[flynhi66]

Do you have a favorite route you'd like to share when the fishing is slow and you just want to go for a boat ride? I'm looking for some new areas to discover in the Portland area that offer scenic views from the water.

 

[greenbuttskunk]

willamette, from willamette park up to OC and back. All kinds of scenery,cool house to view.

 

[River Ranger]

Columbia Gorge

RR.

 

[Flat Lander]

I agree with the Willamette you can go see the OC falls and then go downtown and see the submarine. I think you can still dock at Newport Bay if you wanted lunch or a beverage. There are a lot of beautiful houses on the river as well.

 

[Chrome Bumper]

Go around Sauvies Island, counterclockwise. Upstream of Westport OR is some nice country too.

 

[Irish Pennant]

With the low water I'd be looking for nice boat ramps first. Nothing can ruin a boating trip like a trailer stuck at the bottom of the ramp. You can still launch at Meldrum Bar. The last time I launched at Sport Craft (about a month ago), at the bottom of the ramp, 1 boat width away from the dock, had an un-even drop off and it made it a bear to put your boat back on the trailer. The run from Oregon City to Portland is a nice. The Willamette above the lochs is a nice quite run but it has some shallows that you need to keep an eye out for. The shallows are around the Mollala River +/- a couple miles if my memory serves me right. There's a publication called the Willamette Greenways (?) that can provide a lot of information.

 

[Digifish]

Launch at Chinook Landing in east Multnomah County and go up stream to Bonneville Dam and back. Or part way....All kinds of things to see: Mouth of the Sandy, big bend at Corbett, Rooster Rock Park(could launch here), Cape Horn, the fishery, Beacon Rock( nice hike to the top) and if you really want a treat go through the locks at Bonneville Dam. Very cool.

 

[1pump]

Some good suggestions here. A lap around Sauvie Island is one of my old faves, but it depends on the wind. The CR can be miserable when the wind is up. So can the lower Willy below Sellwood.

 

[flynhi66]

Did the tour around Sauvie Island. The columbia was really smooth and the only scary part was how shallow the water was at the north end of the island. Nice scenery all around though. Stopped at a transient dock for a walk then stopped and got some corn on the way back home. Great idea!