S5 Kayak #3 Beaver Creek

 S5 Kayak #3 Beaver Creek

Starting Location: Boat Ramp at Brian Booth Day Use Area, just off HWY 101 on the East side, across from Ona Beach

Point of Interest : Estuary wildlife and fauna

Distance: Just under 4 river miles, 2 in and back

Time on float: about 3 hours

Bathrooms: 1 vault toilet at Day Use Area, another at Kayak launch upriver

Parking: EV Chargers: no

Rentals: no

This is actually where we went for our first kayak trip with our new kayaks, 4 years ago. We remembered liking the abundant nature, and easy paddle.

We put in at the Brian Booth Day use area just off Hwy 101, right across from the Ona Beach State Park. If you park at Ona Beach, you can drag your kayak to Beaver Creek, but there's not an official boat ramp.

There is also a kayak launch farther down Beaver Creek road. We ended up paddling upstream to that launch, and then back.

We had timed the tide so that we got there at slack tide, as high tide was ending, so we would have plenty of water, and any low tide action would help us float back. I didn't notice a big change in tide or current, so not sure how important that is. Just something to think about.

We headed toward the ocean first, to get the view, and then turned around and headed upstream.

Not far from the boat ramp, we came upon this bubbling section of the creek. Our first thought was that it might be an animal, or animals, but it was constant, and too many bubbles. I'm guessing an underwater spring?















There were 6 of us today, and there was plenty of room to spread out, or paddle side by side without banging paddles.

It was overcast, but the temperature was perfect, and the water was pretty warm, especially compared to the colder places we've been recently.




There was a lot of waterfowl. Herons, and especially ducks. The ducks were not worried too much about a bunch of kayakers. We were able to get pretty close to them, and then they would just calmly get out of our way.















About 2 miles upstream, one of our group spotted this blue sign showing where the kayak launch was. It was really hard to see with all the tall grass around it. Luckily, we saw it and went to check it out.


This stream dead ends at the launch, and you can get out and it's a short walk to the Brian Booth State Park, where there's a bathroom, picnic tables, and small parking lot. There is also a boardwalk that takes you to a small viewing area, and seems to be the start of a trail system. We'll have to explore that another time.















After our pit stop, we headed back downstream. There was a bit of wind, but nothing to strong. There were bird nests under the bridges, which were pretty crowded. Even at high tide, there was plenty of room to go under.











And then of course, we had built up an appetite, so we chose Nana's Irish Pub at Nye Beach in Newport. I got the Steak and Guinness Pie, and it was really good, paired with a strawberry rhubarb cider, I believe from Shilling? Very good. There was a large public parking lot nearby where we could easily park our truck and trailer.

I do recommend this float. There's also lots to do nearby when you are finished.

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