Visitors to Chinook Landing Marine Park are now able to enjoy a new day-use dock and deeper, safer channels for boats. The 67-acre park reopened March 1 after a temporary closure to allow crews to build the dock and dredge the channel safely.
“We’re excited to welcome people back to Chinook Landing and provide this amenity to boaters along the Columbia,” said Kristin Solomon, a Metro construction project manager who oversaw the construction of the new dock.
The new day-use dock, which is used for quick stops and loading and unloading of boats, is a replacement of a dock that has been out of service since 2013. The 120-foot-long structure, which uses a concrete float system, has a gangway for shore access and allows vessels to tie up for brief amounts of time.
The reopening is good news for members of the boating and fishing communities, who are eager to return to Chinook Landing Marine Park for the spring fishing season. The temporary closure was necessary to ensure the construction and dredging were safe for people and wildlife. This included coordinating with Metro scientists to relocate the freshwater mussels that live in the area before dredging, and adhering to COVID-19 safety protocols during the dock replacement.
“The spring salmon run is coming up, and we’re glad the dock will be open in time to accommodate boaters,” Solomon added. “We really appreciate everyone’s patience throughout the construction process.”
This project was made possible by the Oregon State Marine Board Facility Grant Program and in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Partial funding also came from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Sport Fish Restoration Grant Program in cooperation with the USFWS under Federal Award number F19AF01061.
With six launching lanes on the Columbia River, Chinook Landing is one of Oregon’s largest and most popular public boating facilities. The park offers picnic and viewing areas, wetland and wildlife habitat and an archery range. In 2016, new aluminum boat-launch docks with fiberglass decking were installed at Chinook Landing.