beaches portland (Fairview: insurance, how much, YMCA)

[chitown202020]

I saw it is about a two hour drive to the ocean. I want to live somewhere where I can go swimming in the summer. DO people in Portland on average make tripes to the beaches? In pictures I see of beaches like rockaway I never see pics of people in the water. Is it safe? Why do Oregon beaches look so empty?

[Parnassia]

Originally Posted by chitown202020

I saw it is about a two hour drive to the ocean. I want to live somewhere where I can go swimming in the summer. DO people in Portland on average make tripes to the beaches? In pictures I see of beaches like rockaway I never see pics of people in the water. Is it safe? Why do Oregon beaches look so empty?

Yes, many Portlanders make the drive especially when a weekend weather forecast calls for sun. The highways will be crowded.

You don't see people swimming because the offshore current flows from north to south and the water tends to be too cold for most without a wetsuit. Frequent storms, cool and rainy weather, frequent riptides also play into it. The geology of the west coast that creates that famous "upwelling" of nutrients from deeper water which supports rich marine life also tends to keep the water and air temperatures colder.

Its sort of an illusion that OR beaches look empty. How empty they look depends on when and where the photo was taken. Many photographers prefer to shoot uncrowded beaches so pick times and places with fewer people. More of the coast is open to public access. There are beaches that tend to get more crowded and beaches that don't, depending on the weather forecast, time of year, and the location. These are not beaches suited to parking yourself on a towel all day tanning. Again, chilly wind and rainy weather limit how many go to a particular beach at a particular time and how long they stay.

How much research did you do before moving to OR? If you expected to go swimming at the beach all summer this wasn't the greatest choice.

[Nell Plotts]

There are some beaches along the Columbia River, even one in Portland on the Willamette called Poet's Beach. Access to the Columbia River beach on Sauve Island, Collin's Beach, is through private property so there may be a charge to park (Reeder Road), part of it is clothing optional. Up the Columbia River is Rooster Rock State Park, it has a clothing-optional section.

There are more I am sure but those three come to mind first.

As someone mentioned the water is cold and the current fast, there are lots of 'sink holes' and underwater logs. Swim/wade only wearing a life jacket and near others least you take a long cold ride downstream.

There are swimming lakes near by: Blue Lake Park near Fairview, Vancouver Lake and Klineline Pond near I-5 in Vancouver. The latter has a reputation of not being very clean because lots of little children use it, if you get my drift.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

You won't want to swim in the ocean, but there are beaches and sand bars on rivers and lakes that are not quite as cold and can be swimmable on hot days.

There was an ad, for a local bank I think, that showed a couple wearing jackets trying to play Frisbee on the beach. The Frisbee blows away. We all thought that was accurate.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by chitown202020

I saw it is about a two hour drive to the ocean. I want to live somewhere where I can go swimming in the summer. DO people in Portland on average make tripes to the beaches? In pictures I see of beaches like rockaway I never see pics of people in the water. Is it safe? Why do Oregon beaches look so empty?

The ocean is not for swimming in. This is not Florida. LOL. You will probably want to swim in a swimming pool. Preferably an indoor one.

[jjpop]

Cold. Like numb your limbs cold.

[soarswitheagles]

Also the weather at the coast is crazy unpredictable. Our last short trip was four days. Day one was sunny about 75 - 80 degrees. Day two was partly cloudy 60 degrees, Day three was super rainy 50 degrees, Day four was super foggy until about 3 pm then sunny about 45 - 50 degrees. Oh and this was the middle of August.

[texasdiver]

Get a membership at the YMCA if you want to swim. No one does much outdoor swimming in the Pacific Northwest. Certainly not at the ocean. Kayaks, paddle boards, canoes, yes. But not swimming. There are some beaches along the Columbia that are popular in the summer, mostly for the beach, not the swimming in the river. Nell mentioned them. Up in the mountains along various rivers there are favorite swimming holes where HS kids jump off of bridges and such to splash around. But most people stop doing that after about college. I did it in HS but not since.

The Columbia river beaches look like this: https://priyooktaviano.com/collins-b...rtland-or.html

Here's a famous old beer commercial showing Oregon beaches in winter that is good for a laugh

https://youtu.be/JU-_Sn2cDwI

[jjpop]

Great commercial. There’s also this insurance commercial:

https://youtu.be/z7yvuM4Apus

[Parnassia]

Originally Posted by soarswitheagles

Also the weather at the coast is crazy unpredictable. Our last short trip was four days. Day one was sunny about 75 - 80 degrees. Day two was partly cloudy 60 degrees, Day three was super rainy 50 degrees, Day four was super foggy until about 3 pm then sunny about 45 - 50 degrees. Oh and this was the middle of August.

The weather is not unpredictable...if you understand how weather works.