Portland, OR. Over four thousands water lovers took a dip in the Willamette River for the 9th annual Big Float, which benefits the Human Access Project. Floaters launched at Poet’s Beach under Marquam Bridge on July 13th and drifted down to Tom McCall Bowl in Waterfront Park. The Human Access Project “River Hugger Swim Team” swam across the river, the Rose City Raindrops presented their best synchronized swim routine, and a pirate’s cannon signaled the start of the floating party.
Here are some images from the festivities:
From the Human Access Project HAP:
The Human Access Project vision is simple: a city in love with its river. This grassroots not-for-profit group has three concentric goals: 1) Create a human habitat and more access points along the Willamette River in downtown Portland.2) Inspire people to get into the Willamette River. 3) Facilitate stewardship of the Willamette River and Watershed.
Portland, OR. Thousands of water lovers of all ages took a dip in the Willamette River for the 7th annual Big Float, hosted by the Human Access Project. Participants launched from “Poet’s Beach” which is on the west bank under Marquam Bridge and take out was at the Tom McCall Bowl south of the Hawthorne Bridge. After the float people gathered for a summer beach party, including a music barge with live bands.
It’s a competition with bragging rights to come up with the most colorful floats and costumes.
This is the first year floaters were able to enjoy the new and improved Poet’s Beach. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler opened the beach on July 12th in an effort to reconnecting people to the Willamette River in downtown Portland. The Mayor dedicated $158,040 to implement a temporary swimming beach pilot program for summer 2017 at Poet’s Beach. Here are some details:
Poet’s Beach at a Glance
Program duration: July 12 through September 4, 2017.
Poet’s Beach is a sandy shore with river access, and an in-water swimming area delineated with a swim line and floats.
Water depth is shallow in the area of Poet’s Beach.
On-land amenities include: picnic tables; trash cans; bicycle racks; signage; life jacket borrowing station; and portable toilets.
Specialized river rescue lifeguards will staff the site 7 days/week.
Lifeguard hours are from 11:00 AM-7:00 PM
PP&R Beach hosts will be at the site 7 days/week, welcoming guests, orienting them to the site, and collecting usage data. Hours and shifts are to be determined.
Getting to Poet’s Beach
Poet’s Beach is in South Waterfront Park, on the west side of the Willamette River and just north of the I-5 Marquam Bridge.
Walk, roll, or bicycle along the South Waterfront Park Trail. Bicycle racks are available at Poet’s Beach for short-term use.
If taking public transportation, the nearest Portland Streetcar stop is SW River Parkway and Moody Avenue. The nearest TriMet bus stops are 35 and 36
The Human Access Project vision is simple: a city in love with its river. This grassroots not-for-profit group has three concentric goals: 1) Create a human habitat and more access points along the Willamette River in downtown Portland.2) Inspire people to get into the Willamette River. 3) Facilitate stewardship of the Willamette River and Watershed.
Portland, July 26th, 2015. Despite the overcast weather, The Big Float V was dubbed a success. Over a thousand water lovers, including some four-legged friends, flocked to the Willamette River in downtown Portland for the fifth annual event. The goal, according to organizers from the nonprofit Human Access Project, is to encourage people to “get into the river” and support its preservation and healthy development as a recreational resource…and they add, to have a whale of a good time in the process.
It takes several dozen volunteers from the Human Access Project to manage the boaters.
This group of friends is ready for the river and includes Scott Landia, Jayna Lamb, Chaska Ñahuicha, Flū Rangpor Nęsnah, Michelle Stoll and Tina-Marie Novak.
It’s a competition with bragging rights on the line to come up with the most colorful floats and, in this case, hats to boot!
The pirates were out in force and are always bent on pillaging.
This flotilla favored flamingos and swans for their afternoon on the Willamette.
Open to all ages, the event begins with a parade. Floaters gathered at Tom McCall Bowl then carried their floatation devices south, along Waterfront Park, to the put-in point at “Poet’s Beach” beneath the Marquam Bridge. Floaters paddle down river and land on the west bank at the Tom McCall Bowl. That’s where Portland’s downtown beach party was held – complete with a music barge and live bands, food carts, beer/wine garden, sponsor booths, and a kids’ activities area.
From the Human Access Project HAP:
HAP uses funds from events like the Big Float to fund important projects. is actively working on a few projects on the Willamette River (in no particular order):
1) Marquam Beach (“Poet’s Beach”) Access.
