Category: Tour Blog
Woahink Lake Tour
Woahink Lake is reasonably close to Eugene and had a lot of nice features. We launched from the free boat ramp at East Woahink Landing. From there you can paddle up a few different fingers or South out into the main part of the lake. We love the many sandy beaches that can be found along the way for a nice pit stop!
Salamanders are a common coastal companion.
Breaking a take.
The forested shoreline.
Tahkenitch Lake Tour
Paddling on the coastal lakes can be a windy affair. So an early start is usually the best idea. Tahkenitch Lake is a great location to paddle because it has many “fingers” that create a variety of sheltered paddling options.
View looking North on a calm morning.
Railroad trestle across the Five Mile Arm.
At the top of the “North Arm” of the lake.
Log Cluster at the North Arm complete with hornet nests!
Willamette River Tour!
Tuesday August 26th 2014 was a scorcher, with heat in the mid 90’s. So a group of us took to the river. From Whitely Landing we paddled up the small side channel and made our way to the main flow of the river. From there we paddled downstream and enjoyed the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette Rivers. What a magical place! After floating down a bit more we turned left and went up the side channel again back to the put in spot at Whitely. This made for an adventurous loop requiring no shuttle! Here are some pictures that show us working our way up the shallow side channel. We used a small piece of line attached to the bow grab loop to haul our kayaks up the most shallow sections. There are about 6 places where we had to get out and do this because you simply can’t paddle upstream where it’s too shallow. Our sit on top kayaks worked well for this. We would paddle hard up to the shallow places and hop out quickly. Then we eased the boats up above the shallows to where it was deep enough to hop back on the kayak and continue paddling up the eddies! The entire tour was 4 hours including a half hour long lunch.
Working our way up
Blissfully paddling down the river
Lining the boats up.
John Day, Oregon’s longest river without a dam.
Spring is a great time to be on an a river East of the Cascades. It tends to be a lot drier in the high desert, yet a little colder in the mornings. We chose to paddle here to get away from the rain in the Willamette Valley. This trip was during the first week of April. We paddled a raft for 5 days and saw no other parties on the river. Just beaver, bighorn sheep, jumping bass, and many birds! We watched the thin clouds race along in the sky. Wearing wind layers and sunscreen is the norm. Desert wildflowers bloom and river levels rise and fall. We used a 13 foot Rocky Mountain Raft that was self bailing. With just two of us we paddled the raft R-2 style. One of us on each side in the middle of the small raft. Lots of communication between us to move the raft to where it needed to be. The biggest rapid on this section is Clarno Rapid. After a long scout of the hazards we carefully maneuvered our way through. This trip took us from Clarno to Cottonwood State Park, 69 miles of canyon country.
Siltcoos River 8th of August
Today the high temperature in Eugene area was 93! Out on Siltcoos River, it was much cooler and quite beautiful as well. We saw a Bald Eagle and an Osprey, many Kingfishers, Great Blue Heron, Doves, and on and on…
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- Siltcoos River
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- Portage TIme!
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- Coming out towards the ocean.
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- Sneakin’ through the trees.
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- Siltcoos Grass
Siltcoos River 23rd of July 2013
On a day that reached 96 degrees in the Eugene area , we had a blast out on the coast while paddling the Siltcoos. This time we had the tides on our side, to help us glide to the ocean. At one point along the way we enjoyed a run down a dune into the water! We still have 2 dates left for this 4 hour paddle! August 6th (Tuesday) and August 31st (Saturday).
Cottage Grove Tour 9th of July 2013
Another scorching day best spent out on the water. We took the Stand Up Paddleboards out onto the Lake and got a workout. After that we played around and cooled off in the water!
Siltcoos River 2nd of July 2013
This was a HOT day in the valley so getting out to the coast could not have felt better. We enjoyed the calm Siltcoos and the scenery it provides.
Here is a shot of the Dam Portage. They provide a user friendly ramp to pull the boats along.
At a certain point when you’re travelling downstrean you can begin to smell the salty ocean!
Mercer Lake 19th of June 2013
This past Tuesday Tour was a great day on Mercer Lake. Located just North of Florence, this lake is off the beaten path and has different “arms” to paddle along and explore. We had some windy weather but still were able to enjoy the shoreline. The water was warmer than the air temp, so getting wet wasn’t a big problem!
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- Paddling below an Osprey
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- Stuck in the cabbage!
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- Quiet waters
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- Mercer Lake
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- Salmonberry! Mmmmm…
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- Paddling in the wind.
Coyote Creek 11th of June 2013
It was a cool day with a small breeze, with sun breaks. Ideal for paddling in late Spring. We went down from the Coyote Creek Canoe Launch to Fern Ridge Reservoir. We encountered many birds along the way, and saw signs of beaver. There are a number of bird houses to shelter various small birds.
Here is a photo of a couple kayakers at the end of a nice day on, and in, the water!
This is a link to the Coyote Creek hiking trails….
http://www.dfw.state.or.us/resources/visitors/fern_ridge_wildlife_area/trailguide.asp
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