Altoona is a census-designated place (CDP) in Wahkiakum County, Washington, approximately 27 miles northwest of the town of Cathlamet.

Altoona was one of six fish-buying stations and canneries located within a six-mile stretch of the Columbia River in the Grays Bay area.

In 1935, the Columbia River Packers Association (known today as Bumble Bee Foods) purchased the cannery and moved their headquarters to Altoona from Cottardi Station, located about 1/2 mile downstream.

The town prospered until the decline of the entire Columbia River salmon industry which resulted in the closing of the Altoona cannery in 1947.

The derelict cannery remained vacant and deteriorated until it collapsed and fell into the Columbia River during a windstorm in the late 1990s.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the Altoona CDP has a total area of 5.09 square miles (13.2 km2), all of which is land, while none of it is water.

Altoona has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb) typical of the coasts of southwest Washington and northwest Oregon, characterized by cold, rainy winters and mild to warm summers, with an average temperature of 51°F (13 °C).