Yamhill River in Oregon

Trip Overview

This is a fun run for intermediate canoes & beginning kayaks. Plenty of fast fun riffles & a couple pretty good ledge drops. We made the trip in early April from Vally Junction near Grand Ronde to the hwy 22 bridge near Willamina.

About 1.5 miles below put in there were two trees down in the river. It was a very rough & muddy portage. On the next trip(April 29)we launched off of Fort Hill Rd (just north of the Chevron at hwy 18/22)to avoid the trees.

It's about a 3-4 hr trip & shuttle can be easily done by leaving a bike at the take out. I have tore up a canoe on this run in low water in summer but found it quite runnable year-round in a kayak.

Accommodations:

There are no facilities for river users along this stretch

Fees:

no fees or permits required

Directions:

The take-out is where hwy18 from McMinnvelle & hwy22 from Salem meet.

The put-in is on Fort Hill Rd north of the Chevron just B/4 the bridge. Easy access is on first marked drive to the left. Easy take out below the hwy bridge next to park & ride. Look for trail to the river from park & ride.

Resources:

"Soggy Sneakers, A Guide to Oregon Rivers" describes this run, but the downed trees were not there when it was published.