Trip Report
Sea Kayak - Circumnavigate Puget Island
Clockwise circumnavigation from Cathlamet, WA. High water level on the Columbia River did not cause a problem for upstream travel. High water level did make it difficult to find places for shore breaks, especially along the Washington shore on the northeast side of Puget Island.
Dennis Pennell
- Tue, Dec 16, 2025
- Sea Kayak - Circumnavigate Puget Island
- Columbia River: Puget Island & Cathlemet Area
- Sea Kayaking
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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This trip is an excellent way to spend a winter day. We had very mild temperatures, in the mid-50s. Occasional light rain, and very little wind. The Columbia River water level was high, which is common in winter. High tide level at Port Westward, Oregon was 8.7 feet at about 12:00 noon, with 172,000 CFS when we launched at 9:30 AM, dropping to 72,500 CFS by 11:00 AM, and rising back up to 350,000 CFS by the time we got to the takeout at 3:00 PM. Current speed was 0.83 knots at launch, dropping to 0.4 knots, and rising back up to about 1.8 knots at the end of the trip. Even though this area is definitely affected by the ocean tides, we did not have any actual upstream current due to the large water volume flow coming down the Columbia River.
The waterfalls along the Washington shore were big and full. One of them was actually dumping so much water that no one ventured under it out of concern for getting beat up by the water or an imploded spray skirt. The first short shore break opportunity we came to was at the upstream (southeast) end of Puget Island, where we had a narrow strip of sloping sand. Then we stopped for lunch approximately here: 46.15014893912231, -123.36522965244336. This is one of the few public land areas on the shore of Puget Island. This is shown on Google maps as "Puget Island Bank Fishing". There are a couple of makeshift stand up tables and two pit toilets.