The Gorge Is My Gym

ROOSTER (IWASH) ROCK

Back in the day, long before Lewis and Clark wandered down the Columbia, the Siletz, Warm Springs, Clackamas, Yakama, and other tribes lived here. When they saw an enormous phallus-shaped monolith rising next to the Nch’i Wana (Big River, aka Columbia), they named it “Iwash” or “penis” in Chinook jargon.

But you’re not there for the rock or the naked beach (it’s to the east of the wind sport launch and is clearly marked). You’re going to Iwash for windsports. You’ll only be headed there in the winter or late summer – it’s an east wind spot.

Expect a grassy launch and a long walk through sand to get to the water’s edge; during lower-flow times of year, the walk will be at least a couple hundred yards. At high water in the winter, the stairs down to the water will drop you right in the river.

While mellow days are possible at Iwash, it’s really known for super-nukers. Average speeds there can top 60mph on the windiest days. Smoke blows all the way across the river. Neither you nor me nor anyone else is going out.

While the swell isn’t huge here, it’ll show up on the windiest days, enough for you to jump and float and get at least some swell riding in.

Sports that will work here: all of them. Downwinders can be done from Dalton Point.

Skill level: if it’s nuking, you’d better be an expert. Be prepared for very cold water, very strong wind, and downwind hazards such as pilings. Current runs the same direction as the wind.

Amenities: flush toilets, sandy beach, grassy launch, naked beach.

STEVENSON

BOB’S BEACH

THE POINT AT STEVENSON

HOME VALLEY

VIENTO

HOOD RIVER WATERFRONT

THE HOOK

The Hook, located at the far west end of the Hood River Waterfront down a dusty dirt road, is a great place to learn winging and windsurfing – the wind is directly onshore, the current is minimal (except early in the season), and the water is shallow. Mess up, and you’ll get blown downwind to shore. The downside is that the wind is very gusty, and there’s a bit wind shadow behind Wells Island. There’s a semi-sheltered area you can rig your gear, but make sure you have a weight to hold your gear down; stuff often goes flying here as the wind whips over the embankment to the river. Head to The Hook and you’ll find lots of people learning to waterstart or wing. It’s also a great place to just chill in the river on a hot day. Head there at sunset for a spectacular view, and head there on a hot day for a bit of relief from the proximity to the Columbia.

Access to the river is down a wide paved path. When it’s really windy, navigating this can be tricky, as the wind blows directly onshore and accelerates up the hillside. Be careful! The river entrance is a mix of slippery river rock and sandy areas, but once you get out a little farther, it’s a pleasant sandy bottom.

It’s a comforting place to learn watersports, and it’s a decent place to advance. It can be hard to navigate the wind shadow east of Wells Island, but once you’re past it, you can make your way towards the main river channel. Swell increases in size the farther north you go. It can be a bit disorganized below the Spring Creek Hatchery area buoys and the White Salmon River, so make your way upwind of the channel marker buoys for better conditions. Expect the wind to increase the farther west towards the Hatchery you go. Once you’ve mastered this spot, you’re ready to advance to the Waterfront Park, Event Site or perhaps Mosier or Rowena or Stevenson.

WATERFRONT PARK / LUHR JENSEN

  • All the wingers you could ever want for your social life
  • It’s a REALLY BIG grassy rigging area
  • The “stairs” to the water. Pea gravel. Very slippery at the entrance.

The Hood River Waterfront Park is luxurious as far as windsport launches go. A vast, perfectly manicured lawn is awaiting your gear and bare feet. Scattered trees provide shade. Access to the river is via a wide set of gradual stairs filled with pea gravel. The actual water entrance gets slippery, so be careful! Also available – lots of food! The Waterfront park is located across the street from breweries, restaurants, and a coffee shop.

