i
The Columbia River is a popular vantage point for the Fort Vancouver fireworks.

Vancouver

Part of the Portland metro area, Vancouver is home to more than 175,000 people just across the river from Portland.

i
The Columbia River is a popular vantage point for the Fort Vancouver fireworks.

Though similar to Portland in many ways, Vancouver, Wash., a large suburb located just across the Columbia River to the north, can also feel like it’s a world away.

Historic Sites

Connected to Oregon by a rugged, steel, vertical-lift bridge that alludes to the city’s blue collar values, Vancouver is a throwback, with a quaint Main Street loaded with ice cream shops, pubs and antique galleries. Home to the largest Independence Day fireworks display west of the Mississippi, the city’s biggest tourist attraction, Fort Vancouver, is a family-friendly National Historic Site, consisting of a rebuilt 1800s fur-trading camp, a mid-1900s airstrip and a stretch of restored 19th-century homes. Dating back to 1853, the city’s Esther Short Park is Washington’s oldest public square. Featuring a Glockenspiel-clad tower that announces the time throughout the day, the five-acre park is a bustling all-ages playground on sunny days. Kiggins Theater, a renovated single-screen treasure located downtown, shows family-friendly fare, art house films and hosts live events such as stand-up comedy and Science on Tap.

Attractions
4 To Try

Southwest Washington Picks

Explore the best of Vancouver at these attractions.

  • Fort Vancouver

    The site interprets the stories of the Native Americans, the British Hudson's Bay Company, the U.S. Army at Vancouver Barracks, early aviation at Pearson Field, the world's largest spruce mill during World War II.

  • Esther Short Park

    A gem in the heart of downtown Vancouver, Esther Short Park is the oldest public square in Washington. The site serves as a venue year-round for a variety of public and private events, programs, concerts, and other activities.

  • ilani Resort

    Located on a 156-acre site in La Center, Washington, ilani, is the West Coast’s premier gaming, dining, entertainment and meeting destination. The resort was developed by the Cowlitz Tribe and Salishan-Mohegan.

  • Clark County Event Center

    The Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds is an established 170 acre campus with five multi-purpose facilities that host a wide variety of events each year.

Suburban Attractions

More local regions to explore
The bastion at Fort Vancouver

Fort Vancouver

The Portland area's only national historic site is centered around a complete replica of Fort Vancouver, a fur-trading camp founded in 1825.

Bike paths lead from downtown Portland all the way to Gresham\'s Main City Park.

Exploring Gresham by Bike

Gresham, an east Portland suburb, offers a bevy of bike-friendly businesses and stellar views of Mount Hood.

Jantzen Beach Center houses about 30 big-brand stores.

Jantzen Beach Center

Located just south of the Oregon-Washington border, the Jantzen Beach Center rewards shoppers looking for big brands with no sales tax.