When in 1785 Capt. Robert Gray sailed to the mouth of the waterway that now divides Oregon from Washington, he wrote that "a river of giant proportions" must be the source of this violent collision between fresh- and saltwater. The treacherous breakers and outflow to the Pacific Ocean capsized and wrecked many ships. Gray, an American merchant sea captain, eventually crossed the bar in 1792 aboard his trading ship Columbia Rediviva but charted only a few miles upstream of the river he named "Columbia," after his ship. Celebrated explorers Lewis and Clark provided the most detailed chart of the river when they hiked and canoed across the Rockies and the Cascades to reach America's fabled "Gateway to the Pacific" in 1805.

Today, recreational boaters easily explore the spectacular scenery of Columbia River's main stream as it forms the twisting boundary between Oregon and Washington state, flanked by snow-covered peaks, forested cliffs, waterfalls, national and state parks, and the Lewis and Clark Memorial Highway.

Family cruising season generally starts here in late spring after the runoff from mountain snow abates. Some diehard anglers fish year-round, but summer usually opens fishing for coho and chinook salmon, steelhead, and shad on the rivers, then winter for sturgeon. Check regulations and limits at dfw.state.or.us and search "Columbia resources."

Cruising season peaks in summer. Under sunny skies, daytime temperatures on the river can reach the mid-80s, then drop to the 70s overnight. The season runs through mid-autumn, when scenery is magnificent, thanks to a nice mix of evergreens and colorful hardwoods on both riverbanks.

The Columbia starts as a trickling brook in Canada's Kootaney Mountains and is then amplified by nearly 100 raging tributaries along its circuitous, 1,234-mile dash to the ocean. En route, it dramatically changes its personality five times, as you'll see as we cruise upstream from Astoria, at the river mouth, to The Dalles.

The Notorious Columbia River Bar

I've crossed the Columbia River's infamous 2-mile-wide bar 10 times while delivering different boats up and down the Pacific Coast. In very calm conditions, with due diligence it can be relatively trouble-free. We'll see a few white caps on the bar, while inside the bar, fishing boats and windsurfers ply the calm waters. On the flip side, during stormy or winter conditions, the U.S. Coast Guard actually closes the bar to recreational vessels — often for days at a time.

We time our approach to the bar to coincide with favorable ocean tide (ideally an hour before high tide) and river current (not max flood or ebb) and with fair weather (not a strong west wind) and plenty of daylight — enough to get us over the bar and 10 miles upstream to Astoria.

Astoria And The Lower Columbia

Modeled after Trajan's Column in Rome, the 125-foot Astoria Column
was built in 1926. The outside features a hand-painted spiral frieze,
done in the sgraffito style, an Italian Renaissance art form. The scenes
tell the story of key regional events that led to statehood for Oregon
and surrounding states. (Photo: Pat Rains)

Ten miles upstream, Astoria Bridge (193-foot vertical clearance) spans the river, and the charted ship channel runs close along Astoria. We always berth at the Port of Astoria's West Mooring Basin, located a quarter mile before the bridge, the only public marina in town. It's an easy entrance with good access to fuel, provisions, and scads of eateries within walking distance.

Astoria's narrow downtown parallels the waterfront and consists of about 20 blocks of practical shops (chandlers, hardware, groceries) mixed with trendy restaurants, coffee and wine bars, Gold Rush themed T-shirt stores, and bike rentals. Dozens of Victorian mansions climb the steep, pine-clad hills behind the waterfront. Flavel House is one of the oldest, built by Captain Flavel, the first bar pilot on the Columbia. A tourist trolley runs from the Columbia River Maritime Museum down River Walk to the cruise-ship dock, then climbs 600 feet uphill to the Astoria Column — a spectacular place to fathom the lay of the land.

Before departing Astoria's marina, first timers should pick up an "Anchoring Safety" flier with five tricks unique to the Columbia. As the river turns and twists around islands, the 40-foot deep "ship channel" crosses from the Oregon side to the Washington side several times. Ships may travel up to 15 knots, some towing barges, usually confined to the buoyed channel, so ships have the right of way. We in pleasure craft navigate more slowly, so we stay along the edges of the navigable channel.

Check your charts. Quite a few tantalizing side channels offer stops for bird-watching, fishing, or even napping. Two nice stops for overnighting are Cathlamet, Washington (23 miles from Astoria), and St. Helens, Oregon (62 miles from Astoria, 25 miles from Portland).  Elochoman Marina on the Washington side makes an excellent day trip, only 23 miles from Astoria. At Buoy 41, we'll depart the ship channel and bear to port for 1.5 miles in the Cathlamet Channel, staying in 10 feet of water.

