Willamette Mission/ Wheatland Ferry

One of the hidden treasures of the OPRD system, this 116 acre park was once the home of Jason Lee's Methodist Mission. A ghost structure stands today to mark the approximate site of the Mission, which once overlooked the mainstem of the Willamette before the channel shifted in the flood of 1861.
The park offers ample room to explore and plenty of amenities from restroom facilities and water to miles of hiking and horse trails, fishing and of course, the extensive, often quiet gravel beach. This is a excellent area to watch Eagles and Osprey soar above you and fish and otters and beaver in the river.
Samples are taken from the Wheatland Ferry Beach just outside of the park boundaries. This lovely gravel beach lies just next to the Wheatland Ferry. Ample parking in the lot just across the street.

This site is sampled twice monthly from June 1 through October 1 and monthly from October 2- May 30

Get directions to this beach

COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is essential right now. Follow the advice of the health experts. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Heading to the beach should only be considered an option if social distancing practices can be followed. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter the efforts to curb the virus’ spread.

For more information, please visit the World Health Organization public resource on COVID-19.

Water Quality

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Special Status
This means the affiliate organization managing a beach has set the beach status based on special local knowledge or information. Check the beach description and the Sources section for details.

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Current Weather

11°C

Cloudy

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Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

The Oregon state water quality standard provides that a single sample shall not exceed 406 E.coli colonies/100 mL of water and the geometric mean of 5 samples within 30 days shall not exceed 126 colonies/100 mL. The EPA recommended standard is more protective and provides that a single sample shall not exceed 235 colonies/100mL and the geometric mean of 5 samples within 30 days shall not exceed 126 colonies/100mL. The Swim Guide will utilize the EPA standard for Oregon beaches.

There is currently very limited water quality monitoring of Oregon's inland swim beaches. The federal Beach Act does not cover freshwater or riverine beaches, and the state of Oregon does not monitor swim beaches or recreation sites on the Willamette River .

Willamette Riverkeeper monitors many major swim beaches along the length of the Willamette River system through their Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program. Sites are sampled twice monthly June through September. Between October and May, Beaches are sampled once per month.
In Portland, The Portland Boathouse Dock (adjacent to the Eastside Swim Bowl), Riverplace Marina Dock (adjacent to Tom McCall Bowl) and the Sellwood Park Dock are monitored by the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services Water Quality Division.

The Swim Guide's safety ratings are based solely on E.coli levels. While E.coli concentration is a useful indicator of fecal contamination, there are many other potential sources of pollution on the Willamette that are not reflected in the Swim Guide. These include other bacteria, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, high temperatures and pesticides.

Water Quality Graph