The city of St. Helens Oregon will be the site where people can launch their boats if they choose not to participate in the River Journey.

Directions to Boat Ramp

The Boat ramp in St. Helens is located at 134 N River Road. For Directions from Olympia click here, for Directions from Portland click here. WARNING: The "Lewis and Clark bridge" mentioned in the directions from the North is being worked on. If it is closed, then you will need to proceed to Portland on I-5, take the I-405 Exit, then follow the directions as though you were coming FROM PORTLAND. The lady in St. Helens said that there will be signs on I-5 indicating if the bridge is open. If it is, USE IT. It will cut about 1/2 to 1 hour off of your trip!

St. Helens Map. Click for Larger Version

Click Here for full map in PDF format

St. Helens Marina and City Dock

The picture above depicts the St. Helens Marina. For more information on the Marina and the Boat Launch, click here. The Launch ramp can be seen in the lower right of the picture above. The picture is looking north, and you can see the city park and public moorage where we will be staying in the distance. The launch ramp is $3 per day, and they have a lot for 50-odd cars/trailers.

The moorage is just to the South (upriver) from the ramp, and is part of the St. Helens City Park. The moorage is first-come-first serve, so if you get there and don't see any other potters, stake out a good spot for us as far from the outside pier as possible! Those that want can band together and seek out a pub for burgers and beers.

Saturday Plans

Saturday is a day of leisure for the potter pod. Sail around the area, explore the channels and islands, or walk around the town ... its up to you. Saturday arrivals can launch and meet folks out on the river or contact via VHF or cell phone. We will all be in the vicinity, since our Saturday night moorage is just across the channel from the launch.

Sand Island State Park

Our moorage destination for Saturday night is the free docks at Sand Island State Park. Folks should plan on gathering at the dock in the evening, and cooking aboard your boats. The island offers some hiking and wildlife viewing opportunities as well.

Columbia County Courthouse

St. Helens History

St. Helens, a deep-water seaport, is located on the Columbia River 29 miles northwest of Portland and 66 miles southwest of Astoria. It is a successful combination of recreation and industry, urban and rural, old and new. Situated on the beautiful Columbia River, a view to the east and north shows the majestic peaks of Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams and Mt. Saint Helens. An hour drive to the west takes you through beautiful douglas fir forests, with lofty branches forming an arch over the road, to the famed Oregon coast. A half-hour drive southeast brings you to the Portland metropolitan area, with its many cultural advantages. Another hour beyond that and you arrive in the grandeur of the Oregon Cascades and Mt. Hood's ski resorts. St. Helens is ideally located for enjoying all of these activities. It is also the county seat for Columbia County as well as the largest city in the county with a population of approximately 10,160.

In the winter of 1805, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark passed the rocky bluffs on which St. Helens was later built on their memorable journey to the Pacific Ocean. Many of the old sailing ships stopped in the area to trade with local Native Americans. Nathaniel Wyeth of Boston established a temporary fort in 1832 at the lower end of Sauvie Island just across from St. Helens; the location is still known as Warrior Rock.

Bartholomew White had the first sawmill in St. Helens around 1844. It was taken over by Henry Knighton, en emigrant, in 1845. Knighton filed a pre-emption claim on land to site the city in 1846 and moved here in 1847. He had his claim surveyed and mapped in 1848-1850. Knighton believed his town, which he had first named Plymouth (after the New England town) and later Casenau (after a prominent Native American Chief) and eventually changed to St. Helens, would easily surpass the newly founded village of Portland as a fresh water port. It might have, but the Pacific Mail docks in St. Helens burned and Portland businessmen persuaded Pacific Mail to move its terminal to their new town on the Columbia River, near the mouth of the Willamette.

Authorities differ on the source of the name of St. Helens. Some believe Knighton named the settlement for the mountain plainly visible across the river, others insist the Knighton family came from St. Helens, England, and named it for their old home town. The famous geologist, Thomas Condon, taught the first school in St. Helens. In 1854 Columbia County was created, being formerly a part of Washington County. After a heated battle St. Helens was named the county seat in August 1903. The old courthouse, made of locally quarried stone, was built in 1906. The present town site was chartered by an act of the Legislature on February 25, 1889. The post office was established in 1853.

Being originally settled by New England loggers, this became the principal industry in the early history of St. Helens. However, an Italian community developed later in the uptown area and these newcomers did not join the logging and farming way of life. Instead, they went into the construction trades. This signaled a new direction for the area -- manufacturing. Manufacturing has been the principal source of income since; still primarily in the wood products industry.