Clatskanie is located in Columbia County, between Astoria and Rainier along US Highway 30. Also situated in the timber-covered valley of the Clatskanie River, two miles upstream from the Columbia River in the northwest section of the county. An extensive network of county roads gives access to the rural community which surrounds the city. There is an array of many interesting homes in the area, such as the unique Flippin Castle.

Shuttle service to Portland International Airport provided by Bay Shuttle.

Clatskanie is part of the Portland-Vancouver, Oregon-WA metro area.

Clatskanie was named after the Tlatskanai tribe of American Indian, who lived in the hills south of the Clatskanie River in the upper Nehalem Valley. Industries which have played an important part of the Clatskanie's growth have been mainly those concerned with logging, and the revolutionary 'cigar- shaped log rafts used to transport timber to San Diego.

Hunting, fishing, windsurfing and fossil hunting are all popular attractions throughout the area.