Windance | West Coast Guide | Sailing

Doug's Beach
On Washington side, about 3 miles east of Lyle. See also Doug's West.
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Skill Level: 3-10	Amenities: Porta-potties
Sailing conditions:	Medium to strong West winds, large swell.
Rigging area:	Doug's has a great sandy/grassy rigging area, although you must haul your equipment from your car down a paved ramp over railroad tracks to the rigging area (about 300 feet). Check out this tip to make life easy!	pppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppphoto by Jim Haun
Launch:	Easy launch from nice sandy beach.	pppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppphoto by Jim Haun
Parking:	Cost: $5.00 per day or $50.00 for a season pass. Get passes at the parks or go click here. You have to park in the North gravel parking area (the enlarged shoulder) and carry your equipment over the rail road tracks and down to the river. A good tip to parking at Doug's is to first pull over before you get to Doug's, then wait till there is no traffic either way, then negotiate the "back-in" parking at Doug's. There is no parking on the North side of the Hwy. Vehicles must be off the pavement when parked.	pppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppphoto by Jim Haun
Extras:
Warnings and hazards:	Standard Safety Tips \| Gorge Safety Tips Site specific: Be cautious of the trains, pulling in & out of the parking area can be tricky, signal way in advance (see parking tip above). Sailing Hazards: In low water level conditions, a rocky area may be exposed just off the beach.
Directions to get there:	Off of Hwy 14, near milepost 79, 3 miles East of Lyle.
Site owner:	Washington State Parks
Site liaison:	Patrick Quigley
Events planned for this site:
Comments and news about this site:	During late 1996 and 1997 progress continued on the development of the master plans for Doug's Beach by the Washington Parks and Recreation Commission. Ken Maddox has monitored the progress of this effort by attending the meetings of the large task force advising on this effort. The planning consultants, OTAK, have held two public open houses. The latter one was on June 4th in Hood River. It was attended by many CGWA members who suggested a number of good ideas and changes. The latest plans for Doug's Beach do not identify any major changes. The designs were originally to be completed by the end of June, but they will continue to be developed in July, for presentation to the Washington Parks and Recreation Commission at their meeting on September fifth. The sum of $250,000 has been allocated for construction during the next two years both for Doug's Beach and the Hatchery. It will likely be spent on a first phase of improving the Hatchery, with improvements to Doug's Beach not yet scheduled. In June 1997, Washington State Parks ranger Rich Davis, knowing that the Columbia River water level was about to drop because of flood control, asked CGWA for some quick help after high water damage at Doug's Beach. With just four days notice CGWA, under the leadership of site coordinator Chuck Langley, mustered the volunteer work parties (over 40 people!) to help with the cleanup . Twelve truckloads of debris were hauled off the site and the grass was mowed. The results are fabulous---beautiful clean sandy beach, large rigging area with a boundary to offset wetlands, and improved access to the water. The site has improved immensely. The spirit of true volunteerism surfaced again. If you have interest in the issues concerning this site, contact CGWA. If you have any news about this sailing site, or corrections or additions for this page, please email us at windance@windance.com.

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