The river near the launch is nearly swell-free. Swell size increases as you head north across the river; it’s a great place to progress your swell-riding skills and comfort level. Stay close to shore, and you’ll avoid all interactions with barges. While the wind can be quite gusty until you get into the river channel (where you’ll wish you had a half-meter or meter less sail), there’s usually plenty to get you up and going. And conditions near shore are great for learning tacks, jibes, and flat-water tricks.

Added bonus: this is THE social spot for local windsport enthusiasts who are into winging. Want to meet people who’ve been in the windsport world for decades? This is the place – they’re all hanging out mastering the latest sport, and they’re all catching up with each other on the beach after a good session on the river. Thanks to this, and thanks to the proximity of so many food/beverage spots, parking can be tight. Consider riding an e-bike with a trailer. Even having a parking pass won’t guarantee you parking; the Luhr Jensen lot fills quickly, and people stay in those spots all day.

EVENT SITE

  • The sandbar downwind of the Event Site
  • Grassy rigging, landing, and launching
  • Flat water inside for your tricks!
  • Wind sports schools at the east end of the Event Site parking lot

The Event Site is owned by the Port of Hood River, a private company whose cash cow, the Hood River Bridge, has helped fund waterfront access for years. It has a huge, but not huge enough, paved parking lot with a huge overflow dirt parking area just to the south. Best thing about the Event Site: lots of grassy rigging space.

In the past, the Port has restricted kite landing and launching to high-water times only, but that’s not the case now. The east end of the Event Site is reserved for kite launching and landing. West end: all other sports, conveniently located upwind of the launching and landing kiters.

Out in the river, you’ll find flat water on the inside and small to medium swell out in the river channel. If you’re in the channel, stay alert – it can be difficult to spot barges coming from the east due to downwind clutter such as the Hood River Bridge, the mill at Bingen, and parked barges. Upwind of this launch is the Hood River Waterfront Park, where you’ll see hundreds of wing-foilers zipping across the water like butterflies. There’s often quite a bit less wind in front of the Event Site than the WAterfront Park. Be on the lookout for wingers unable to get back on foil and beginning wingers getting blown down to the Sandbar. You too can count on the sandbar as a backstop to your downwind drifting, should you go to the Event Site. In low water, it’s generally possible to walk to the sandbar from the Event Site.

THE SPIT / KITE BEACH / SANDBAR

  • Spit gate. Do as sign says.
  • Spit parking lot
  • Trail down to the spit itself. Maybe 1/4 mile walk to the water.

As the name implies, the Spit, the Sandbar, Kite Beach is the territory of kiters. Theoretically you could do other sports from here, but it would be a long walk carrying heavy gear. Walk out on the sandbar to access the launch area. The wind is onshore, so please be cautious. Also watch for dog doo-doo; this is a popular off-leash dog park as well as kiteboarding launch.

Depending on where you choose to ride, you’ll have flat water (downwind of the spit, or in the shallow ponds) or medium size swell (out in the river channel). Many folks work their way upwind of the White Salmon Bridge where the swell is larger and cleaner and the wind is stronger. At times, there are park features in the ponds. These, of course, are for expert riders. At least once a year there is a kiteboarding competition at the Spit.

SWELL CITY

  • Swell City Launch
  • Upwind Launch – Only SUP Foilers Use This – it’s slippery and dangerous

Swell City is the territory of old-school windsurfers, for the most part. Owned by Columbia Gorge Wind & Water Association (CGW2), Swell provides semi-exclusive access. Parking is back-in, single parking (no double parking) on WSDOT land. Launching is via private property and requires a launch pass.

For a rocky beach, Swell has a manicured launch. At the main launch, at the west end of the property, paved paths take you to a sheltered, shallow pea gravel cove. You can walk out to the wind line, and you’ll immediately be out in steep, big rollers. The downwind cove provides another access, but you’re likely to swim for the wind there. It is used as a takeout for DW paddlers.

