotel, we drove over the two different bridges out of town to see which biking experience was going to be the best.

We picked the shorter Old Young’s Bay Bridge so that the scariness was kept to a minimum, although the new Young’s Bay Bridge would probably have been fine without the dog bike trailers.

Here is the dog-friendly stuff we found to do in Astoria during our visit.

Sights and Things to Do With Your Dog

  • Goonie’s House – 368 -38th St. No cars area allowed to drive up to the house so you must park on nearby residential streets and walk up the driveway. Visit during normal human waking times because this is a lady’s house.
  • Jail from Goonie’s Movie – Clatsop County Jail, 732 Duane St. It is now the Oregon Film Museum but dogs are not allowed inside.
  • Astoria Column – Dogs are allowed on grounds only. There is a $5 to park there.
  • Historic Waterfront Trolley – Well-behaved, leashed dogs are welcome to come along on this scenic ride along the Columbia riverfront. In 2022, the Astoria Riverfront Trolley is running from Basin Street to 39th Street Friday and Saturday from 11am to 5pm weather permitting. It is about an hour trip. It’s $1 for a one-way ride, $2 to ride all day, or you can charter the trolley for $150/hour.
  • Astoria Riverwalk and ship watching – This 5 mile trail along the Columbia River is part of the Rails to Trails network. This trail is shared with the trolley in many places so look out.

Dog Friendly Restaurants in Astoria

  • Wet Dog Café and Astoria Brewing Company  – 144 – 11th Street. Deck with outdoor seating and a great view of the waterfront.
  • Bowpicker – Fish and chips bar at 17th and Duane Street, across from Columbia Maritime Museum. Look for the old, small boat in the empty looking parking lot.
  • Astoria Coffee House and Bistro  –  243 – 11th Street. This place had the most outdoor seating of all the coffee places and when we walked by a woman was sitting outside with her dachshund.
  • Rusty cup and Beanery – 1213 Commercial Street. Tiny inside, 1 or 2 tables outside.

Shopping

  • Pet Works – 240 – 14th Street. This warehouse-looking building is the only pet store in town. It also has a self-service dog wash.
  • Fernhill Glass Studio  – 1450 Exchange Street. You can watch live glass blowing in the pit from theatre seats. Note: Parrot names kitty who apparently bites strangers so don’t stick your fingers in there.

Bike Shops

This info is for those of you biking with your dog like we were.

  • Bikes and Beyond – 1089 Marine Drive. Store says it ships and receives over 100 bikes per year from all over the world. I walked briefly with Chester and Gretel and they didn’t yell at me to get out but I wouldn’t confirm that they are dog-friendly.
  • Bike Garage – 13th and Duane Street.

Like I said, Astoria doesn’t qualify as “Dog Friendly” in our book but maybe dog tolerant in some respects.

While there are a few hotels in town that allow dogs, there are only two dog-friendly restaurants , no boutique pet stores and limited access to the sights with pets.

About the Author

Hi, I’m Jessica. I’ve been studying the Dachshund breed since 2007, owned 3 of my own, and shared in the lives of thousands of others through their owner’s stories. When I’m not sharing what I know on this blog, you can find me hiking, camping, and traveling with my adventurous wiener dogs.

14 Comments

  1. Bikes and Beyond is indeed Dog friendly, The owner even has a friendly dog that is often in the store.
    The Astoria co-op is a health food store, they make great sandwiches that you can take with you but other than that it is more for picking up groceries; maybe you were thinking of the Blue Scorcher as they are a resteraunt that serves healthy food and has outdoor seating, Fort George also serves good food and has outdoor seating.

    1. Thanks for adding to my list. I did only have the internet and one day in Astoria to draw from but I am glad there are a couple of other dog-freindly restaurants in town. It WAS the co-op I was thinking of though. I found it listed online as dog-friendly. I thought it to be a little odd but what did I know. I have never heard of the Blue Scorcher but it sounds intriguing.

  2. What wonderful pictures!!! You all look fantastic and the scenic pictures are great. Thanks for posting the info. I doubt we ever make it to OR but it is still nice to know what they have that is doggie friendly. Hugs and nose kisses

    1. Well, since I did research before I left I wouldn’t say I was *expecting* more dog-freindly places in Astoria but I would just put it nowhere near the dog-friendly cities such as Boulder, Seattle or Cannon Beach. I did hope to find more stuff when I had researched it from home though and was a bit disappointed.

  3. How exciting that you got to meet the guy who used to own the Goonies house!! I devoted a post on my other (non-dog) blog to a road trip we took down the Oregon coast, along part of the same route you rode. I love that part of the country – especially the dog friendly beaches (unlike in Southern California).

    1. Actually, I am having a hard time picking because yours are so much better than mine. They show Toki and scenery great in one photo. I feel like are either great pictures of the dogs OR great pictures of scenery with so-so pictures of the dogs. I’ll find something though.

  4. I love weiner dogs and I love this post! I think it’s great for people traveling with dogs, and would love to have it featured in the blog section of the Astoria and North Oregon Coast pages of Dwellable. If you’re interested, please check out the “Add your post to this page” section on the Astoria page, or shoot me [inna at dwellable dot com] an email. Thanks!

  5. My husband and I are going to Astoria this week with one of our four dogs so researching hotels, restaurants and sites is imperative to us. Your informative blog is extremely useful and we feel a bit more prepared for what we will encounter on our mini vacay/getaway. Should we encounter any new dog-friendly venues, we will share!

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