Willamette Valley...Where to ride???

I'm originally from Southern Oregon but am going to school at OSU in Corvallis and was wondering what are the closest and best places to ride? Has anyone ridden on Green Peter Reservoir? How far up the Willamette River can ski-boats safely drive, does anyone ride the Willamette River south of Salem? Any helpful info would be appreciated.

Never been there, but I know people ride at Green Peter, I hear it's beautiful. Check with Toby at Salem Watersports to see where to ride on the Willamette that far south!! I don't think they ride south of Salem, maybe north of Salem.

Wow, this could get long.

First off, congrats on choosing OSU. You won't regret it if you get plugged into campus. I joined a fraternity and have never regretted it for a minute but if that is not for you, then make an effort to meet a lot of people in the dorms and really to meet people and do things on campus.
Second off, you will have less time to ride than you think. Yes there is a lot of free time in school but you will have so much going on to fill it riding may not get up there on your priority list.
Third, there aren't any really great places to ride that are real close to Corvallis. That combined with the fact that the school year only touches a couple of months when the weather is decent always made riding for me a backburner thing.

Where to ride:
Willamette Corvallis - Pretty much a no go. The river is shallow and narrow above the downtown stretch and shallow below that stretch. I've been in there but the current is ripping and I was able to stand up when I fell. If you are going to try, do you homework, talk to the crew team who spend all kinds of time on the river down there and scout it with a PWC/kayak if you can access one.
Willamette Salem - will take you 45-1 hr. to get there. I've only been in the river there once but see people there in the summer. I think the protocol there is to launch and go upriver along Hwy 22. The launch is in West Salem right behind Roth's grocery store.
Willamette Newberg - will take you 1-1.5 hrs to get there and get in the water. Launch and go downriver, stay in the middle and watch for snags that appear as the river levels start to come down. (won't be a problem if you are riding Sept./Oct)
Foster Res - just outside of Sweethome is your best bet. We used to take my boat up there for a rush event the week before school every year. It is a big open lake and can get blown out, if it is windy, use the dam as a windblock.
Green Peter - only been up there to jump the bridge but I know people ride it.
Devils Lake, Lincoln City - will take you maybe 1.5-2 hrs to get to but the water level doesn't fluctuate like crazy. Not real deep but always deep enough for boats, watch the backs of bays for lillys in the water, that is where it is too shallow. Enough lee shorelines to stay out of the wind for the most part no matter where it is coming from. It is on the coast and may not be as nice when you get there as it was when you left the valley.


What I would do if I were you is plan one weekend early in the school year and one weekend in May and get all your friends to make the drive to go camping. I would go the either Billy Chinook or to Detroit. Detroit is closer but Billy is better. There are USFS campgrounds where you can party without too much trouble. They will nickel and dime you to death for extra vehicles and make you buy another campsite for too many people in one but remember, they are the ones who talk to the law and can make trouble for you. Perry South, at Billy Chinook, is a big party spot for Memorial Day weekend. It is a haul to get back there but it is worth it. Camp away from the hosts in the spots above the road so they can't hear you if they aren't reserved (or you can reserve them but if you would get kicked out if they think you are partying too much you won't get your money back.) The riding at both Detroit and Billy is great if you get out in the morning before 10 or 11 and then from dusk til dark when all of the families are off the water. If you are early in the season, it could be good all day. At Detroit, the USFS campground is through the town of Detroit and then take a right across from the Pacific Pride cardlock gas. You will see the ramp and dock from the Hwy across the lake. That arm is great for riding, the wind doesn't blow from that direction so the only thing the messes it up are boats. It is harder to get away from the hosts at Detroit.

A note of caution. Stay away from the state parks unless you want to talk to the state police, they don't give you any leeway that a local sheriff might.

Search google for Willamette River guide. It is a PDF put out by boatoregon and is a great guide to the whole river system. It tries to let you know where the bad spots are but it can't point out every area that is bad as there are so many shallow spots on that river and logs move with heavy winter flows.

Good luck and Go Beavs!

green peter is amazing, clean, clear, and warm (during the summer) water. Much more protected and less crowded than foster. You'll thank yourself for driving the extra 15 minutes. The only drawback is the mud which has clay in it. Be very careful not to get it on your carpet or it'll be a pain to get out.

B fitz really hit the nail on the head I choose to drive to newberg if i wanted to ride you are going to get good water without a doubt. An hour plus is the drive no matter what so save yourself some frustration and find some willamette water.

DEvils is so hit and miss that if you dont have a house there or can spend time waiting for the wind to die down then I would generally avoid it.

If you want to hit newberg up I would be glad to go out and show you where to drive and point out the snags. Ive been running that section of the river for 6 years and have not dinged a prop yet.

Thanks everyone for such great info. I'll have the boat up in early May and will hopefully be able to try the Willamette between Salem and Newberg and Green Peter.

Jon, did you get my private message? I've had some issues with them, so I thought I'd check.