Longview’s early planning is revealed by the beautiful Lake Sacajawea Park, a 110-acre greenbelt that bisects the city along Nichols Boulevard with a string of serene lakes surrounded by grassy hillsides, shady trees, and a gravel jogging/cycling path.

R. A. Long Park (a.k.a. Civic Center) is a grassy green in the city’s core, at the intersection of Olympia and Washington Ways. Surrounding the green are many of the city’s oldest buildings, including the wonderful redbrick Public Library donated by the town’s founder and finished in 1926.

Just up Olympia Way from the Civic Center, the Nutty Narrows (600 Louisiana St.) is the world’s only sky bridge for squirrels. Builder and developer Amos J. Peters built it in 1963 to save the critters as they attempted to cross the busy street. Peters is honored for his effort with a many-times-greater-than-life-size squirrel sculpture between the library and sky bridge.

Visit the Cowlitz County Historical Museum (405 Allen St., Kelso, 360/577-3119, www.co.cowlitz.wa.us/museum, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Tues.–Sat., 1–5 p.m. Sun.) to see well-presented Chinook and Cowlitz artifacts, a cabin from 1884, historic photos from the heyday of logging, and changing exhibits.