Photo by Nancy Steinberg
All Hail the Trail!
The Tillamook County Water Trail receives national recognition and you’re invited to the celebration
Photo by Jennifer James-Long
by Nancy Steinberg
For the TODAY
What’s your paddling pleasure? Whitewater? Flatwater? Ocean water? All three in one day? Whether you are an adrenaline junkie who can’t wait to roll that kayak, or you want to float with your family on a quiescent lake, the Tillamook County Water Trail, with its 250 miles of navigable waters, is the place to be.
The Tillamook County Water Trail is a project of the Tillamook Estuaries Partnership, a program dedicated to conserving and restoring Tillamook County’s five exquisite estuaries. (Pop quiz: can you name all five? They are Nehalem, Tillamook, Netarts and Nestucca bays, and the Sand Lake Estuary). The TEP grew out of the designation of Tillamook Bay as an “Estuary of National Significance” by the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Estuary Program.
The trail is not one contiguous route like a single hiking trail, but a web of places to paddle throughout the five estuaries. The TEP has developed two extensive and beautiful guides to the Nehalem and Tillamook Bay watersheds for non-motorized craft that include maps, ecological information about the waterways, safety information, and locations of launch sites, camp sites, and other infrastructure. The maps provide keys indicating the location of public and private land so paddlers know where it’s OK to picnic and where they ought to stay in their boats. Two other guides (Nestucca and Sand Lake will be described in one combined guide), now in the works, will complete the set.
The water trail traverses forests, pastures, and estuarine environments. Your view could be Coast Range peaks, towering fir and cedar trees, rolling dairy land, or rocky islands. Wildlife is abundant: harbor seals chase salmon runs, elk graze in meadows, and raptors swoop overhead. River otters are beginning to be seen in greater numbers in some areas.
Contributed photo.
For less experienced paddlers, one of the best and safest ways to experience the Tillamook County Water Trail is by signing up for a guided tour with Kayak Tillamook, a guide service that plies all of these waterways. Whitewater stretches extend up to Class II and Class III rapids, but those aren’t the only hazards. Marcus Hinz, one of the founders and owners of Kayak Tillamook, stresses that paddlers need to be aware of the tides, not just because low tide can leave you stuck on a mud flat.
“Many people don’t realize that in Tillamook Bay, when the tide comes in, it’s backing up the water in all those rivers. So when the tide turns, it’s not just the tide going out – it’s the tide plus five rivers dumping water into the bay. The tide goes out much faster than it comes in,” which can suck small boats out into the ocean, he said. The lesson here: check your tide tables, or kayak with a guide.
The benefits of the trail go far beyond recreation. Julie Chick, Water Trail Project Coordinator for the TEP, explained that sometimes the best way to educate people about the value of estuaries is to get them wet.
“We try to get people out into the resource, touching it, interacting with it,” she said. “If people love the estuary, they’ll take care of it, and they’ll understand that they’re a part of it.”
By gently guiding users toward some stretches of watershed, and away from others dominated by private property or ecologically sensitive areas, the guides can help manage sustainable use of the waterways. The water trail guides also serve to encourage all of the disparate land owners in the watershed to band together to provide stewardship over their piece of the ecosystem.
The Tillamook County Water Trail has now received national attention, as it was recently designated as a National Recreational Trail by the U.S. Department of the Interior. National recreation trail designation recognizes exemplary existing trails and trail systems throughout the United States that provide particularly special recreational opportunities. The designation is a way for the federal government to say: if you’re on the coast of Oregon, don’t miss this trail.
The TEP and Kayak Tillamook are hosting a bash to celebrate the National Recreation Trail designation on Friday, Aug. 17, at the Pacific City boat launch next to Bob Straub State Park. The festivities start at 11 am with a dedication ceremony and cake, followed by a festive flotilla of non-motorized boats at noon. Bring your own gear if you can – Kayak Tillamook has a few boats to share – and paddle part of the water trail for an hour.
For more information, contact Julie Chick at the TEP at 503-322-2222 or Julie@tbnep.org or Marcus Hinz at Kayak Tillamook at 503-866-4808 or marc@kayaktillamook.com. Both organizations’ web sites also have additional information: www.tbnep.org (where the Water Trail maps are also available) and kayaktillamook.com.
“Many people don’t realize that in Tillamook Bay, when the tide comes in, it’s backing up the water in all those rivers. So when the tide turns, it’s not just the tide going out – it’s the tide plus five rivers dumping water into the bay. The tide goes out much faster than it comes in,” which can suck small boats out into the ocean, he said. The lesson here: check your tide tables, or kayak with a guide.
The benefits of the trail go far beyond recreation. Julie Chick, Water Trail Project Coordinator for the TEP, explained that sometimes the best way to educate people about the value of estuaries is to get them wet.
“We try to get people out into the resource, touching it, interacting with it,” she said. “If people love the estuary, they’ll take care of it, and they’ll understand that they’re a part of it.”
By gently guiding users toward some stretches of watershed, and away from others dominated by private property or ecologically sensitive areas, the guides can help manage sustainable use of the waterways. The water trail guides also serve to encourage all of the disparate land owners in the watershed to band together to provide stewardship over their piece of the ecosystem.
The Tillamook County Water Trail has now received national attention, as it was recently designated as a National Recreational Trail by the U.S. Department of the Interior. National recreation trail designation recognizes exemplary existing trails and trail systems throughout the United States that provide particularly special recreational opportunities. The designation is a way for the federal government to say: if you’re on the coast of Oregon, don’t miss this trail.
The TEP and Kayak Tillamook are hosting a bash to celebrate the National Recreation Trail designation on Friday, Aug. 17, at the Pacific City boat launch next to Bob Straub State Park. The festivities start at 11 am with a dedication ceremony and cake, followed by a festive flotilla of non-motorized boats at noon. Bring your own gear if you can – Kayak Tillamook has a few boats to share – and paddle part of the water trail for an hour.
For more information, contact Julie Chick at the TEP at 503-322-2222 or Julie@tbnep.org or Marcus Hinz at Kayak Tillamook at 503-866-4808 or marc@kayaktillamook.com. Both organizations’ web sites also have additional information: www.tbnep.org (where the Water Trail maps are also available) and kayaktillamook.com.
Photo by Nancy Steinberg
