North Gateway Park

Visitors will enjoy the nature trails, watching and scenery of North Gateway Park.

On December 9, 1805, William Clark of the Corps of Discovery took three men and set out from their camp on a reconnaissance excursion.  visited a location where 12 families of the Clatsop Nation dwelled in three houses. He describes the experience in his journal, saying:

“…we Crossed the 2d Creek and proceeded on to the mouth of the Creek which makes a great bend above the mouth of this Creek or to the S. is 3 houses and about 12 families of the Clat Sop Nation, we cross to those houses, which were built on the S. exposur of the hill, Sunk into the ground about 4 feet the walls roof & gable ends are of Split pine boards, the dores Small with a ladder to decend to the iner part of the house, the fires are 2 in the middle of the house their beads ar all around raised about 2½ feet from the bottom flore all covered with mats and under those beads was Stored their bags baskets and useless mats, those people treated me with extrodeanary friendship, one man attached himself to me as Soon as I entered the hut, Spred down new mats for me to Set on, gave me fish berries rutes &c. on Small neet platteers of rushes to eate which was repeated, all the Men of the other houses Came and Smoked with me…”

Clark and his men spent the evening playing games with their hosts, before setting out again the next day.

North Gateway Park in Seaside, Oregon, was once believed to the location of that night’s hospitality. It’s a popular place to birdwatch, with plentiful numbers of Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, Great Blue Heron, American Coot, Greater Yellowlegs, and more.

The park is located at the north end of the city on Roosevelt Drive (Hwy 101). There is a small gravel parking lot on the west side of the street.