Wide West was a steamboat that served in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. It had a reputation as a luxury boat of its days. Wide West was built in 1877 in Portland, Oregon, by the Oregon Steam Navigation Company. It was built entirely of wood. Wide West was a sternwheeler, 218 feet long and rated at 1200 tons. On the Columbia River, unlike the Mississippi and other rivers in the eastern part of the country, there were very few sidewheel steamboats. Wide West was placed on the run from Portland to the Cascades of the Columbia, which at that time, was the head of navigation. Passengers had to disembark and ride a short railway around the Cascades to board another steamboat to travel further upriver. Cargo similarly had to be unloaded and reloaded again.