Kelley Point Park

Hall J. Kelley was a New Englander whose heart was in Oregon. In the early 1800s he pushed hard for the establishment of the region’s center of commerce and culture on a soggy point where the Willamette River empties into the Columbia. Several other settlements were vying for the same thing, and Portland, of course, eventually won out. The settlements grew and converged into one large metropolitan area, leaving Kelley’s spit of land to be filled with dredge material from the river and turned into a park by the Port of Portland. It is probably a good thing that Kelley’s dream wasn’t realized. Transferred to Portland Parks and Recreation in 1984, the 96-acre park may have the most enviable location of any in the city. It is situated where the Columbia and Willamette Rivers and the Columbia Slough come together, directly across the Willamette from Sauvie Island. Although surrounded by industrial development, it is home to great bird watching and barge watching. There are also paved and dirt walking trails (part of Portland’s 40-mile Loop). Sandy beaches and two boat launches offer access to the water.