Kelley Point Park

Ventured here with my dog a couple of weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised considering how many reviews remarked that it would be dirty and full of trash. We came here on a Thursday afternoon and parking was plentiful. The beach was quite busy though and it took a bit to find a good spot. My dog LOVES other dogs but sometimes can be a bit too much for them so I try to keep him separated as much as I can. Once we found a spot, we hung out for a couple of hours enjoying the sun and river. I noticed that the river entry was clean and easy to navigate — there were no rocks or steep drop offs.
We truly enjoyed ourselves and I’ve been telling friends about it every since. It’s definitely a drive for most, but well worth the trek!

Beautiful park! Great for a warm summer day, there is plenty of shade under the trees. Great for kids, dogs, and family in general. Plenty of picnic benches, grassy areas and paved trails for bikes and elders. The only thing that could be better is the barges make the view off the river a bit unenjoyable. Overall a good place to spend a sunny day at the river.

I thought it was pretty decent. I’ve read a few other reviews saying the place is dirty, but I didn’t really see any debris except the errant can or bottle. There is a path (maybe ½ mile loop) from the parking lot to the beach areas. We stopped at one beach area that is right at the convergence of the Willamette and Columbia. We went on a Monday afternoon about 4pm. It was about 80 degrees out, so it was a nice evening but there were only 2 – 3 other couples with their dogs there. We saw a couple of other families and a couple of single men wandering (perhaps bring a friend ladies), but it still seemed like a pretty quiet spot. We found a log to sit on and ate a snack, then went back to the trail and continued in the direction we had been traveling. We then came upon a busier area of the beach that was more on the Willamette side of things. This seemed to be more populated by the younger set. There were a lot of young couples and some families people playing in the water despite the not-​too-​warm temps. I contemplated getting in the water, but erred on the side of laziness. I think it would be a nice area to float about on during a hot day. I recommend the place overall, and will happily return.

We’ve been taking our 2 dogs here for years. They love to go swimming here. Two paws up!

There are sandy beaches in Portland, ya’ll.
Kelley Point is a long stretch of sand (SAND!) in North Portland on the Oregon side of the Columbia river. Every spot you could grab has an equally amazing view. You can show up at 1pm when everyone else does and not have to hunt for a good place to throw your towel down.
The water is the perfect temperature in the summer. Dive right in. Drinking-​in-​public friendly, so bring your cooler full of tequila and beer. Spend the day here.
AND THEY HAVE RESTROOMS SO YOU DONT HAVE TO PEE IN THE WOODS

Easy to get to and there are not normally a ton of people to deal with. I rather head to Sauvie Island, but on a Friday afternoon when traffic is horrendous this beach does the trick.
Bonus points for the tower! The water is deep enough for jumping into the river from the top. Fun Times!

So I took my dog to the beach last weekend to play in the water. This park is disgustingly dirty. You can find everything from empty beer bottles/​cans, leftover food garbage, to piles of human waste and toilet paper. I have been to this park maybe three or four times and it is like this every time… gross. It is like the parks department doesn’t clean up or take care of the beach at all.

Everything is lovely, save for the crowds and HORRENDOUS parking! Ain’t nobody got time for that!

Kelley Point is a great place to go with your dog and take a swim. It’s got paved bike trails that weave through the mosquito laden woods. Take a jump off the crow’s nest that’s about 50 feet off shore. Make sure to take a good shower after swimming and bring a trash bag to pick up everybody else’s litter and things will be great! I’ve seen some excellent bro-​mance out there in the form of 6 – 8 dudes carrying a gigantic log down the beach only to plunge into the river with it and ride it like a boat!!! There is also some kind hearted juggalos drinking Bush, fisher people, and a whole cast of lovable characters to share the beach with.

We love Kelley point park! we found a dog today — Black and Tan, shaped like a beagle/​lab/​daschund near the shipyard/​close in end of the park. If had a blue collar and barked and barked but was too scared of me, my daughter, dog for us to catch him/​her. Does anyone know where to report this?

