Fort Vancouver National Historic Site

About

Fort Vancouver National Historic Site preserves the reconstructed stockade of a Hudson's Bay Company fur-trade post from the 1820s through the 1840s, along with grounds tied to the U.S. Army's Vancouver Barracks and Pearson Air Museum, an early aviation site next to the fort. The National Park Service manages the complex in Vancouver, Washington, on the north bank of the Columbia River, directly across from Portland, Oregon.

Inside the stockade, reconstructed buildings such as the Chief Factor's House, a bakery, a blacksmith shop, and a fur warehouse are furnished to show the trade goods and daily work of the 1800s fort. A visitor center outside the walls holds exhibits and shows a park film, and rangers lead walking programs through the stockade on paved paths, including tactile handling of pelts and food demonstrations tied to the fur trade era. Pearson Air Museum, a short walk from the fort, displays historic aircraft and covers the site's history as one of the country's oldest operating airfields. Seeing the visitor center, the stockade, and the museum in one visit typically takes two to three hours, longer if you join a ranger program.

The historic site also administers McLoughlin House, a separate unit connected to the same park staff and accessibility program, though it is currently closed to visitors using wheelchairs while rehabilitation work is underway.

Hours, entrance fees, and seasonal closures change, so check the park's current operating information before a visit rather than relying on a fixed schedule. The historic site sits inside Vancouver, Washington, on the Columbia River directly across from Portland, Oregon. Pearson Air Museum and the reconstructed fort share the same grounds, so one stop covers both without an extra drive.

Accessibility

Fort Vancouver National Historic Site is accessible in most of its main areas: the reconstructed fort, the visitor center, and Pearson Air Museum all have accessible parking, step-free entrances, and accessible restrooms. One part of the site, McLoughlin House, is currently not accessible to wheelchair users while rehabilitation work is underway; call 503-656-5151 with questions about it.

Accessible parking is in the lot next to the reconstructed fort, in a lot near the visitor center entrance, and in the Pearson Air Museum lot. The visitor center has automatic doors and a paved approach with a slight uphill grade from parking. At the fort, a wide paved path leads through the open stockade gates to the Contact Station; the approach path is firm decomposed granite with some uneven patches, and all paths inside the stockade walls are paved. Pearson Air Museum's entrance also has automatic doors, reached by a curving ramp with a downhill slope, and an elevator connects the main gallery to the mezzanine level.

Accessible restrooms are available inside the fort, the visitor center, and Pearson Air Museum. Wheelchairs can be borrowed free of charge at the fort's Contact Station, at Pearson Air Museum, and at the visitor center front desk. Assistive listening devices for the park film are available free at the visitor center front desk, and the film has a captioned version online through OPB. Ask ahead for an ASL interpreter and staff will arrange one. Blind and low vision visitors can check out a braille copy of the park brochure for the day, and an audio-described version split into 23 sections is available through the UniD app for iOS and Android. Service animals are allowed in all public areas of the park.

Call the park at 360-816-6230 ahead of a visit to confirm which accessible routes and programs fit your plans, especially if you want to join a ranger-led stockade tour or need an ASL interpreter arranged in advance.

Checked by Accessible America, August 2026. Report a change

More accessible places in Washington

• Olympic National Park (Port Angeles)
• Mount Rainier National Park (Ashford)
• North Cascades National Park (Sedro-Woolley)
• Klondike Gold Rush - Seattle Unit National Historical Park (Seattle)
• The Museum of Flight (Seattle)
• Bloedel Reserve (Bainbridge Island)

Photo credits

• The white Chief Factor's Residence at Fort Vancouver stands behind two mounted cannons.: Jrozwado, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)
• A tall wooden bastion tower rises above the pointed log palisade at Fort Vancouver.: Jrozwado, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)
• Fort Vancouver National Historic Site official National Park Service image: National Park Service, Public domain (U.S. National Park Service)
• Official accessibility page image for Fort Vancouver National Historic Site.: National Park Service, Public domain (U.S. National Park Service)
• A paved path with a bench leads past several reconstructed buildings at Fort Vancouver.: Jrozwado, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)
• Reconstructed wooden fur trade buildings line a gravel path inside the Fort Vancouver stockade.: Jrozwado, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)
• Cannons sit in front of the reconstructed Fur Warehouse inside Fort Vancouver's palisade.: Jrozwado, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)
• A costumed interpreter stands behind the counter of the Fort Vancouver Indian Trade Shop.: Jrozwado, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)