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Reed Island State Park

east of Washougal, Washington

visited 16 May 2021

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Reed Island State Park is, as the name might suggest, an island park. It’s a bit east of Portland/Vancouver in a surprisingly quiet part of the Columbia River.

Sadly, my track log for this trip is lost to a software bug, but I put in from Captain William Clark Regional Park and kayaked across the river to Reed Island.

The official description of the park says that the island is “ringed by a sandy beach.” That was not my experience. I suspect the river level was higher than normal, as most of the island was ringed by flooded forests and grassy marshes.

Had I known that this small slice of the island on the northeast corner was the only sandy beach on the island, I would have gone ashore there:

Instead, I wound up circumnavigating the island in my kayak, which was a delightful trip in itself.

Yours truly, returning to the launch site

Lost in the *cough* reeds

For more information:

• State Parks web site