REPORT LOGJAMS AND HAZARDS TO NAVIGATION

If you know of a situation where the Tualatin River is blocked please fill out our online TROUBLE TICKET. This information will be posted here to inform paddlers and other river users.

Log Jam

LOG JAM REPORT

April 15, 2008 - Update on RM 38.4 Just Downstream from Farmington. STILL IMPASSABLE. April Olbrich reported on April 15 that there is a permanent log jam below Farmington Road/Harris Bridge. An island exists there and usually a lot of debris is deposited there. " I’m not sure that it is ever clear, except during high water."

April 14, 2008 - Upstream from Schamburg Bridge (RM 18.2) Tom Szymanski reports a large logjam. There is a narrow opening that a kayak may be able to squeeze through. Use caution.

March 29, 2008 - Elsner Rd. (RM 14)
Large log from a downed tree blocks the entire river making it impassable at sharp bend near River Mile 14 and SW Elsner Rd.

March 18, 2008 - Eagle Landing - Rainbow Lane (RM 29.6).
Bob Fuquay reported that a tree is down and blocking the stairway down to the river. Washington County has been notified and will clar the tree soon. Photo below.


May 5, 2007 Rood Bridge (RM38.4) to Eagle Landing (RM29.6)

IMPASSABLE JUST DOWNSTREAM FROM FARMINGTON BRIDGE

We launched Jay Hamlin's two man canoe from Rood bridge, with the intention of ending up at Eagle landing in Scholls. We shuttled a vehicle there ahead of time.

Immediately after launching, we encountered our first log jam about 100 feet downstream. It took three 6" diameter cuts with the bow saw to open up a 6 to 8 foot passage on the North side of the channel (left bank). Pretty smooth sailing for awhile after that. I am guessing we went about a mile before we encountered a second log jam. This one was pretty small, and with a little less effort than the last, we achieved passage. The rest of the float to Farmington bridge went smoothly, with fairly swift water in a few locations where the river narrows. Immediately after the Farmington bridge we encountered a third log jam which was pretty tangled up. After only two cuts we were able to break it up pretty good, leaving about a 10' passage on the north side of the river (left bank).

Once we got below the bridge, small islands appear in the middle of the channel. The water gets pretty swift passing the islands due to the "funnel effect." We stayed to the right around the first island or two and then cut across left and got tangled on a small tree stump that pinned our canoe sideways for a brief time. We managed to swing the boat around the stump without incident, and "ate a little shrubbery" as we passed through the narrow channel by the third set of islands (for future
reference: I recommend staying South, on the right bank, through this area
:-)

We only got about 1/8 to 1/4 mile down from the Farmington bridge when we encountered a LARGE, IMPASSIBLE LOG JAM. We nosed the canoe into the start of the jam to look at the possibility of passage. We immediately ran the bow up on a log beneath the surface. We took this opportunity to survey the scene and decided "reverse" was our best and only option. The jam looks like it covers about fifty feet of river, from bank to bank. It is pushed up against an island with a pretty swift channel to each side. My guess is that if we were to consider clearing passage, it would require some pretty serious labor, and a chain saw would be in order.

We made our way back upriver and executed our landing by the river gauge under the Farmington bridge. The exit proved to be interesting. The shore is that typical "greasy" Tualatin River mud that we all know and love. Beyond the mud are the spikes that go up the bank to hold the erosion control fabric in place. They all stick up about 6 to 10" and are installed in about a 12" grid. It kind of felt like we were landing on the beach at Normandy! :-)

Once we got through the "spikes", we took the canoe around the NORTH SIDE of the bridge footing. The south side appeared to provide more "jungle like" obstacles, as well as irrigation piping we would have to cross. The pathway back to the road proved to be quite a challenge. I am guessing it's a good 100 yards to the end of the bridge approach retaining wall, where we could get back to the road. The terrain is very uneven and rocky, and is covered with tall grass and some shrubbery. All of these items made transporting a canoe full of gear very problematic. I ended up pushing our gear up on the top of the bridge footing at the end of the cyclone fence on the bridge. The empty canoe could now be carried upside down so we could better manage our footing. There is a ditch which parallels the bridge that provided a fairly good walkway once we got down into it with the boat. The gear was retrieved from the bridge by hopping over the fence and passing it across to be carried back to the canoe. Not the best landing site, but it is workable!!

