Trip Report
Sea Kayak - Columbia River: Fisher, Walker & Lord Islands
Lots of sea lions and swans made for a special day out on the Columbia River.
Will Greenough
- Sat, Mar 7, 2026
- Sea Kayak - Columbia River: Fisher, Walker & Lord Islands
- Columbia River: Longview Area
- Sea Kayaking
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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There were a few fishing boats launching at the ramp, but there still was plenty of room for us to set up and launch.
The facilities at Willow Grove are great, and there is no charge for launching or parking.
After launching on time, we paddled east along the Fisher Island Slough against a significant current. When we got to the east end of the island we saw a flock of swans along the shore by Browns Point. Crossing the river, we paddled south along the west shore of Walker Island and stopped at a small beach on Lord Island next to the piling line between Walker and Lord Islands.
After break, we paddled into the northern lagoon at the northern end of Lord Island. At the end, it was too shallow to paddle into the southern lagoon, but there were 40-50 swans in the southern lagoon that flew off. Paddling out of the lagoons, we continued southeast along the shore and then crossed to inspect the USS Washtenaw County lying along the Oregon shore. Paddling back across to the tip of Lord Island, we stopped for lunch at a soft sand beach across from Diblee Point.
After lunch we rounded the end of the island and headed back northwest with the current and a little wind at our backs. Making good progress with lots of sea lions for company, we paddled back along the northern shores of Lord and Walker Islands and then crossed to the southern shore of Hump Island, stopping for a last break about 1/3 of the way up the island.
We made it back to the launch at 3:25pm.
Total distance: 12.62nm
Average moving pace: 2.9kt.