Washington
Kayaking the Lower Columbia River: Exploration and Discovery
Program No. 2288RJ
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Kayaking the Lower Columbia River: Exploration and Discovery
Kayaking the Lower Columbia River: Exploration and Discovery
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Itinerary
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date.
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While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
Duration
6 days
5 nights
What's Included
14 meals (
5B, 4L, 5D
)
3 expert-led lectures
9 expert-led field trips
2 hands-on experiences
An experienced Group Leader
Taxes and customary gratuity
Road Scholar Assurance Plan
Skamokawa, WA
Kayaking the Lower Columbia River: Exploration and Discovery
Apr 25 - Apr 30, 2027
Program Number
2288
Day
1
Check-in, Registration, Orientation, Welcome Dinner, Class
Location:
Skamokawa, WA
Meals:
D
Stay:
Skamokawa Resort
Activity Note
Resort check-in from 3:00 p.m.
Afternoon:
Program Registration. Arrive as early as 3:00 p.m. at Skamokawa Resort. After you check in and have your room assignment, program staff will give you your welcome packet containing the up-to-date schedule that reflects any changes, other important information, and to confirm the time and location of the Orientation session. If you arrive late, please ask for your packet when you check in. Then, relax or explore nearby Skamokawa Vista Park or the J. B. Hansen Refuge. Any time between 4:00 and 5:30 p.m., drop by the kayak shop to meet the Group Leaders and get fitted to a kayak and gear. There will be social time in the Conference Room 5:30 p.m.
Dinner:
At the Duck Inn.
Evening:
Orientation. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. Periods in the schedule designated as “Free time” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding. Next, we will have a slide presentation by the Group Leader on the history of Skamokawa. Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.
Day
2
Deep river kayaking intro/Lewis & Clark Water Trail
Location:
Skamokawa, WA
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Skamokawa Resort
Activity Note
Getting in/out of vans; in/out of kayaks; paddling 6-7 miles throughout the day. The Roll and Rescue demonstration may be moved to another day. Guides will inform what day this will be on.
Breakfast:
8:00 a.m. at The Duck Inn. Each day, we will have pack lunches provided and take them with us on our field trips.
Morning:
At 8:45 we will meet at the kayak shop, enter vans, and ride to the kayak put-in for our first field trip. We will have an introduction to kayaking on protected Deep River, offering an opportunity to work on strokes before paddling out the river to Gray's Bay. Gray's Bay of the Columbia River is one of the premier wildlife areas in the region. Wildlife seen on this adventure include river otters, harbor seals, Roosevelt elk and Bald Eagles. Here the Columbia is eight miles wide, offering impressive views of the estuary, yet our path along the forested hills along the shore is protected from prevailing winds.
Lunch:
We will eat our pack lunches on a small golden sand beach tucked among sandstone bluffs, with a view across the broad Columbia to Astoria. Here we will share some of the most exciting journal entries of the Lewis & Clark expedition at the location where they experienced it. Our beach also offers the possibility of finding Miocene marine fossils.
Afternoon:
After lunch our tide will have turned to aid our return to our put-in. After returning to Skamokawa, the Group Leaders will give us a demonstration of all the commonly used kayak rolls and rescues. Everyone will then have an opportunity for those who want to try learning these skills to don a wetsuit and practice. <br< We’ll have some free time to relax before dinner
Dinner:
At The Duck Inn, at 6:00 p.m..
Evening:
We will be joined by historian Irene Martin, who won the 2000 Governor’s Heritage Award for her work documenting the cultures of the Lower Columbia. The author of six books on the history of the region, she is also a gillnetter and an Episcopal priest. Her wide-ranging interests and intellect will make for a fascinating presentation.
Day
3
Julia Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge
Location:
Skamokawa, WA
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Skamokawa Resort
Activity Note
Getting in/out of kayaks; paddling 6 miles throughout the day. NOTE: The schedules for Days 3 and 4 may be switched to take advantage of better tides or weather.
Breakfast:
8am at The Duck Inn.
