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

WATER QUALITY

No data available
Special Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on September 30th, 2014. Willamette Riverkeeper updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on at

For water quality icon legend, click:

CURRENT WEATHER

16°C

Cloudy with a few clear breaks

Report Pollution

MONITORING FREQUENCY

SOURCE INFORMATION

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