Originally the site of a Clatsop village called Ne-ahk-stow, Hammond serves as the gateway to beautiful Fort Stevens State Park. It is located on the west side of Youngs Bay, near Astoria and is the home to the Hammond Marina, which was used in the iconic escape scene of Free Willy.

What It's Like to Live in Hammond

Hammond started as a company town built by the Hammond Lumber Company in the late 1800s, and traces of that working-town character are still visible in its bones. It's not a tourist destination. There are no boutiques or wine bars, no summer crowds. What there is instead is quiet, water in every direction, and the kind of community where neighbors actually know each other.

The Columbia River runs along the north edge of town, Fort Stevens State Park covers the west and south, and Youngs Bay sits just to the east. You are, in every meaningful sense, surrounded by nature. On clear mornings, huge cargo ships pass through the shipping channel within clear view of the waterfront trail. Bald eagles are a common enough sight that locals barely mention them.

For everyday needs, Warrenton is minutes away and Astoria is a short drive east, close enough that Hammond gets the peace of genuine small-town living without the isolation. Portland is about 90 minutes away via Highway 30.

Things to Do and See

• Fort Stevens State Park — Essentially Hammond's backyard. One of the largest state parks in Oregon at over 4,000 acres, it has miles of beach, hiking and biking trails, historic Civil War-era military fortifications, and Coffenbury Lake for swimming and paddling in summer. The campground has over 476 sites and fills up every year with people who come back the same week, same spot, every season.
• The Peter Iredale Shipwreck — Sitting on the beach inside Fort Stevens, the skeletal remains of a four-masted steel ship that ran aground in 1906 have become one of the most recognizable images on the Oregon Coast. At low tide you can walk up and stand next to it. The scale of it still surprises people.
• Hammond Marina & The Waterfront Trail — The marina is a hub for fishing and boating access to the Columbia River. The Warrenton Waterfront Trail runs from here along the river with views of passing cargo ships and fishing boats. It's an unhurried walk that feels uniquely Pacific Northwest, industrial and wild at the same time.
• Fishing — Hammond sits at one of the great fishing intersections in the Pacific Northwest. The Columbia River, Youngs Bay, and the Pacific all converge nearby, offering salmon, sturgeon, steelhead, and dungeness crab depending on the season. Fishing charters run regularly out of the Hammond and Warrenton marinas.
• Razor Clamming — The stretch of beach between Hammond and Seaside is some of the best razor clamming territory on the Oregon Coast. When the season opens and tides are right, locals and visitors alike line the beach at dawn. It's a genuine coastal tradition.
• Astoria — Six miles east and worth treating as an extension of daily life. Fort George Brewery, the Columbia River Maritime Museum, the Riverwalk, the Sunday Market, and a strong restaurant scene are all a short drive away.

Hammond Real Estate Market

Hammond offers something increasingly rare on the North Oregon Coast, genuine affordability with exceptional natural surroundings. Homes here are modest in price compared to the more visible coastal communities, but the access to Fort Stevens, the Columbia River, and the Pacific is essentially the same. It's a market that rewards buyers who are willing to look a little further than the well-known names.

Inventory is limited, as it is throughout the north coast, but when properties come up in Hammond they tend to offer a lot for the price. For buyers who care more about the lifestyle than the zip code recognition, this is a community worth taking seriously.

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