Strokes of Beauty

Oregon’s bays, waterways and rivers conceal natural areas filled with diverse wildlife and breathtaking scenery. Kayaks offer a peaceful way to explore this hidden world. Paddlers can slip silently across the surface, accessing places they otherwise would never see, while enjoying the unique perspective of being at eye level with nature. Guided tours include equipment and instructions, plus an expert’s knowledge of where and when to go. Here are three guided kayak tours easy enough for beginners but rewarding enough to satisfy experienced paddlers.

Scappoose Bay Wetlands
Thirty minutes from Portland, Scappoose Bay offers the chance to escape the city and slip into a serene water world.

Paddlers explore a series of intimate waterways where wildlife abounds. Around one bend, a turtle basks on a log then submerges, leaving only a rippling wake. A great blue heron lumbers into the sky with heaving strokes. From the top of a towering cottonwood tree, an eagle surveys the landscape, alert for prey. Kayakers dip their blades in waters where Chinook tribes in dugout canoes once hunted. Deer still forage along the shoreline, while beaver and river otter ply the banks. Beneath the surface lurks a teeming undersea world of small-mouth bass, bluegill, catfish, and carp.

Guide Steve Gibons is known as the “Zen kayaker,” and by the end of the tour, paddlers are as calm as the water.
Scappoose Wetlands Tour, $45 including instruction and gear. For more information, call 503.366.7517 or visit www.scappoosebaykayaking.com.
Getting There: From Portland, travel northwest along Highway 30 through Scappoose. At milepost 25, turn right on Bennett Road, then left onto Old Portland Road to Scappoose Bay Kayaking.

Hoquarten Slough
Revisit the era when waterways ruled on a paddling tour of the Hoquarten Slough in the coastal city of Tillamook.

A century ago, the slough was the primary commercial route for oceangoing ships. Fishing boats, ferries and schooners crowded the waterway. Then the railroad and automobiles arrived, and the slough fell silent.

On a half-day tour of the now-tranquil channel, guides share stories from Tillamook’s colorful maritime past while paddlers dodge the weathered pilings that once supported the city.

Seasonal migratory birds flock to the slough and its old-growth swamp. Ancient Sitka spruce teeter along the banks, their drooping limbs offering sanctuary for wildlife and passing paddlers.

Fall and winter guests enjoy steaming thermoses of cider. Afterward, they can stretch their legs with a stroll along the new Hoquarten Interpretive Trail, created through a community partnership to preserve the unique history and natural resources of the area.

Hot Cider Hoquarten Slough Tour, $35 including gear and instruction. For more information call Tillamook Bay Community College at 888.306.8222, ext. 10 or visit www.tillamookbay.cc and select “water.”
Getting there: From Portland, take Highway 26 west 20 miles to Highway 6 west and continue 50 miles to Tillamook. After Highway 6 becomes First Avenue, turn right on Ivy to the Hoquarten Slough. Hood River
Adventure-seekers should head east to Hood River for an adrenaline-charged white water odyssey on the “Weekender,” a two-day clinic and tour offered by Columbia Gorge Kayak School.

Paddlers get their feet wet at the local swimming pool, where certified guides teach basic strokes and safety skills. The bold can even learn to right an overturned kayak by doing a “barrel roll.”

In the afternoon, boaters launch into the calm, Class I waters of Hood River to apply their new skills. Along the way, they explore the twirling pools created by eddies and learn to interpret the river’s distinctive currents. Guide Amy Besch explains that the key is to “go with the flow.”

On Sunday, the group graduates to a Class II stretch of river that includes several whitewater sections.

“The Weekender” costs $200, including equipment and instruction. For more information, call 541.308.0282 or www.gorgekayaker.com.

Getting There: From Portland, take I-84 east for 60 miles to Hood River. Take exit #63 and turn right, then turn right on Oak, left on 13th, and right on May. Hood River Pool is on the left.