Wander with us through on a photo journey to Fort Vancouver’s kitchen garden.
Fort Vancouver was once the only man-made structure to be found in the Pacific Northwest belonging to the ever-encroaching adventurers coming from Canada and the eastern states. The Pacific Northwest was inhabited by many different indigenous nations already. The fur traders and explorers needed to be as self sufficient as possible as the days of Uber-Eats and Amazon delivery were well over a hundred and fifty years away. The kitchen garden and orchards they relied upon were believed to be much larger than the existing garden, but they give you a good example of the variety and types of foods that might have been grown at the time. Now filled with heirloom vegetables and fruits, as well as beautiful flowers, the garden is a pleasure to wander through at any time of year. In August, the pumpkins were getting huge, the corn was ripe, and rutabagas as large as your hand were all there to be discovered.
Fort Vancouver is just a short walk from the much more modern waterfront, you can access by walking over the Confluence Project Land Bridge, designed by famed architect Maya Lin, or through Officer’s Row and the old Barracks of the military outpost that also comprise part of the overall Fort Vancouver park. The entire area is a fascinating walk through history. If you plan a river cruise on the Columbia River, we strongly encourage you to add an extra day on before or after so you have time to explore this great little city. The cruise ships dock right in downtown!
