Newfound Paradise: Paddlin’ Down the Tualatin River
August 10th, 2010 by Sylke Neal-Finnegan
We were riding in style in the colorful kayaks provided by the Tualatin Riverkeepers (which were funded, in part, by a WCVA tourism grant).
Over the weekend, the Washington County Visitors Association (WCVA) threw a summer social at Tualatin Community Park, located in the heart of downtown Tualatin (and one of the locations of this week’s Crawfish Festival). It was an ideal summer day in Oregon, and a perfect Saturday to take a leisurely trip down the serene Tualatin River.
With some quick instruction and guidance from the fine volunteers of the Tualatin Riverkeepers, and after being suited up with life jackets, my daughter and I –and the rest of the guests at the summer social– set out in the kayaks for an hour-long paddle trip down the Tualatin River.
The quiet calm of the river was amazing. Trees flanked both sides of the river, and the only clues that we were in a suburban area were the occasional overpasses we floated under, which also served as makeshift habitats for nesting birds who make the river their home.
Along our slow journey, we passed a young man and his brother fishing, presumably for the largemouth bass that thrive in the Tualatin. Other folks enjoying the river passed us slow-poke kayakers on their kayaks and canoes, each sharing a smile and saying a pleasant “hello” as they paddled past us.
It wasn’t just river dwellers of the human variety that were enjoying the Tualatin River that day. Plenty of birds were enjoying the sunny, cool afternoon. Wood ducks, green heron and other birds indigenous to the area were swimming and flying alongside the kayaks, with some stopping for a quick bite to eat. Although we didn’t see any river otters or beavers during our excursion, we did see evidence that at least one beaver makes the river its home. Sue, one of the fabulous guides from the Riverkeepers, found a recently gnawed piece of bark floating downstream, an artifact left behind by a busy beaver.
Why I waited three years to try kayaking down the Tualatin River, I don’t know. What I do know, however, is that I can’t wait to get back out on the river and spend another lazy Saturday with the birds and beavers.
Tags: Canoeing, fishing, kayaking, paddle trip, Tualatin Oregon, Tualatin River, Tualatin Riverkeepers
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