Paddling 1,200 miles on the Columbia River: From a Bubbling Puddle to the Boundless Pacific Ocean.

In summer 2022 we canoed the entire Columbia River, from the puddle of bubbling springs where it starts, to the Pacific Ocean, just past Astoria, OR. It took us 33 days to paddle the 1,200 miles, through British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon. We set a goal of doing the entire trip by human-power, which meant we had to carry our canoe around the 14 massive dams that have been constructed along the river, some of which are among the largest dams in the world. This was our first long-distance canoe trip, so the journey was a learning experience from day one. This post has been in the works for a long time — we wanted to break down every aspect of our trip, including prep, mileage, gear, and our portage routes (tracked with GPS). Hopefully the information we lay out here will help others who are interested in doing all or some of the Columbia themselves.

Prep

We knew we wanted to Canoe the Columbia, but we weren’t sure if it was even possible. Fortunately, we found a book called Paddling the Columbia, by John Roskelley, which proved to us that is possible. Roskelley paddled the river in segments over the course of a few summers, so we decided that this was enough of a proof-of-concept for us to be confident that we could do it in one go. We bought the book in both paperback, to read at home as the trip approached, and digital, to have on our phones as we paddled. Whenever friends or family doubted our plans, we had at least one book backing us up.

We walked 1,500 miles from the Pacific Ocean to get to the headwaters of the Columbia, but that walk is a story for different posts (and covered in-depth in our Youtube, TikTok, and Instagram vidoes). That said, walking to the start posed some additional challenges when preparing for the paddle. Chiefly, we had to find a place to store our canoe while we were walking. Canal Flats, in British Columbia, is the town right at the start of the river, so we posted on the Canal Flats Facebook page asking if anybody was willing to lend us extra space in their garage for the summer. Right away three people volunteered, and the problem was solved. As we drove west from Wisconsin to the Olympic Peninsula to start our hike, we brought along our canoe and detoured through Canal Flats to drop it off. Thanks Lizzie for lending us your garage!

Gear

A unique challenge we faced when choosing the gear we’d use on this adventure is that we wanted it to overlap as much as possible with what we’d be carrying on our hike. Since we planned to portage around all of the dams by foot, keeping our gear as light-weight as possible was a major consideration. This meant no luxurious items like coolers or chairs, but since we are relatively ultra-light hikers anyway, this again meant that most of our gear choices would overlap between the walk and paddle.

Several years ago, Tim built a cedar-strip canoe. This is not the ideal canoe for a trip of this magnitude, but we hoped it would work because we thought it would add to the trip to do it in a homemade boat. Cedar strip canoes are by no means traditional canoes: they are made of very lightweight and flexible cedar strips, then coated in fiberglass for strength and waterproofing. Our canoe is 15.5 feet long and weighs in at 58 lbs. This is shorter and heavier than the ideal Columbia River canoe, but it isn’t terribly short or terribly heavy, so we gave it a go. We did encounter some rough water and the canoe was heavy on portages, but it made it to the end. In hindsight, completing the trip in that boat did add to the excitement.

Despite our heavy canoe, we wanted ultralight paddles and high-end lifejackets. We bought carbon fiber paddles before the trip and the nicest lifejackets we could find. They were excellent choices. We also picked up some low-end dry bags and waterproof cell phone cases from a canoe rental outfitter in the first town we passed through on the trip. They worked, but larger/lighter dry bags and better phone cases would have added to the experience.

Other than the items above, everything we brought overlapped with our hiking gear, including our tent, shoes, clothing, cooking equipment, etc. All of our gear is listed at the bottom of this post.

Daily mileage

When we started this trip, we had no idea how many miles per day we would be able to cover. We were optimistic that canoeing would be faster than hiking, but we weren’t sure. Also, we were competing against the calendar. If the paddling went slowly, we didn’t think we would finish the trip before storms, rain, wind, and generally bad weather set into the Pacific Northwest for the fall.

As it turned out, we were able to do more mileage per day on the canoe than we had covered hiking: our average daily mileage was 36. But, that number was highly variable from day to day due to factors entirely (and frustratingly) out of our control. Our lowest canoeing day was 2.7 miles, when high winds kept us almost entirely off the water. Our biggest day was 59.2 miles, across a rare stretch of the river that had a steady flow. We typically got in the boat as soon as day broke and paddled virtually nonstop all day until shortly after sunset. This was HARD.

Most of the Columbia felt more like a calm lake with no flow whatsoever — it is dammed almost the entire way from source to sea, meaning forward progress took continuous effort. The 14 dams along the Columbia each have massive reservoirs behind them that are better described as lakes than as rivers. At the bottom of each dam we would have a brief period of moving water, before the current would again slow to nothing. There were a few exceptions to this rule with faster moving water, including a few rapids. Over the last two or three days of the trip, as we approached the Pacific ocean, we learned the importance of timing our paddling. As the tide went out, we got a nice speed boost from the river flowing towards the ocean. But as the tide came in the river would actually flow backwards. On our second-to-last day, an incoming tide and a moderate headwind stopped us in our tracks. We could not make forward progress. We had to pull over to shore and wait for the tide to change before we decided it would be worthwhile to get back in the boat and paddle.

