Cost runs both ways here, with equal dignity. Free things print with their caveats on their face; paid things print with their prices as their sources print them. Neither side is the lesser half of the day.
The verified ways to pay less, each labeled with who offers it and when it was checked. A pass pays off only if you would visit most of what it covers; the math below is the whole trick.
Parking at the Column is $10 per vehicle, good for one year (the Friends' homepage). Visit twice in a year and the pass has already paid for itself; their groups page lists $5 for vehicles accompanying a group, printed here because the conflict is the holder's own.
Source: Friends of the Astoria Column · checked 2026-10-22
$1 a boarding, or $2 hop-on, hop-off all day. Three boardings and the day pass wins.
Source: the operator, Old 300 · checked 2026-10-22
The Columbia River Maritime Museum's Museums for All rate is $3, against an $18 adult admission.
Source: the museum's own Visit page · checked 2026-10-22
The National Park Service standard pass is $10 per adult, valid up to seven days; children 15 and under need no pass. A family of four with two young kids pays $20 for a week of the fort.
Source: National Park Service, fees page · checked 2026-10-22
The Oregon State Parks daily parking permit ($10 resident, $12 nonresident) is good the same day at any other Oregon state park that charges - Fort Stevens and Ecola on one permit, one day.
Source: Oregon State Parks (OPRD) · checked 2026-10-22
No Astoria-wide attraction pass or coupon book was verified. If one ever exists, it will print here with who offers it and the date it was checked - and not one day before.
Checked October 2026