Under the Marquam Bridge on the west side of the Willamette River is a perfectly good small beach, but there has never been a safe way to access it. HAP has changed that. Working with many others, we have created a new pathway to this beach. Along the path are stones that are engraved with children’s poems and native words from the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde.
2) Tom McCall Bowl Beach. We have UnRocked the Bowl to create a beach area at Tom McCall Waterfront Park. We will continue to do so every summer so Portland has a city beach to use. Numerous volunteers join us every year in this “unrockin'” community effort.
3) Audrey McCall Beach. This summer we will continue removing concrete, glass and debris from Audrey McCall Beach, on the eastside of the river just south of Hawthorne Bridge. Our plan is to remove 50 yards of concrete from the bank this year.
4) Operation Deep Clean. We hope to bring in a barge with an extremely heavy duty crane to work with divers to see how much junk we can pull out of the depths of the Willamette.
5) Bridge Signage. When you drive over the bridges in downtown Portland there is very little acknowledgement that you are driving over a river. We need signs that remind people that the Willamette River is indeed a river that we are proud of in this city.
6) Softening the seawall. We are hoping to enhance the ugly forboding seawall with artwork until the time it can be reengineered to provide better access to the water’s edge.
7) Concrete removal. We will continue to remove concrete from the banks of the eastside. Let’s face it, when you see chunks of discarded concrete on a riverbank it kind of communicates that we do not love our river. We are hoping to pick our river banks clean of ugly concrete chunks. More to come!
Wouldn’t it be great if everyone in Portland could actually get into the Willamette River? Simply stroll down to the water’s edge, wade out into it, and swim or paddle around to their heart’s content in a safe, public area? It’s time we did something about that. And that’s what our not-for-profit organization, Human Access Project, is all about.Let’s face it, even if you wanted to swim in the Willamette River in downtown Portland today, how would you do it? There’s no easy way to get into it. It’s like this: if you want birds to come into your yard you put up a bird feeder and plant trees to create a bird-friendly habitat. The same is true for humans and the river. If we want to make it so people can swim in the Willamette we need to create better access and a more inviting environment. For instance, imagine the Tom McCall bowl area redesigned with a beach instead of the unfriendly jagged rock river edge currently there.In short, the Human Access Project is driven to promote activating the Willamette River for recreational use that considers all the critters that live and love the water including humans.
The Human Access Project vision is simple: a city in love with its river. This grassroots not-for-profit group has three concentric goals: 1) Create a human habitat and more access points along the Willamette River in downtown Portland.2) Inspire people to get into the Willamette River.
3) Facilitate stewardship of the Willamette River and Watershed.
Portland, July 27th, 2014. The Big Float 4 took over the Willamette River in downtown Portland. The goal was to encourage people to “get into the river” and support its preservation and healthy development as a recreational resource. People also had a whale of a good time in the process. Floaters gathered at Tom McCall Bowl then carried their flotation devices and march south along Waterfront Park to the put-in point at “Poet’s Beach” beneath the Marquam Bridge. Floaters paddled down river and landed on the west bank at the Tom McCall Bowl. There they found Portland’s downtown beach party, complete with music barge and live bands, food carts, beer/wine garden, sponsor booths, and a kids’ activities area. (Photo credit, Point West Credit Union)
The Human Access Project is part of the movement to reclaim the Willamette River – to improve access to it, restore its health, and preserve it as a natural resource for generations to come.
The Human Access Project was conceived in November 2010, when founder Willie Levenson began organizing an event called “The Big Float.” The Big Float (TBF) is a group innertube float of the Willamette River in downtown Portland, Oregon.
The idea behind TBF is that getting a large number of people in the water, in human-powered water vessels of all kinds, would be a powerful way to demonstrate that the Willamette is safe for swimming and human habitation.
TBF had its first launch in 2011 with 1,300 participants. 2012 was the second year for TBF, and the event attracted 1,400 participants. The event has continued to grow each year. Money raised from TBF, and from grants and sponsors, has helped HAP take on more projects every year, and get more done.
Beyond TBF, the Human Access Project has completed several Willamette River beach clean-up and habitat restoration projects, which are ongoing. One is on the eastside of the river by the Hawthorne Bridge at Audrey McCall Beach. HAP has to date removed 50 yards of concrete during six individual clean up events at this beach. Another project is beach creation effort on the west side of the Willamette.
HAP also hosted a community kickoff event called UnRock the Bowl, where 60 volunteers moved riprap rock from the water’s edge back to the bank where it was initially installed 30 years ago as bank protection. HAP will continue to undertake beach clean-up activities to support its mission.
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