News Release
| Release Number: | 03-058 |
| Dated: | 5/7/2003 |
| Contact: | Matt Rabe, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore.-The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will open Willamette Falls Locks on the Willamette River at West Linn, Ore., on May 19, for this year's summer recreation season.
Gene LaDoucer, chief of Maintenance Section, Bonneville Lock and Dam said, "This year Willamette Falls Locks will be open seven-days-a week from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m." The locks offer free portage for both commercial and recreational boaters.
Depending on a vessels direction of travel on the Willamette River the locks provide a 50-foot lift or lowering around Willamette Falls. The locks provide the only means of water travel around the falls
"Visitors are welcome to visit the historic Willamette Falls Locks located on the west bank of the Willamette River at West Linn, Ore. The grounds and Visitor Center are open during lock operation hours," LaDoucer said.
The Corps has operated the Willamette Falls Locks since 1915, when it purchased the facility from the Portland Railway Light and Power Company for $375,000. The locks opened on Jan. 1, 1873.
In 1974 the project was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, and in 1991, Willamette Falls Locks was designated as a State Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the History and Heritage Committee of the American Society of Civil Engineers. The designation is for the locks' status as Oregon's first water resources development project.
Visitors can watch vessels moving up and down the river through the 1,250 foot rock-walled locks, spend some time in the project's historical information center, or lunch at the picnic tables on the grassy area near the locks project office.
To get to the locks, take Interstate 205, exit at West Linn (exit #8), turn south onto highway 43, and south again onto Mill Street (west side of the Oregon City Bridge). Parking is available in the parking lot by City Hall off of Mill Street. Follow the signs and the painted pedestrian walkway leading down to the locks.
Willamette Falls Locks is part of an industrial area; therefore children should be supervised at all times. Visitors with disabilities may have trouble maneuvering down the walkway. Assisted access to the project from the parking lot is available by calling the Lockmaster at (503) 656-3381.
More information about Willamette Falls Locks is available on the Portland District's web page at https://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/op/b/wfl.htm