Morning:
At 9:00 a.m., we will be transported by vans to our put-in at Cathlamet. We will follow Lewis & Clark's route through Elochoman (ee-LO-ko-man) Slough, a narrow waterway where the Corps of Discovery followed two canoes of Wahkiakum (wa-KIE-a-kum) Indians to their village site to trade (fish hooks for dogs and wapato tubers). We will follow the slough all the way to lunch through the Sitka spruce swamps of the Julia Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge, which feature trees up to 350 years old
Lunch:
On a small sand beach.
Afternoon:
At the end of the slough, we will emerge on a sand beach on the main channel of the Columbia, where we will eat our pack lunch.
Dinner:
At The Duck Inn at 6:00 p.m.
Evening:
Wahkiakum was historically known for its award-winning creameries. We will take the vans to Little Island Creamery, located on Puget Island, where we will tour their 54-acre farm. Little Island Creamery is known for its award-winning Brie at the American Cheese Society's Annual Conference. We will meet their staff, who will teach us about biological farming and what makes their farm unique. You will also test your cheese-making skills with a ricotta cheese-making lesson and sample a variety of cheeses.
Day
4
Cape Disappointment State Park
Location:
Skamokawa, WA
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Skamokawa Resort
Activity Note
Getting in/out of vans. Hiking 3 miles; trail starts with 150 feet of elevation gain, well-maintained, some up/down, uneven ground. NOTE: The schedules for Days 3 and 4 may be switched to take advantage of better tides or weather. The order of the museum and the hike may be swapped.
Breakfast:
At the Duck Inn.
Morning:
We will be taking a break from kayaking to drive out to Cape Disappointment State Park, where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean. Along the way we will stop at Dismal Nitch, named (as spelled) by Captain William Clark, the small cove where the Corps was forced by bad weather to camp for days on giant logs that floated and pitched about at every high tide. When we arrive at the park, we will hike a two-mile trail inside the cape where the Corps of Discovery also was proceeding on foot. Here we'll explore a section of ancient temperate rainforest with trees up to nine feet in diameter.
Lunch:
Lunch In Cape Disappointment State Park
Afternoon:
Afternoon We will visit the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center. Perched on top of Cape Disappointment with a spectacular view of the river bar and ocean, this particularly well-done center was rebuilt for the Lewis & Clark bicentennial.
Dinner:
At the Duck Inn.
Evening:
Presentation to be announced.
Day
5
Kayak along the Cathlamet Cliffs
Location:
Skamokawa, WA
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Skamokawa Resort
Activity Note
Getting in/out of kayaks; paddling 7 miles throughout the day.
Breakfast:
At The Duck Inn at 8am.
Morning:
At 8:45 a.m., we will be transported by vans to our put-in at Cathlamet. Our final paddle will take us along the profoundly beautiful cliffs of the Lower Gorge. An extension of the Columbia basalt flows, among the largest basalt flows on earth, these lavas filled the Columbia River valley 17-15 million years ago. Today they form 100-foot cliffs with many interesting features. You may view the mold of a tree engulfed by the lava, leaving the imprint of the bark texture clearly visible millions of years later.
Lunch:
We will eat our pack lunch on a small pebble beach next to the cliffs and a waterfall. Our beach is partly made up of Missoula flood deposits, rounded pebbles of quartzite and many other minerals carried all the way from Idaho during the last ice age.
Afternoon:
Depending on the tides, we may either return along the cliffs the way we came, loop through the homes and farms of Birnie Slough back to Cathlamet, or take the Columbia main channel down to Skamokawa.
Dinner:
Our final dinner at The Duck Inn features wild-caught salmon with other fresh, local foods.
Evening:
We will enjoy one last evening in the conference room, sharing our favorite highlights of the week over a scrumptious, seasonal dessert. Prepare for check-out and departure in the morning.
Day
6
Program Concludes
Location:
Skamokawa, WA
Meals:
B
Activity Note
10:00 a.m. resort check-out.
Breakfast:
At The Duck Inn at 8:00 a.m. This concludes our program.
Morning:
If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!
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Please Note:
This program has itinerary variations on certain dates.