Nice fall day for a walk

If you like fishing this is a decent spot. You can go over to the slough part at the canoe launch, and drop some worms out on the bottom and get plenty of bullhead catfish ranging from 8 – 15 inches most of the time. My wife says they’re good eatin. The bluegill/​punkinseed fish get decent sized about a pound or so, and the perch fill flock to your worm scented with uncle mikes garlic scent.
However if you go to the back of the park, and head toewards the bathrooms there is a little trail goes right down to the river. Head down there with just worms and sometimes garlic anywhere from 3 to 48 inches from the bottom any distance out will net you peamouth chub, northern pikeminnow, and TONS of perch. We can routinely catch 200 perch in a few hours on 24 nightcrawlers.
Pitch out some herring, smelt or squid with a 6 ounce weight about 20 feet past the pilings in sturgeon season can provide some good fight. There have also been many a 20+ pound carp caught here as well as the occasional flounder.
The fish here are reasonably safe to eat for adults, as long as you are not pregnant and don’t eat too much of it. There is no immediate danger but increases the risk of cancer further down the line, at least for the species that live here. The species that travel and can be caught such as salmon, steelhead, and sturgeon (all of which can be caught right here) don’t stick around enough to get contaminated and ODFW and many other agencies have tested them and deemed them safe for all.
The only real downsides are the huge amount of cottonwood trees, which get on everything, but that’s ok. Also there are the RUDE hippies and environmentalists with their dogs out there, scoffing at fisherman and most others. They let their dogs run free with no corrections or reprieve. I’ve had one lift it’s leg and urinate on a very nice salmon rod of mine to which the owner just laughed. Then the dog knocked my childen over and spilled my tackle box which caused the owner even more fits of uncontrollable mirth. These types of people are all too common out here, and these degenerates almost made me give this place a 1 star rating.
People come here to learn to fish too, I’ve helped quite a few people. The fishermen here usually get along well and are willing to help each other out. I’ve even made some friends out here, and we fish together alot.

I am sad to annouce that the adventure mine field aka N Kelley Point Road has been paved over.
It is now a smooth ride all the way to the end of the road. No more bumps or craters to avoid to avoid or swerve around.

Not the best beach in the area, but some of the best fishing — especially if it’s Sturgeon you’re after. This is where the Willamette empties into the Columbia, w/​the eastern-​most point of Sauvie Island on the other side.
Lots of great memories at Kelley Point Park. As a kid I spent one summer gathering empty soda and beer cans (Gov. McCall had just helped pas the Oregon Bottle Bill, for the surcharge on certain beverages, to encourage recycling), as I was saving up to buy a catcher’s mitt for little league. I was way better at catching/​finding stinging nettles than I was at retrieving empties from deep in the brush, but I finally did scrape together enough for that mitt. Thanks for the pointed memories, KP Park!

I am sitting on a beach in Portland. I have wonderful views of Mount Hood and there are lots of birds using the remnants of a breakwater from which to fish. Perched on the top of a shipping navigation sign is an abandoned nest from some large bird. Where am I? The answer would be Kelley Point Park .
This park is a peninsula that sits at the confluence of the Columbia and the Willamette rivers. Across the way is Sauvie Island and Hayden Island is just a little ways upstream. This piece of land used to be an island itself, but was joined to the mainland by dredging operations for the Port of Portland. Just upstream is one of the marine terminals. It got its name from a new Englander — Hall Jackson Kelley, who thought he could build a city here to rival Portland. Needless to say he was not successful.
Full review and photos in my blog:

This is a nice and secret little destination on the very tip of PDX. Really, you can’t go no more unless you wanna swim the channel to Washington. And who wants to go there?
The park itself is rather pretty. Can’t exactly say the same for the eastern beach which looks like a scene out of the The Road or Van Damme’s 1989 classic, Cyborg. But the sand is soft and Beth Willie was off afloating in his inflatable boat.
Very clean bathroom but the toilet is ear-​deafening loud. My ear rang a little from it. But perhaps that’s why it’s so clean.

