Sunday, July 31, 2011

Multnomah Channel - July 2011

Multnomah Channel wanders 20 miles from the Willamette River on the upstream end to the Columbia River at St. Helens separating Sauvie Island from mainland Oregon on the Columbia River. Navigation is easy with >20ft depths in most places.

We took a short cruise about two-thirds of the way to St. Helens to visit a couple of marine parks. The entrance to the channel is about 10 miles from the marina. Much of the upper channel is developed with marinas and houseboat moorages.


Our first stop at Coon Island Marine Park found an empty 800 ft. concrete dock. A composting toilet and a few picnic tables are available there but we couldn't get near them due to clouds of hungry mosquitoes blocking the path.

We headed back the second day spending the night at Hadley's Landing, just a few miles before reentering the Willamette. Here we found a few people fishing, a couple of other boats using the large dock, and lots more mosquitoes. Across the channel is a small boat repair facility and other activity making it an interesting place to explore on the dinghy.

Returning to the marina on day three, we had a good light-air sail from the Multnomah Channel entrance to Kelly Point where the Willamette rejoins the Columbia River.

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