A River Voyage of Discovery
8 days, 7 night round-trip small ship cruise on the Columbia and Snake Rivers, departing from Portland, Oregon
Join us on the Columbia & Snake Rivers as we follow part of the epic journey of the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Retrace nearly 1,000 miles of their route along the Columbia & Snake Rivers.
See scenic riverways punctuated by orchards and evergreens and draped by elegant waterfalls. Throughout your cruise, the Pacific Northwest's pioneer history is brought to life with a special series of excursions, guest speakers, and narration and presentations by your on-board Exploration Leader.
- River Voyage 2010
- River Voyage 2009
River Voyage 2010
Day 1- Cruise From Portland
On arrival in Portland, you will transfer to the ship. This evening enjoy a sparkling wine toast as the ship slowly cruises the Willamette River to view the Portland skyline. This 240-mile tributary of the Columbia River is crossed by 19 bridges and 3 ferries. D
Day 2- Cruising the World-Renowned Columbia Gorge National Scenic area
Your ship slips through the locks of Bonneville Dam at the entrance to the Columbia River Gorge. Since 1938, this historic landmark has supplied hydroelectric power, fish and wildlife protection, and recreation. Stop at the dam’s Visitor Center, then tour by motorcoach to breathtaking Multnomah Falls, the tallest falls in Oregon. Return to the ship to continue your journey upriver. This spectacular river canyon, 80 miles long and up to 4,000 feet deep, is a natural wind tunnel that cuts the only sea level route through the Cascade Mountains. BLD
Day 3- Pendleton
Travel to Pendleton along a route used by the Oregon Trail Pioneers. Uncover the Wild West past of Pendleton’s underground tunnels, dug by Chinese emigrants between 1870 and 1930. Lunch is served at the impressive Hamley’s Saloon, offering a home-style barbeque lunch. Explore the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute honoring the 10,000-year history of the confederated Tribes of the Umatilla, Cayuse, and Walla Walla. Learn about their history through interactive exhibits and a Living Cultural Village. BLD
Day 4- Hell’s Canyon
After your final upriver locking at Lower Granite Dam, the vessel will dock in historic Clarkston, Washington, “the Northwest’s most inland seaport” at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater rivers. Board motorcoaches for transfer upriver to a riverside lodge where you will have lunch, just prior to boarding covered jet boats for an exhilarating excursion into Hells Canyon. This free-flowing river cuts its way through North America’s deepest canyon and boasts incredible scenery beneath steep cliffs rising thousands of feet on both sides of the gorge. Keep your eyes peeled for elk, bighorn sheep and 7,000-year-old Indian petroglyphs. BLD
Day 5- Walla Walla
Internationally recognized for its production of award winning wines, Walla Walla is a quaint town where you will enjoy an historic tour and time allowing, an opportunity to explore and shop on your own. A special casually elegant lunch has been arranged at a local favorite restaurant before a tour and tasting at two unique wineries. Return to the ship for dinner and evening cruising. BLD
Day 6- River Cruising
The river lends its unique rhythms to life onboard. You will have a full day of leisurely cruising past ancient petroglyphs, granite and basalt cliffs, Beacon Rock, Multnomah Falls, Cape Horn and legendary Rooster Rock. By end of day you’ll have locked through McNary, John Day and The Dalles, where man and nature work hand in hand. BLD
Day 7- Spring & Fall Itinerary (April to May / September to October):
Astoria and Fort Clatsop
Stand in Lewis & Clark’s footsteps at the Fort Clatsop National Memorial, where Lewis & Clark spent the winter of 1805-1806. See the fascinating Columbia River Maritime Museum. You’ll have free time to discover the hidden treasures of this charming Victorian seaport, that is the western terminus of the TransAmerica Trail. BLD
Summer Itinerary (from June to August):
Option 1 - Rainier & Mt. St. Helens
Disembark in Rainier for a coach drive to Mt. St. Helens. The Johnston Ridge Observatory brings the 1980 eruption to life. Here you will see evidence of and learn more about the cataclysmic 1980 eruption — an explosion that leveled 230 square miles of mature forest and removed 1,300 feet from the top of the mountain. Discover that the eruption was more than just a single event and see first hand how scientists continue to monitor this active volcano. BLD
— OR —
Option 2 - Astoria
Board a motorcoach for a transfer to the Lewis & Clark National Historic Park and the site of Fort Clatsop where the explorers spent the winter after making it to the Pacific Ocean. See the fascinating Columbia River Maritime Museum. You’ll have free time to discover the hidden treasures of this charming Victorian seaport, that is the western terminus of the TransAmerica Trail before returning tothe Ship. BLD
Day 8- Back to Portland
Return to Portland’s attractive riverfront where your week-long voyage ends. A transfer to the Portland Airport is included.
River Voyage 2009
Day 1 - SAIL FROM PORTLAND
- On arrival in Portland, you will transfer to our hospitality area downtown. After boarding, slowly cruise the Willamette River to view the downtown skyline. This 240-mile tributary of the Columbia River is crossed by 19 bridges and three ferries.
- The timing of navigation of the Columbia & Snake Rivers is influenced by river traffic and lock availability. The plan is to transit through the locks of Bonneville Dam at the entrance to the Columbia River Gorge in the early morning. Since 1938, this historic landmark has supplied hydroelectric power, fish and wildlife protection and recreation. We encourage you to come out on deck as daylight sweeps out the shadows of the deep green, misty Cascade Mountains. Beacon Rock stands sentinel as an ancient plug of a shield volcano. The monolith is one of the largest basalt formations of its kind at 846 feet.