THE HATCHERY

  • Dan MacDonald at the Hatch. Photo by Richard Hallman.
  • The Basement Takeout
  • Another View Of The Basement Takeout
  • The Cove Launch
  • The Point Takeout
  • The Point Launch
  • The CGW2 “Stairs” Launch

I don’t know about y’all, but when I first came to the Gorge in the 1990s, the launch site I’d heard the most about was “The Hatch”. And so it remains – this is the premier spot for advanced and expert riders. It’s also go history – lots of competitions have happened here, and plenty of conflict too. When the park first became pay-use, angry windsurfers tossed the toll booth into the river. Thankfully, that’s history, and the park is now well-managed by Washington State Parks.

The Hatch is legendary for good reason. When the wind picks up, so does the swell. Combine that with strong spring current for truly massive conditions. Yes, the photo of Dan MacDonald above is REAL. That’s the Hatch on Super Tuesday.

The Hatch is good spring, summer, and fall. It really fires when Portland is cloudy and Hood River is sunny; the combo of a stable air mass and temperature gradient makes for solid, long-lasting west wind. Clear sky in Portland often results in an afternoon die-off, at which point you’ll need to head to the near east (Lyle, Rowena, and Doug’s) for stronger, steadier wind.

The Hatch is not cushy. Rigging happens on dead grass, in the parking lot in the wind, or on pea gravel. But hey, there’s plenty of room to toss your gear down when you’re done.

Parking can be a real problem at the peak of summer. You can be part of the solution by parking as tight as you can. An old tradition at the Hatch is to double-park. Coordinate key locations with others. They’re boardheads too, and likely trustworthy. Join in this time-tested tradition, and double the number of cars can fit in the parking under the trees between the Point and the vault toilets.

Other things to know: don’t block the road, look both ways before crossing the road, and don’t let your pup run off-leash. Consider saving the Basement parking spots for folks actively engaging in downwind shuttling – they’re not allowed to park and load in the road.

MOSIER / ROCK CREEK PARK

LYLE SANDBAR

DOUG’S BEACH

ROWENA

CELILO

AVERY

MARYHILL

THE WALL

RUFUS

BLALOCK & PHILIPPI

ROOSEVELT

ARLINGTON

The Main Launch
The Back Way In Or Out

Arlington is yet another world-class windsport launch in the Gorge. Given the rocky launch directly into the swell, this is experts-only. When it gets really windy and the swells are breaking into the main launch, you can come in via the back door. For a friendlier launch, head to Roosevelt, located directly across the river. What makes this spot so great? Huge glassy swell and strong, steady wind.

Arlington fires up when it’s cloudy, rainy, and cool west of the The Dalles. You’ll find the best conditions here in spring, when clouds on the west side are frequent, and also in fall, when weather systems return to the Pacific Northwest after the dry summer. If you want giant swell, aim for spring when the current is higher.

For those of you with access to the iWindsurf/iKitesurf sensors, you’re looking for 30+; the sensor reads quite high compared to the Swell City sensor. 25 at Swell is equivalent to about 31-32 at Arlington. When the Arlington sensor is reading 38+, the swell is almost certain to be gigantic – big, smooth, and glassy with huge port ramps. For smaller ramps, head across the river towards Roosevelt – it’ll still be port tack ramps, and it’s fantastic bump-and-jump conditions. Downwind of the point at Arlington, the waves get big and glassy, and the wind is generally a little bit lighter.

THREEMILE CANYON

BOARDMAN

DOWNWIND RUNS IN THE GORGE FOR WESTERLIES

VIENTO TO HOOD RIVER

DRANO TO THE HATCHERY

TUNNEL 4 & TUNNEL 5

LYLE TO RUGS / ROWENA TO THE DALLES

SILOS TO RUFUS BOAT RAMP (BIGGS TO RUFUS)

McFlowi Shredding The Silos Run

RUFUS ROCK PILES TO RUFUS BOAT RAMP

MARYHILL TO THE WALL BOAT RAMP

BLALOCK TO …

Blalock Canyon Parking And Launch

EAST WIND DOWNWINDING

HOME VALLEY TO STEVENSON

DALTON POINT TO ROOSTER ROCK