Washington
Kayaking the Lower Columbia River: Exploration and Discovery
Program No. 2288RJ
Paddle along the basalt cliffs, Sitka spruce swamps, and tidal marshes of the Columbia River estuary with experts as you improve your kayak technique and learn about this grand region.
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DATES
& starting prices
PRICES
Jun 2 - Jun 7, 2024
Starting at
1,549Jun 16 - Jun 21, 2024
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1,549Aug 25 - Aug 30, 2024
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1,549Sep 8 - Sep 13, 2024
Starting at
1,549Sep 22 - Sep 27, 2024
Starting at
1,549DATES
& starting prices
PRICES
Jun 2 - Jun 7, 2024
Starting at
1,849Jun 16 - Jun 21, 2024
Starting at
1,849Jun 30 - Jul 5, 2024
Starting at
1,849Jul 14 - Jul 19, 2024
Starting at
1,849Jul 28 - Aug 2, 2024
Starting at
1,849Aug 25 - Aug 30, 2024
Starting at
1,849Sep 8 - Sep 13, 2024
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1,849Sep 22 - Sep 27, 2024
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1,849Oct 13 - Oct 18, 2024
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6 days
5 nights
14 meals
5B 4L 5D
2
Introduction to Kayaking, Paddle Lower Gorge Cliffs
Skamokawa, WA
4
Hike at Local Farm/Museum/Skamokawa Creek Paddle
Skamokawa, WA
5
Welch Island, Lewis & Clark National Wildlife Refuge
Skamokawa, WA
6
Program Concludes
Skamokawa, WA
At a Glance
Skamokawa is the ideal starting point for exploring the lower Columbia River by kayak. Paddle in a variety of habitats, from narrow sloughs winding through Sitka spruce swamps to wide-open expanses on the estuary of the Columbia. Walk among the giant trees of an ancient coastal forest. In addition to giving professional kayak instruction, your leaders are experts in local history, geology and wildlife.
Activity Level
Outdoor: Spirited
Kayaking in single or double kayaks up to six hours. No previous kayak experience necessary.
Small Group
Love to learn and explore in a small-group setting? These adventures offer small, personal experiences with groups of 13 to 24 participants.
What You'll Learn
- Weave your way through the tidal marsh islands that comprise the 35,000-acre Lewis & Clark National Wildlife Refuge.
- Paddle along the 90-foot cliffs and waterfalls of the Lower Gorge, or through the quiet Julia Butler Hansen Refuge.
- Enjoy two traditional music performances with songs by and about the people of the Columbia-Pacific Region.
General Notes
Due to the nature of this program, listening devices are not available.
Featured Expert
All trip experts
Andrew Emlen
Since starting Skamokawa's kayaking program in 1998, Andrew Emlen has led more than 250 Road Scholar programs. Andrew has a master's degree in environmental studies. A former instructor of environmental science, geology labs and field biology, he is well-versed on local birds, mammals, insects, plants and mushrooms. Andrew plays cello, guitar and several other instruments with his fellow local musicians during evening presentations that feature music of the lower Columbia River. He is a certified wilderness first responder.
Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.
Andrew Emlen
View biography
Since starting Skamokawa's kayaking program in 1998, Andrew Emlen has led more than 250 Road Scholar programs. Andrew has a master's degree in environmental studies. A former instructor of environmental science, geology labs and field biology, he is well-versed on local birds, mammals, insects, plants and mushrooms. Andrew plays cello, guitar and several other instruments with his fellow local musicians during evening presentations that feature music of the lower Columbia River. He is a certified wilderness first responder.
Kyleen Austin
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Kyleen Austin has been exploring the outdoors her entire life and has led Road Scholar programs since 2014. She is a certified Wilderness First Responder and has completed the British Canoe Union’s four-star kayak sea leader training. Kyleen majored in English and music in college, worked as a worldwide marketing director for IBM, and has served with numerous nonprofit organizations as a governing board or staff member. The multitalented Kyleen is also a singer-songwriter, performing on her programs for Road Scholar.
Wren Hendriks
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Wren Hendriks, after ten years as a traveling sailor exploring the Columbia and beyond, is happy to call the uniquely welcoming town of Cathlamet, Washington home. Born to a family of trade fishermen, Wren has spent her life living and working on the water. Her favorite way of savoring the treasures of the Lower Columbia region is on a kayak.
Carson Thomas
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Carson Thomas was born and raised in Seattle. She moved to Maryland for 4 years where she spent many hours on a kayak traveling the Chesapeake Bay, exploring its 11,000 miles of coastline. While working on her bachelor’s, Carson loved learning about human-environmental relationships and the study of place in anthropology. Carson has traveled, taught in schools, and most recently, worked as a surveyor for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. She is an avid reader, explorer, and full-time observer of the natural world.
Suggested Reading List
(9 books)
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
Kayaking the Lower Columbia River: Exploration and Discovery
Program Number: 2288
Sky Time in Gray's River: Living for Keeps in a Forgotten Place
Bob Pyle, a winner of the John Burroughs award for natural history (for Wintergreen), here has written what Kathleen Dean Moore best described as “a lovingly rendered ecology of people in their home place”, just west of Skamokawa in Gray’s River.
Way to the Western Sea: Lewis & Clark Across the Continent
Looking for one short, readable book that tells the entire Lewis & Clark story? Lavender encapsulates it all, adding interesting background and context for the events of the expedition. This is the book I was handed by the staff of Fort Clatsop National Memorial when I began volunteering there in 1992.
Beach of Heaven: A History of Wahkiakum County
Local historian, gill-netter and Episcopal priest, Irene Martin has won a Governor's Heritage Award for her books on local history. She lives in Skamokawa and will be an evening program presenter for our Road Scholar program.
Northwest Passage: the Great Columbia River
Possibly the most comprehensive of the histories of the Columbia, broad in scope, thoughtful and thought-provoking.
Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West
This biography of Meriwether Lewis is the book that rekindled interest in the Lewis & Clark expedition, a bestseller with footnotes. Don’t expect a great deal of information on the Columbia, however. A Montanan, Ambrose wrote twice as much text per mile on the Missouri River as he did on the Columbia. All the same, a nice complement to a week following Lewis & Clark’s trail along the lower Columbia.
Naked Against the Rain: The People of the Lower Columbia 1770-1830
This book is hard to find, but it is an excellent account of the Chinookan peoples native to the lower Columbia River.
River of the West: Stories from the Columbia
This beautifully written book tells the story of the Columbia through the individual stories of its inhabitants, from Native Americans early and modern, explorers, missionaries, emigrants, fishermen and those seeking new lives during the dam-building era.
Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast: Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alaska
This is the best plant guide for our area. Organized by family, it has good photographs and drawings and rewards identification of each plant with a wealth of ecological information and notes on human uses.
Seeking Western Waters: The Lewis & Clark Trail for the Rockies to the Pacific
These authors have done something unique. For each day of the expedition’s travel in the Columbia River watershed, they provide a journal excerpt, explanatory text, and a photograph. Nearly every page provides a photo of an artifact, landscape, plant or animal described in the journals of Lewis and Clark.