In hindsight, we both think that pushing so hard to beat the weather was more challenging than we would have preferred. Cutting the mileage in half, to 18 miles a day, still would have made for a challenging, but more enjoyable, trip.

Portage routes

One of the most challenging and confusing parts of our Columbia River trip was portaging around all 14 of the massive dams that obstruct the free flow of the river. Our goal was to do the entire trip by human power, which meant carrying the canoe and all of our gear for each of the portages. We packed light enough that we could fit all of our stuff in our backpacks while carrying the canoe over our heads to do each portage in a single trip, but that didn’t make it easy. Most of the portages were 1-2 miles in length, with the longest being nearly three miles. Only one portage was short enough to measure in meters instead of miles. One involved walking on the shoulder of a busy highway, and during another we got off-trail and ended up bushwhacking with a 58-lb canoe over our heads. Multiple times we were also faced with the challenge of scaling steep rocks with the canoe to get it down to the water below a dam. We were offered vehicle assistance on some portages, but we always turned it down. Below is a breakdown of each portage, including a description and a map of the route we took.

Portage 1: Mica Dam

Mica Dam was our first portage. It was long and had a huge elevation change, but it was an easy downhill paved road with a nice place to take-out the boat. There was a flat area below the dam where we were able to easily launch back into the water.

The take-out before Mica Dam

Portage 2: Revelstoke Dam

The takeout for this portage was a steep, sandy climb. It was not easy, but once we got up to the road it was smooth sailing on paved roads (including a few intersections) down to the water. We put in as lots of water was being released from the dam, which was a little bit intimidating but gave us a fast push through Revelstoke.

The steep dirt path we had to carry the canoe up.

*Note: The Keenleyside dam comes after the Revelstoke Dam, but it has a lock that personal watercraft are allowed to use. Therefore, it is not listed here as a portage. Using this lock instead of portaging was one of the highlights of our trip.

Portage 3: US/Canada Border

There is no dam here, but there is a border control station up the hill from a small takeout. We called border patrol ahead of time to learn how we can legally enter the US. They told us to take out the boat, walk up to the border patrol station about 1/4 mile from the river on , and show our passports. It seemed easy… When we arrived we did just that, but the agents were shocked and suspicious to see us. They said they had never had paddlers come through before. We told them there is a takeout right below them with cameras pointing at our boat, but they had never heard of it. They made lots of phone calls and then asked us to go get our boat to prove we were paddling in. We did, and they eventually believed us. They let us re-enter the USA, but they said we couldn’t put the boat back in where we took it out. We had to walk it more than a mile down the road until we found a place to put it back in the water.

The take-out at the US-Canada border.

Portage 4: Grand Coulee Dam

The Grand Coulee Dam is huge! The portage wasn’t too bad, but putting the boat back in below the dam was difficult. We scrambled with the boat down large rocks to get to the water level, which was challenging but possible.

Our put-in below the Grand Coulee was a scramble down the rocks in the background.

Portage 5: Chief Joseph Dam

The take-out for the Chief Joseph Dam was an easy boat-ramp. But the put-in was confusing. We walked Pearl Hill Road until it crossed Highway 17, and then cut right down to the water. Again, we had to do some scrambling, but it was much easier getting to the water here than it had been at the Grand Coulee Dam before it.

We put in on the left side of the river, just below this bridge after the Chief Joseph Dam.

Portage 6: Wells Dam

This was the easiest portage of the whole trip! All of the dams in this part of the river (Wells Dam to Rocky Reach Dam) are owned and operated by their respective counties, and the operators have different attitudes toward paddlers. We called Wells Dam ahead of time, and they gave us permission to walk right through the secure area. We had a couple of people meet us at a take-out and walk with us the 1/4 mile to the other side (they escorted us to make sure we weren’t a security threat). Thanks for being great, Wells Dam!

Our escorts waiting to greet us to cross Wells Dam.

Portage 7: Rocky Reach Dam

The take-out for Rocky Reach Dam is a boat launch at a state park. Easy! The state park is a potentially great place to camp and shower. The portage is on a bike path for about a mile, and then it gets hard. We could not find a good put-in, so we ended up bushwhacking down to the water. The route shown here is not recommended, but there is probably a much better option farther down the bike path.

Portaging the bike path around Rocky Reach Dam. Stay on this path longer than we did!