This is a nice quiet park to take the dog to.
It has a beach on both the Columbia and the Willamette Rivers.
The Columbia beach is a little cleaner, and the water is for sure.
But it doesn’t get the late after noon sun. The Willamette side has a view of Sauvie Island, so its much nicer. I love to watch the Barges and tug boats do their dance, while sipping on a cold one. We left before the it got buggy, so I couldn’t tell you how bad it gets.
A little tip: The speed limit is 45 on Marine Drive, and there is one sign right before the right turn into the park. If your going 45 and try and make the turn, it could be Hollywood worthy.

Nice park. Far flung. Distribution plants in the distance mar the view a bit. Blackberry bushes line the paths and as of August 9^th there are flowering cotton trees that have filled the air and blanketed the park in a wispy snow. A good excuse to drive the St. Johns bridge. Pretty enough beaches. No soap in the bathrooms, as husband realized after forming raw chicken patties with his bare hands for the grill.
Salmonella watch, Day One.

While in the St. John’s neighborhood, I meandered out to the park so the dog I’m taking care of could get his wirehaired toes wet. I’d never heard of the «beach», being tucked away at the farthest outskirts of Portland. This is somewhat of a hideaway for St. Johners, so I feel slightly guilty reviewing it, but I’ll commence forth anyhow.
First off, the drive is disheartening. I drove through what seemed like an eternity of corporate America buildings. They made me cringe. Even my copilot, Barkely, was moaning in agony at the scenery (that, or he really had to pee).
When I finally arrived at the park, the parking lot was startlingly creeping. Some type of tree unbeknownst to me had covered the trail, parking lot, and surrounding flora with a cotton-​like substance. It looked like dirty snow. And since the ground was covered in debris, I guess people found that as justification for leaving their chip bags, soda and beer cans, and doggie poop bags laying helter skelter on the ground. For the love of god, why would you pick up your dog’s skat, put it in a plastic bag, then leave the plastic bag on the ground on the trail? Really?
I followed the signs along the trail that read «kayak and canoe launch», wondering what a canoe launch looks like. Apparently it looks like a beach. When I emerged from the wooded creepy-​treed trail onto the sand, I had a moment of serenity as I glimpsed the Columbia Slough (a small offshoot of the river) and two canoers. Ah, nature. But just beyond that small strip of water, towering like doomsday metallic giants, were several factories that I’m assuming are waste plants. Romantic…
Barkley and I travelled along the beach at the water’s edge for about twenty minutes before coming to the better side of the beach: waters that are clean and shallow enough to swim in. This is the location where the Columbia and Willamette rivers split in different directions, which I thought was pretty spiffy.
The beach was surprisingly unoccupied. I saw maybe fifty or sixty people, but they’re spread out along about twenty minutes of beach, so everyone had room for «privacy». There were a few families having picnics, some fishermen, and several people swimming with their dogs. These things are good.
But aside from that, I can’t say I had a very extraordinary experience here.

Shaking off the ghost of disappointed hopes takes time. Time, good friends, and new hopes. Old man Kelley envisioned his El Dorado here at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers. It takes a deranged genius to build a new city on a heap of refuse and river dredge, and ultimately he failed. Over a hundred years later, we win.
Kelley Point Park is a treasure. On the watery edge of town, it’s rarely crowded. Enjoy a rolling great lawn, wild wooded trails and paved paths alike, a little sandy beach by the river, and plenty of picnic areas. The brave can kayak from the park to other protected watersheds. The languid can eat blackberries and steal kisses.
Yet, some sadness still lingers here, in the small grey waves, the dying Madrona trees, the lost tennis balls on the lawn. Does the bedrock of dredge release buried memories? Does old man Kelley haunt the paths, imagining the sidewalks and schoolhouses of his unbuilt dream city?
–
I walk to the Park after months
of hibernation, of talking inside my head
about weather, about synonyms,
about the fictions of biography
(mine and someone else’s). As if
to suggest this season of strange air
has been an hallucination,
the brilliant sun sends shafts
of warm light through the pines,
mining the hushed paths for souls.
I walk out of the woods, cross
the green to the beach; the familiar
horizon defies my long absence,
it remains long and unbroken,
belonging to an eternal question
and answer.
— Sandra Barry