Kayaking and Hiking Adventures

 What a gorgeous day to kayak! We decided to float a section of river that we had not done before, putting in at  Willamette Boat Landing, or Crystal Lake boat ramp  in Corvallis, and taking out at  Hyak Park  outside of Albany. As I've mentioned before, each of these parks have plenty of parking, a nice boat ramp, and bathrooms (gold star to Hyak for the clean flush toilets). There were a few large groups putting in before us, and the Benton County Sheriff boat was moored at the end of the dock, checking to make sure that everyone had the right safety equipment. Specifically a PFD, whistle, and permit for watercraft over 10 feet long.  We had our group of 5 in kayaks, plugs double checked, and we set off for our almost 11 mile float. The temperature was in the 70s, and we had a bit of a headwind to start off with. Nothing serious, but it kept swinging the bow of our kayaks to the side. The river here is wide, calm, and clean. There is some road noise at fi...

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip. That started from   Cloverdale Boat Launch , Aboard our tiny ships! First of all, finding the boat ramp. Cloverdale has a post office. Just south of the post office, by a crosswalk with flashing lights, is a Tillamook County Public Works building. You have to turn into the driveway between these 2 buildings. Then you will see some signs that direct you to the boat ramp. There is a fee for day use. The boat ramp itself is decent, paved, and wide enough to back down. There are no restrooms here. We had our sister (in-law) Dody with us, so we were planning to shuttle to the Little Nestucca Boat Launch . More on that later. We put in right at high tide, hoping to have more water under us, and a nice gentle current to the bay. The river at Cloverdale is narrow, but plenty of room for 3 kayaks to comfortably travel side by side. Lots of birds, including several heron and ducks, which flew away on our approach. Ins...

 Today's adventure was going to be exploring the Calapooia River, starting at Bryant Park in Albany, which is where the Calapooia empties into the Willamette. (And then an ABBA tribute band concert in Albany afterwards. Honestly, that was the main reason for the trip, and this was close to the venue.) We didn't know much about the water levels of the Calapooia, but we went anyway, because, why not? Bryant Park has a boat ramp according to their park map. But when we went to Bryant Park, there is no boat ramp. It seems to have been filled in. You could carry kayaks down to either river, but it's a bit of a trip. Also, the Calapooia seemed low, and it was obvious that we would be portaging around rocks a lot. So. Change of plans. Instead, we drove to Hyak Park , which is only a few minutes away on Hwy 20, on the opposite side of the river. I've driven past this many times, but never stopped. It's a nice clean park, with a nice ramp, and decent parking. Also, there a...

  Trillium Lake is just past Government Camp, on the foothills of Mount Hood. The boat ramp area is decent, with a small loading and unloading area, and a pit toilet. There is a decent amount of parking, and we got there around 9am, so no trouble finding a spot. However, it got a lot busier as the day went on. There is a day use area on past the boat ramp, and that's where most people go who are just coming to swim. It's always nice to get that first glimpse of the water you will be floating for the day, but the view you get when you get to the bottom of the boat ramp is breathtaking. Everyone who comes down always stops to enjoy the view, and usually to take some pictures. During our time on the lake, I took quite a few breaks to just enjoy the view. And take lots of pictures. There is a day use area on one end of the lake, and a campground on another. A 2 mile trail goes around the lake, although part of it was closed when we were there. The campsites are spaced quite a ways ...

 We headed to Turner Lake to beat the heat today. Turner Lake Park has plenty of parking, with a fee booth for the parking fee. There is a small boat ramp with a dock. When we were there, it was crowded with swimmers, and hard to get in and out of with all the bodies in the way. There is a rental for kayaks and SUPs, and even a small playground. Also a snack shack. I think there was a bathroom as well.  Most of the lake is bordered by apartments, and houses, meaning that part of the lake is private. The south side of the lake is public, and there is a trail that takes you from the park around to the East side of the lake, where there are some places to swim or pull up a boat.  This is good for SUPs. Even with a nice cooling breeze, the lake was pretty calm, and there are no gas motors allowed, and the whole lake is a no wake zone. Turner Lake is a decent size. We traveled around the edges, including the many coves lined by HOA houses. This used to be a quarry that filled ...

  We chose to spend a hot day on the river, and headed down to Willamette Mission State Park . Our goal was to explore the Mission Lake inside the park. Our plan was to use the Willamette Boat Launch just north of Wheatland Ferry. This is a nice boat launch, with bathrooms, plenty of parking, and a short dock alongside the ramp, which is a bit narrow. There is a small cove here so there is no current to worry about while putting in.  The Wheatland Ferry is just upriver from the boat ramp. The ferry is not operating right now, and it is in 'dry dock' for upgrade and maintenance. We headed upriver to find the outlet for Mission Lake. Unfortunately, that outlet is not passable, and we just headed upriver to see what was around. Yay for pedal kayaks! The river here is very shallow. There were many people using this for swimming on this hot day, and a few kayakers were literally standing in the middle of the river collecting cool looking rocks. We did pull over to cool down, but it...

 Today we went to Triangle Lake for our kayaking adventure. This lake is on the way from Hwy 99 (Corvallis/Albany) to the Coast (Florence). We used the boat ramp at Triangle Lake Park, which is pretty small, with a narrow boat ramp. Think one motor boat at a time. While there is a restroom, it's pretty nasty. Parking was fine, although every space was full when we put in. There is not much other parking available around the lake.  The rest of the lakeshore is private property, covered with an interesting array of houses, RVs, and other structures. The lake allows motor boats, and most of the houses we saw had some form of motor craft. There is a no wake area around the shore, but most of the lake is a playground for water-skiers.  We headed for the southern part of the lake first, which is where the lake flows out into Lake Creek. We were able to get away from the main part of the lake for about 1/4 mile, before it got too shallow. The current was not swift at all, and we...