Portage 8: Rock Island Dam

This was probably the worst portage of the trip. We called Rock Island Dam ahead of time and they wanted nothing to do with paddlers. There is not take-out, so we pulled the boat to shore before entering the secure area. Still, we were stopped by security and told we were trespassing. There is a road that would make for an easy portage, but it is behind a security check-point and they wouldn’t let us through. We had to carry the boat along the narrow shoulder of Highway 28, while trucks blew by and honked their horns at us, and dam workers pointed and talked about us. Below the dam, the put in was a difficult rock scramble over 2-foot boulders that would be difficult to traverse even without a canoe over our heads. As terrible as this portage was, we don’t know of any better option. Rock Island Dam: you can do better.

These are the rocks that have to be scrambled down to the water after Rock Island Dam.

Portage 9: Wanapum Dam

This was a simple portage. There was a boat launch for take-out and a boat-launch for put-in. Both were close to the dam.

The take-out above Wanapum Dam.

Portage 10: Priest Rapids Dam

We portaged Priest Rapids dam in a fun way. We called ahead, and the dam workers were worried for us because of traffic on the roads we’d have to walk. A super nice dam worker named John escorted us in his truck to protect us from traffic as we walked the canoe around the dam. He drove walking-speed behind us, and we all chatted while we portaged. He was fun to talk to and it was great having his flashers warn cars behind us not to run us over. When we put back in below the dam we got to paddle down one of the longest free flowing sections of the entire Columbia — below Priest Rapids Dam the river moves FAST! (Even though it’s fast moving water, there weren’t any frightening rapids.)

Our friendly escort John blinking his headlights behind us for safety.

Portage 11: McNary Dam

From here to the ocean, all of the dams have locks… But only motor boats are allowed through the locks, so it was still portaging for us. There was a marked portage route on roads with no traffic at all, so this was an easy one.

McNary Dam sign.

Portage 12: John Day Dam

The only tricky part about this portage is that the take-out is on the far-right side of the river. To get to it, you go through a culvert that takes you into a small side-lake. A boat much larger than a canoe would fit through easily. Once there, there is a boat launch take-out, dirt roads that are easy to follow, and you can put back in on rocks below the dam.

The culvert you paddle through to get to the John Day takeout.

Portage 13: The Dalles

This is an interesting portage. It is easy to take-out from a boat ramp to the right of the lock, but the only good place to put back in on the other side of the river. We carried our canoe across the river on a bridge, which was a little bit intimidating because of traffic but not too bad. The portage took us right past a McDonalds for a coffee refill! We put back in from a parking lot just past the McDonalds.

Crossing the Columbia on a bridge while portaging The Dalles.

Portage 14: Bonneville Dam

The last Dam on the Columbia! Below this dam, there are ocean liners in the Columbia because nothing blocks their path up river — don’t get in their way! We took out beneath an underpass by paddling a very short way up Eagle Creek to get there. From there, we were able to follow a bike path pretty much all of the way past the dam. The bike path was a little bit more challenging than expected — it included a big staircase. After the bike path, some weaving through lightly trafficked streets is required, and then it’s a straight-forward put-in from a rocky beach. Expect to see lots of salmon fishermen here if you are doing this in September. Also, from this point on pay attention to the tides — canoeing will be much slower (or backwards) as the tide is coming in, and it can be very fast while it is going out. The tidal effect gets more and more extreme as you get closer to the ocean.

The take-out before Bonneville Dam.

Gear List:

Shared Gear:

Tim’s Gear:

Renee’s Gear:

Canoe Gear:

  • Cedar Strip Canoe built by Tim according to the “Wabnaki” plans in Gil Gilpatrikk’s “Building a Cedar Strip Canoe“
  • Bending Branches “Black Pearl ST” Carbon Fiber Paddles
  • Life Jackets
  • Dry bags (2)
  • Water proof cell phone cases (2)

Tim’s Clothing:

Renee’s Clothing:

  • Shoes: HOKA Mafate Speeds
  • Socks: Darn Tough Micro Crew Midweight Hiking Socks
  • Gators: Dirty Girl Gators
  • Underwear: 3 pairs ExOfficio
  • Bra: ExOfficio
  • Base Layer: Patagonia Lightweight Capilene Shirt & Pants
  • Puffy: Mountain Hardware Ghost Whisperer UL
  • Rain Coat: Outdoor Research Helium II
  • Rain Pants: Outdoor Research Helium II
  • Rain Mitts: Borah Gear
  • Gloves: REI Wool Liner Gloves
  • Sun Protection: Baseball Cap and Sunglasses
  • Outfit:
    • Shorts: Lululemon Synthetic shorts
    • Short Sleeve Shirt: Lululemon Synthetic T-Shirt
    • Long Sleeve Shirt: Patagonia Sun Hoodie

Consumables:

We also carry the following but do not include them in our base weights or gear list: fuel, toothpaste, sunscreen, Chapstick, and DEET as needed. And of course food and water!

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