Champoeg State Heritage Area

Champoeg State Heritage Area lies on the Willamette River in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, near St. Paul, at the north end of French Prairie. On May 2, 1843, the Champoeg Meeting took place here and helped lead to the formation of Oregon's Provisional Government. The place was a landing on the river that the Kalapuya had used earlier as their main route; the Hudson's Bay Company built a wheat warehouse here around 1843. In December 1861 the Willamette flooded the town and swept away almost every building, leaving only the warehouse standing.

Today posts mark the town's former streets. An easy 3.4-mile (about 5.5-kilometer) loop leads from the Visitor Center to the Pioneer Memorial Building, with the monument to the voters of 1843; the building also shows the height of the 1861 flood. There is also a riverside trail and a paved bike path of about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) to Butteville. At the edge of the park, Newell Pioneer Village has the reconstructed Robert Newell House (1852), open on weekends from March to October, so the season is ending now (as of October 2026).

For campers: the park has a campground with electric hookup sites, tent sites, yurts and cabins; reserve in good time. A day-use parking permit is required and available on site.