Stop at the Bonneville Dam's Visitor Center, where we will be met by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Interpretive Guides and taken on a tour. View the giant turbines and learn how the mighty Columbia provides a majority of the electrical power in the Northwest.
We'll take a drive by motorcoach to breathtaking Multnomah Falls, the tallest falls in Oregon. Take an easy walk to various viewing sites or continue along the hiking trail. At the bridge, take a look at the sheer drop of the 620-foot waterfall.
Return to the ship to continue cruising upriver through the Columbia River Gorge. This spectacular river canyon, 80 miles long and up to 4,000 feet deep, is a natural wind tunnel that cuts the only sea level route through the Cascade Mountains.
Exposed in the Gorge's canyon walls are basalt rock formations representing 40 million years of geologic history.
By early evening transit the second lock of the voyage, The Dalles. This lock lifts vessels 88 feet. After dinner transit the John Day Lock, which, at 113 feet, has one of the world's highest vertical lifts in a single chamber.
- Over the course of the day, cruise from the Columbia River into the Snake, with several lock passages. The Snake River twists and turns 1,100 miles from west of the Continental Divide through narrow canyons, mountain ranges, forested hills, sagebrush-covered deserts and plateaus, lava plains and borad irrigated valleys. Explore the rugged cliffs and buttes along the shores. McNary Dam was completed in 1953 and created Lake Wallula. Ice Harbor Dam near the confluence of the two rivers was completed in 1961, and includes a fish ladder. It creates Lake Sacajawea.
By late tonight we will be moored in Clarkston, Washington, at the confluence of the Clearwater and Snake Rivers, approximately 726 feet above sea level and 470 miles from the Pacific Ocena.
- After breakfast, learn about a moment in history with a Nez Perce guest speaker who will talk about the Nez Perce way of life. Board jet boats for an exhilarating excursion deep into Hells Canyon. The Hells Canyon jet boat takes you through the deepest river gorge on earth with a maximum depth of 7,900 feet. This is an exhilarating sightseeing trip, 65 miles through the canyon on boats that are large, covered overhead and heated if necessary.
Stop mid-trip at Kirby Creek, home of the jet boat owners. Enjoy your homemade lunch there, taking in the beautiful scenery. Back onboard our vessel, head back down the Snake River and travel through the night to dock in downtown Burbank.
- Today, relive history at the Fort Walla Walla Museum, housing a collection of over 35,000 catalogued pioneer artifacts, dioramas and a pioneer-type village. See such unique exhibits as a sidehill combine being pulled by a team of 33 life-sized mules.
Enjoy a delicious lunch at Walla Walla's 26brix restaurant, located in the 130-year-old Dacres Hotel, on the National Register of Historic Places. Acclaimed chef MIke Davis opened this restaurant in 2004 incorporating local agriculture, along with internatioinal products and flavors and lovacl Walla Walla wine. You will have time to explore the town, taste local wine, take a walking tour and enjoy the sculptures you'll find throughout town, or visit the historic Whitman Mission, site of the 1847 massacre of missionaries Marcus and Narcissa Whitman.
Return to the ship for some relaxing late afternoon cruising. Be out on deck to view the Wallula Gap with its unique basalt formations of the "Two Sisters."
- The Maryhill Museum is your morning treat, a historic mansion sitting in solitary splendor on a bluff over the Columbia River. You'll discover an eclectic collection of Native arts, European paintings, and the Queen of Romania's personal effects. Outside, the view from this site is absolutely stunning as you look across the Columbia River to the Oregon plateau and Mount Hood, Oregon's tallest volcanic mountain at 11,240 feet.
From the museum, descend a narrow road to Biggs Junction, where various branches of the Oregon Trail came down to the river and joined as one. Travel past the Deschutes River and through the outskirts of the city of The Dalles to the Columbia River Gorge Discovery Center and Wasco County Historical Museum. Enjoy the spectacular dioramas and displays of the region's geography and history. Lunch is included in this impressive setting. Then walk along the nature trails and see plants like Lewis & Clark saw.
Return to the ship by way of Rowena Crest, one of America's Scenic Byways. Completed in 1915 this highway has many scenic pullouts, masonry walls, bridges and tunnels with arched openings. The surrounding Tom McCall Preserve contains 230 acres protected by the Nature Conservancy for 340 species of plants and wildflowers.
- Stand in Lewis & Clark's footsteps at Fort Clatsop National Historic Park, where they spent the winter of 1805-06. A leisurely walk on a half-mile trail leads to a canoe landing in the high and thick canopy of temperate rainforest. Notice the size of the Western hemlock, Sitka spruce and Western dogwood.
See the fascinating Columbia River Maritime Museum, considered one of the best museums of its kind on the West Coast. Unique artifacts of the various aspects of the maritime industry and amazing stories highlight this visit at the mouth of one of the only rivers in the United States that requires a pilot to navigate across the bar.
Later, you can see the best of downtown Astoria on your own, equipped with a city map and recommendations from the crew. You're free to discover the hidden treasures of this charming Victorian seaport.
- Return to Portland's attractive riverfront where your week-long voyage into history ends. A transfer is included to the Portland Airport.
