HOOD RIVER, OR – Crowded beaches and conflicting uses of limited space have raised safety concerns for recreational sites on the Hood River waterfront. The Port of Hood River owns and operates most of the recreational facilities and announces the following changes that will go into effect July 25. These rules will apply all days unless noted below as Saturdays and Sundays only. The Port will continue to monitor crowding and other safety conditions and may take further measures to close or restrict access to recreational sites if necessary.
Read MorePort to implement Event Site parking limitations to discourage crowding, COVID-19 risk
The Port of Hood River owns and operates several recreational sites on the Hood River waterfront, including the popular windsurfing and kiteboarding beach known as the Event Site. Over the weekend of July 11-12, the Event Site became heavily crowded, prompting the Port to implement new restrictions on parking at the site. Originally planned to begin Saturday, July 18, these measures will now begin Friday, July 17 due to excessive crowding at the site.
Excessive crowding and non-compliance with social distancing and masking rules have also forced the closure of the popular Nichols Basin dock area on Friday. These measures will remain in place until further notice and the Port will continue to assess the occupancy and crowding of the various recreational sites on the waterfront and may take further action to close parks and open spaces due to crowding.
Additionally, Oregon Governor Kate Brown’s new statewide rule requiring everyone to wear masks in outdoor areas whenever 6 feet of social distancing is not possible goes into effect on Wednesday, July 15.
Beginning Friday, July 17 the following operational changes will begin at the waterfront:
Lot 1 will be closed to all vehicle parking. The Event Site parking lot will close when the Port determines the area’s “COVID capacity” has been reached. This will be determined not just by available parking spaces, but also crowding and the total number of people at the site. When the lot is closed it will remain closed until Port staff determines there is available capacity. This review will occur hourly. The parking spots along the south curb of the Event Site parking lot will be coned off and not available for parking. Nichols Basin boat dock is closed.
Waterfront Manager Daryl Stafford sent an email to local watersports groups on Tuesday urging them to share the information with their members and encourage them to:
“Explore different locations on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays to reduce the number of park users. The Hook, Marina Beach, Hatchery, Rowena, Dougs, Swell City, Viento, and several locations east of Hood River are excellent choices. Let visitors know that there may not be parking available at the Event Site and that they should plan accordingly so they aren’t bummed out when they get here. When you are at the Event Site or any beach for that matter, spread out! This means gear as well. Try early or late. Mid-day is just too busy.” Finally, Stafford urged all watersports organizations and businesses that rely on the Event Site to “Support these efforts. We are trying our best to keep the Waterfront open for recreation.”
For more information, contact Daryl via email to waterfront@portofhoodriver.com.
Read MoreBridge deck and truss inspections require single-lane closures July 8-9.
There will be single-lane closures on the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate bridge 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 8 and Thursday, July 9 for ODOT required biennial fracture critical inspections. Flaggers will direct traffic around the moving work zone. Bridge users should expect delays of 20 minutes or more depending on traffic volume.
For more information contact the Port of Hood River via email to porthr@gorge.net.
Read More2020 4th of July weekend on the Hood River Waterfront
The 4th of July fireworks display in Hood River has been cancelled for this year and there will be several other major differences to the holiday weekend experience on the Hood River Waterfront.
The large gravel lot known locally as “Lot 1” will be closed. No parking or access to the lot will be allowed throughout the weekend. The Event Site parking lot will be open to season pass holders only on Saturday, July 4. Season passes can be purchased that day at the parking booth, but no single-day use passes will be sold. The parking lot will close at 10:00 p.m.On-street parking is free on Saturday, July 4. Off-street parking at the West Jensen Beach lot will still be pay-to-park. The Marina picnic shelter will be closed, but the Marina Park itself will be open with picnic tables placed around the lawn at proper distances from each other.
As always, there is no overnight parking or camping allowed anywhere on the Hood River waterfront. No fireworks of any kind are allowed anytime on any Port-controlled property.
For more information, please contact the Port of Hood River via email to porthr@gorge.net.
Read MoreTraffic Alert for Friday, June 26: One-hour bridge closure 5AM-6AM for full-height maintenance lift.
Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge Traffic Alert for Friday, June 26:One-hour bridge closure 5AM-6AM for full-height maintenance lift. There will be a one-hour full closure of the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge for a scheduled full height maintenance lift of the bridge’s lift span from 5:00 a.m. until 6:00 a.m. on Friday, June 26. Early morning commuters are advised to avoid the bridge during the closure.For more information, email the Port of Hood River at porthr@gorge.net.
Read More- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- …
- 50
- Next Page »
