Trip Report: Paddleboarding the Willamette River
When: 01/07/2019
Location: Sellwood Riverfront Park
Conditions: Perfect. High 40's low wind and clear(ish) skies.
Duration: 3 hours / 8 miles
Difficulty: Beginner friendly. Check the weather report. High winds can make this more difficult.
Kid Friendly: Yes
Pet Friendly: Yes
Usefull links: willamette-riverkeeper.org | travelportland.com
The Full Report:
I wasn't planning on paddling today, but after going for my morning run, I decided to keep the momentum going so I grabbed the SUP I'm currently using and threw it on top of my car. My Go-To SUP spot when I don't want to incorporate a drive and am just looking to throw the blade in the water for an hour or two is Sellwood Riverfront Park. It's just about a 10-15 minute drive from my house in Northeast and is a great spot to launch a kayak or Paddleboard onto the Willamette while still maintaining your proximity to Portland. It also happens to be a popular park to bring your dog, so more dogs...more fun.
I was lent a Rogue Parlay SUP from our Boardworks product rep, so I've been bringing it down to Sellwood lately to get a better feel for it. This is a full carbon board that is 14' long and 25" wide. This is a shape that I'm not quite used to so the calm venue of the Willamette is a perfect practice arena. I launched at the dock and planned on staying pretty stationary while practicing walking up and down the board to better dial in my pivot turn. However, when I got on the board, I was feeling a little stiff, so I decided to go for a warm up paddle cruising the shoreline of Sellwood. Once I got in rhythm, I liked the feel of it and decided to change my plans and pointed the nose towards downtown.
This board paddles through the water like a dream. It allowed me to get around Ross Island pretty quick and straight ahead of me was Portland. Then...
"Bffeeww" .... "Bffeewww"
I looked over my shoulder and just behind me about 50 feet was a sea lion catching a breath. Not too keen on partying with that guy I decided to use the opportunity to see how fast this board can accelerate. Before I knew it, I was under the Ross Island Bridge. It was a beautiful afternoon, about 1:30 at this time. I ventured on - cruising under the Tilikum Crossing, the I-5 bridge, Hawthorne, Morrison and soaked up the city around me. There's clearly something to be said about paddling mountain lakes and getting lost on your SUP in the wilderness. There's also an argument to be made about city paddling and how fun that can be. Paddling under the bridges and through downtown offers such a unique perspective of the city that you live in and see every day. It looks and feels different from the water.
I decided I had bitten off enough to chew for the paddle back upstream, so I turned around. The current was just barely strong enough to notice a difference from paddling upstream compared to downstream. It took just slightly longer to get back than it did to get down. On the way back another sea lion surfaced just in front of my board, a little too close for comfort. No worries though, it wasn't interested in me at all. A little further upstream I saw another sea lion surfacing about 100 yards in front of me. In the last two weeks I've seen four sea lions out there and one giant sturgeon. None of them batted an eye at me. Just sharing the river. But, worth noting, it's not advised to get too close. Let them go on their way and keep your distance. They can get a little territorial if provoked.
All in all, I was out for about 3 hours for a total of roughly 8 miles. This is a paddle that I do quite often and it's always slightly different. In the winter the water is much less crowded than in the summer. All the more reason to go out. Outfitting is minimal for winter paddling on the Willamette. Get yourself a pair of river booties and a wetsuit and you're set. Your paddling season never has to end!
The Full Report:
I wasn't planning on paddling today, but after going for my morning run, I decided to keep the momentum going so I grabbed the SUP I'm currently using and threw it on top of my car. My Go-To SUP spot when I don't want to incorporate a drive and am just looking to throw the blade in the water for an hour or two is Sellwood Riverfront Park. It's just about a 10-15 minute drive from my house in Northeast and is a great spot to launch a kayak or Paddleboard onto the Willamette while still maintaining your proximity to Portland. It also happens to be a popular park to bring your dog, so more dogs...more fun.
I was lent a Rogue Parlay SUP from our Boardworks product rep, so I've been bringing it down to Sellwood lately to get a better feel for it. This is a full carbon board that is 14' long and 25" wide. This is a shape that I'm not quite used to so the calm venue of the Willamette is a perfect practice arena. I launched at the dock and planned on staying pretty stationary while practicing walking up and down the board to better dial in my pivot turn. However, when I got on the board, I was feeling a little stiff, so I decided to go for a warm up paddle cruising the shoreline of Sellwood. Once I got in rhythm, I liked the feel of it and decided to change my plans and pointed the nose towards downtown.
This board paddles through the water like a dream. It allowed me to get around Ross Island pretty quick and straight ahead of me was Portland. Then...
"Bffeeww" .... "Bffeewww"
I looked over my shoulder and just behind me about 50 feet was a sea lion catching a breath. Not too keen on partying with that guy I decided to use the opportunity to see how fast this board can accelerate. Before I knew it, I was under the Ross Island Bridge. It was a beautiful afternoon, about 1:30 at this time. I ventured on - cruising under the Tilikum Crossing, the I-5 bridge, Hawthorne, Morrison and soaked up the city around me. There's clearly something to be said about paddling mountain lakes and getting lost on your SUP in the wilderness. There's also an argument to be made about city paddling and how fun that can be. Paddling under the bridges and through downtown offers such a unique perspective of the city that you live in and see every day. It looks and feels different from the water.
I decided I had bitten off enough to chew for the paddle back upstream, so I turned around. The current was just barely strong enough to notice a difference from paddling upstream compared to downstream. It took just slightly longer to get back than it did to get down. On the way back another sea lion surfaced just in front of my board, a little too close for comfort. No worries though, it wasn't interested in me at all. A little further upstream I saw another sea lion surfacing about 100 yards in front of me. In the last two weeks I've seen four sea lions out there and one giant sturgeon. None of them batted an eye at me. Just sharing the river. But, worth noting, it's not advised to get too close. Let them go on their way and keep your distance. They can get a little territorial if provoked.
All in all, I was out for about 3 hours for a total of roughly 8 miles. This is a paddle that I do quite often and it's always slightly different. In the winter the water is much less crowded than in the summer. All the more reason to go out. Outfitting is minimal for winter paddling on the Willamette. Get yourself a pair of river booties and a wetsuit and you're set. Your paddling season never has to end!