On the north side of Cathlamet village, we could anchor in the side stream lined with blackberry bushes, but the pretty basin for Cathlamet Marina has close along Astoria. We always berth at the Port of Astoria's West Mooring Basin, located a quarter mile before the bridge, the only pubic marina in town. It's an easy entrance with good access to fuel, provisions, and scads of eateries within walking distance.

St. Helens lies 39 miles upstream from Cathlamet, but on the Oregon side. Several full-service marinas and yacht clubs line the shore, including clusters of houseboats, and they all have dramatic views northeast across the river of snow-capped Mount St. Helens — yes, the volcano that notoriously erupted in 1980 (and is still active). St. Helens is only about 25 miles from downtown Portland, so many residents commute to work — some by boat. Here's where we joined up with John and Sue Waikart, commodores and cruise coordinators of the Columbia River Association of Yacht Clubs.

The Multnomah Channel

For a quick shortcut away from the strong current, the Multnomah Channel branches slightly west from the Columbia here at St. Helens. The Multnomah's personality is more hospitable, parklike, and residential. Eight marinas and seven launch ramps line the channel's west side, interspersed with dairy pastures and nice homes.

For lunch, tie up to Mark's on the Channel, a friendly houseboat restaurant and bar halfway up the Multnomah. Sauvie Island with its population of just over 1,000 lines the channel's east side. The current in the Multnomah is much lighter, too, because it's merely a 25-mile shortcut to the Willamette River (pronounced "will-AM-it" by locals).

On To Portland

Modern and sophisticated, Portland's metro area (population 2.35 million) fills the level ground where the wide valley of the Willamette River flows north into the Columbia. Only two marinas line the Willamette where it cuts through downtown Portland, and one of those is purely for houseboats.

Portland's 16-mile north shore is framed by the Columbia, here flowing almost east to west. Portland's Hayden and Tomahawk islands are given over to the maritime world, including boatyards and 11 marinas. Government Island is uninhabited but shelters four houseboat marinas tucked into shallow coves on Portland's north shore.

If we're marina hopping, it's 14 miles from Portland's Heyden Island marinas up to the Camas-Washougal Marina on the Washington side, then 23.5 to Cascade Marina on the Oregon side just 1.5 miles past Bonneville Lock.

After Washougal, four must-see features are Vista Point, Bridal Veil Falls, Multmonah Falls, and Beacon Rock. Trailer boats might haul out at Dalton Point, Oregon, and drive 2 miles up to Vista Point for its 11-mile view up to Beacon Rock and wander its 1920s domed history center. Both falls have visitor centers with parking so you can hike the well-maintained trails.

Beacon Rock State Park, 5 miles down from Bonneville Lock, is an ideal stop on the Washington side before or after locking through, and it's the most reliable anchorage on this stretch. Enter the cove west of Pierce Island to use the 200-foot dock, two-lane ramp, or anchor east of the snag line. This park is popular on holiday weekends.

Bonneville Lock is free for U.S. boats to transit Bonneville and the seven other massive locks on the Columbia and Snake rivers, all engineering marvels that make travel possible for shipping and recreational boats. The dam controls floods, provide drinking water, and generate electricity.

The gorge cuts through the Cascade Range with steep sides as it narrows to less than one-quarter mile in some spots, so give way to ship traffic. National forest land on both sides may hide views north of Mt. Adams (12,280-foot elevation) and south of Mt. Hood (11,240 feet) — both snowcapped in summer.

It's 18.5 miles from Cascade to Hood River. In winter, the mountain draws skiers, so the town has trendy stores and a tourist railroad. July brings kiteboarders to the beach west of the bridge, and fruit is sold at farm stands. Nautical visitors may use the city's 100-foot guest dock for an hour, or anchor below the bridge legs, but the yacht club has no guest slips.

So we continue 15 miles through drying hillsides to the town of The Dalles, on the river's south bend. The Dalles Yacht Club offers 14 full-service guest slips to 50 feet LOA, first come, first served, plus a launch ramp with secure parking. The yacht club (the only marina in town) lies 2 miles before John Day Lock, so it's a convenient overnight stop, especially if we plan to lock farther up to the Snake River.

East of here, the scenery changes dramatically to dry buttes and cattle ranches, because it's in the rain shadow of the Cascade peaks. That makes The Dalles an excellent place to prepare for our downstream voyage, which we planned to enjoy just as much as the winding journey that brought us here.