The only remaining problem we faced now was, you guessed it.....Rood Bridge / car 1 - five miles upstream : Eagle Landing / car 2 - six miles downstream. Thank goodness for cell phones!! (There is also a small store at the corner of Farmington and River Road as an option for needed
assistance.)

A big Thank You goes out to my wife, Patty, for her response to our call for "taxi service!' (even though she accused us of "looking pretty goofy" standing there by the road with our canoe and all of our gear!!!) Thanks to Jay for providing the canoe and the good company! It was an adventure!

(Sorry my report wasn't as brief as I intended. I had fun re-living the adventure :-)
IN SHORT, this stretch of river is navigable with fairly minimal skill. As the water level drops and the river gets narrower, passage will narrow as well and additional clearing may be required. Due to the large log jam, Farmington Bridge is the end of the line going downstream. If anyone plans to do a "round trip" from Rood Bridge, allow lots of extra time and energy for the paddle back upriver!

Ken Huisman

ACCESS POINTS ON THE RIVER

These sites are referenced on the Paddler's Guide Map(551 kB pdf format).

Willamette Park, West Linn (RM 0.0 LB)
Enter park on 12th Street. This site provides paddling access
to the Willamette and the first few hundred yards on the
Tualatin. Shallow rocky rapids immediately upstream from
here will prevent you from going upstream on the Tualatin.

Fields Bridge, West Linn (RM 1.7 LB)
Enter on Dollar Street off Hwy. 212 (Borland Road-Willamette
Falls Drive) You can’t paddle downstream due to rocks and
shallow water, but you can paddle upstream for about 1.5
miles from this site to where rocks and rapids will stop your
progress. Tualatin River Wetland Park is at RM 2.4 (north).

Hazard - Lake Oswego Corp. Diversion Dam (RM 3.45)
This low dam which raises the river level a few feet
is DANGEROUS AND IMPASSABLE. STAY AWAY!

Stafford Road - Shipley Bridge (RM 5.4 LB)
Take Stafford Road exit off I-205 north and head past
Wanker’s Corner. Cross the bridge and turn right onto
Shadow Wood Drive. Access river from Shadow Wood
Drive, northeast of the bridge. Parking is limited.Metro
has purchased land just upstream behind Stafford School
for a future access point.

Rivergrove Boat Ramp (RM 7.4 LB)
From SW Childs Rd. turn south onto SW Marlin. Turn right
onto Dogwood Drive and park. Small boat ramp is located
between two houses on the south side of Dogwood Drive.
Limited parking available. Please respect private property.

Brown’s Ferry Park, Tualatin (RM 7.5 RB)
From I-5 take Tualatin-Sherwood exit. Go east on SW
Nyberg Street.When the road turns right to SW 65th, make
a left turn onto Nyberg Lane. Keep going east for a few blocks.
The park has a network of nature trails, parking, picnic
facilities, restrooms and a very nice dock for canoes and
kayaks. No boat ramp for motorized craft. Canoe rental is
available on summer weekends. For rental information call
Alder Creek Kayak & Canoe at 503-691-2405.

Tualatin Community Park (RM 8.9 RB)
Take Tualatin-Sherwood exit off of I-5 and go west 1/2 mile.
Turn right onto Boones Ferry Road.When Boones Ferry
Road turns right, continue straight on Tualatin Road for one
block. Turn right at the railroad trestle (stay on the south
side) and follow it to the boat ramp. Tualatin Community
Park is a large multi-purpose park with a boat ramp,
restrooms and picnic facilities.

Caution (RM 9.3)
Just upstream from Fanno Creek and the
railroad bridge, the river becomes very shallow during
summer, if the diversion dam is down. BEWARE OF ROCKS.

