Pacific NW Travel Tip: Canoeing the Willamette River
Editor’s Note: John Chilson blogs about mid-century Portland history and lost Oregon hotels and eateries at Lost Oregon. His previous post was about finding a decent donut in Portland.
The last time I stepped into any sort of boat with paddles was about 20 years ago at some private lake in San Diego that had paddle boats for rent. I also grew up near a beach and spent every day during summer sitting in the sand, watching swimmers from the shore, with the occasional dip in the water.
Meaning, I’m not a water person. I’d never really thought more about it since moving from San Diego to Boston a few years back. Sure, I enjoyed the beauty of the Charles River but from the distance of bridges connecting Boston to Cambridge.
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| Canoeing down the Willamette |
Then we moved to Portland. The city is split by the Willamette River and has 10 bridges connecting the east side with the west. The river is omnipresent in Portland and other cities throughout the Willamette Valley.
The Willamette, all 187 miles of it, was an important transportation route throughout much of the early history of Oregon, furnishing a means of transporting timber and agricultural resources. To this day, the river is still used as shipping lanes that eventually connect to the Pacific Ocean. It’s still very important to Portland.
It all started with a used canoe
Anyhow, a few months ago my pal bought a used canoe on Craigslist and asked me if I wanted to paddle the Willamette. Sure. Sounded like a leisurely way to kill some time, drink a cold beverage and get some exercise. It was close to home, a short drive and was something that could be done during a weekday.
So, the day came and we loaded up the canoe onto the roof of his car and drove to one of the many landings along the Willamette. The landing we chose was the public boating ramp in Sellwood, near Oaks Bottom Park.
We parked, unloaded, and hoofed the heavy canoe down the grassy knoll and set it in the water. As soon as I sat down, grabbed a paddle and started to rock and wobble, I immediately realized that I loved being on the water. Go figure. After all these years of barely acknowledging the water surrounding Portland, it seemed so obvious now: I might like the water and being on it, instead of looking at it from the shore.
But first, we had to actually row and make the canoe move.
Our goal that day, since neither one of us had much paddling experience, was to go from the shore’s of Sellwood out to Ross Island, a natural island smack in the middle of the river. Ross Island has seen its share of abuse and much of it is used as a quarry. There’s talk of the owners giving some of the island back to the city as a nature preserve but that seems off the table for now. Much of the island is still wild, though. On our short trip we saw herons, fish and other wildlife – and a homeless man bathing on the shores of the river.
The Willamette: It probably won’t kill you
It should be mentioned that sections of the Willamette are very polluted – some parts are classified as a SuperFund site. Raw sewage gets dumped into the river when Portland gets heavy rainfall – but the city usually posts a bulletin warning people to stay out. I wouldn’t swim in it - ever. But if some water splashes on me I’m not going to worry about it. It probably won’t kill me.
I was impressed at how quickly we made it to Ross Island – especially since we had absolutely no control of the canoe. Instead of a straight shot, we did a bit of a zig-zagging and bumped up to the shore a couple of times. (My apologies to the young teenage couple making out on the shore – it wasn’t our intention to interrupt your, um, gropefest.)
The weekday evening meant that the river that day wasn’t too crowded. We encountered kayakers, speed boats and the occasional Jet Ski. Since we were unsure of our ability to keep a straight line we hugged the shore and stayed out of the main boat lane. In no time at all we glided through a split on the island. We were the only boaters there. Amazing to think that downtown Portland loomed just beyond us.
The sun was setting fast so we headed back to the landing, loaded up the canoe and called it a day. The entire trip, including a stop for dinner and even some fishing, was a bit under three hours.
If you’ve never canoed the Willamette and want to give it a go, it’s an easy trip. The water is very calm with a very small current. I’m as inexperienced as they come and did fine with the maneuvering. The wake from larger, engine-powered boats was a bit jarring at first but you get used to it pretty quickly. I’ll need to work on paddling more to get a good clip going, but for a beginner I was very pleased.
If you want to go the solo route, you can rent a kayak from the Portland Kayak Company across the river from Sellwood on Macadam. They also do guided tours of the same route to Ross Island. Once we get the control of the canoe down, we plan on going beyond Ross Island, under the Ross Island bridge and through the heart of downtown Portland. There’s also a public boat landing near my home that’s walking distance. Purchasing a kayak might be in the cards.
Once you float on the Willamette you’ll never see Portland the same way again.
-John Chilson
Celebrate the Portland Riverfest from August 28 - September 7, 2008. And if you’re planning a trip to the Pacific Northwest be sure to browse Viator’s things to do in Seattle and Vancouver, BC.
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