Cook Park, Tigard (RM 9.8 LB)
Turn south on SW 92nd off Durham Road behind Tigard
High School. Follow the road into the park past the
wetlands, soccer fields, parking lot, and playground areas.
The road twists through the trees with many speed bumps
before you come to the boat ramp and dock. Take note of
the large flood marker on the piling west of the dock. Cook
Park is a large multi-purpose park with restrooms, picnic
facilities, boat ramp and parking.

Jurgens Park, Tualatin (RM 10.6 RB)
17255 SW Jurgens Ave., Tualatin. Take Jurgens Ave. north
from Tualatin Road. The parking lot is a long walk to launch
site where a ramp leads to a dock designed for canoes and
kayaks. Trails, restrooms, ball fields, picnic and playground
areas are available.

99W Bridge & Hazelbrook Rd., Tualatin (RM 11.5 RB)
From 99W turn south onto 124th. Turn east onto Tualatin
Road. Turn north onto SW 115th Avenue. Turn left (west)
onto Hazelbrook Road. There are four parking spots at the
put-in. No restroom. More parking at Hazelbrook Middle
School, two blocks east. This was the historical site of
Taylor’s Ferry. Pilings from an old wooden covered bridge
are still in the river here.

Schamburg Bridge, Sherwood (RM 16.2 RB)
From Beef Bend Road, turn south onto Roy Rogers Road
for about 3/4 miles. There is limited parking on the west side
of the road. BEWARE OF TRAFFIC! This is a difficult access
site; the informal path on the southwest side of the bridge
is steep and slippery. USE CAUTION.

Scholls Bridge (RM 26.9 LB) - NOTE: BRIDGE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION - MAY BE INACCESSIBLE
On Highway 210 (Scholls Ferry Road) north of Scholls-
Sherwood Road. Historic site of Scholls Ferry. Informal
access site on northeast end of bridge. Please stay on the
highway right-of-way. There is limited parking along the
road. The path to the river is steep and slippery.

Eagle Landing (RM 29.6 LB)
From Highway 210 (Scholls Ferry Road) just north of the
Scholls Bridge, turn west at the Groner School onto Rainbow
Lane. Drive west about 2/3 mile to the bend in the road.
Go south for another 1/2 mile. Limited parking. Stairs to
river, no dock, difficult launch site.

Rood Bridge Park, Hillsboro (RM 38.4 LB)
From Tualatin Valley Highway (Hwy. 8) take River Road
southeast to Rood Bridge Road. Follow Rood Bridge Road
south for a few blocks. The park is on the east side of Rood
Bridge Road just before crossing the river. Restrooms, trails,
picnic and parking are available.

The Rest of the River - Upstream from RM 40
We do not recommend access to the Tualatin River at
bridges upstream from river mile 40. The river is blocked
by many log jams which are dangerous. Banks of the river
are steep and often covered with blackberries and poison
oak, making portage difficult. To portage around log jams,
always ask permission before crossing private property.
Other Access - Tualatin River Discovery Day
Tualatin Riverkeepers offers organized paddle trips for the
public including the Tualatin River Discovery Day, held on
the last Saturday of June. Some of our paddle trips start or
end at sites not normally accessible to the public. For a list of
trips currently planned, visit www.tualatinriverkeepers.org

Paddling Safety

In the summer,much of the lower Tualatin is a slow,
meandering river, with little or no current below River
Mile 42. Plan on an average speed of 2 miles per hour
with constant paddling. Paddling upstream is not usually
a problem. In many stretches, it is a good place for
beginners to develop their paddling skills. During the
spring and winter, high flow levels, fallen trees, and
submerged debris make paddling on the river hazardous,
especially for those unfamiliar with the river. Each winter
brings new log jams that can dramatically change the
nature of the river. Whenever you paddle, remember
that river travel has inherent risks associated with it.
Log jams, or other debris or structures in the river can
trap people and boats. Death by drowning may occur.
All river users are responsible for their own safety.
Play it safe by following a few simple rules.