Collins Beach, toward the northern end of Sauvie Island has lots of sandy beach space. The clothing optional beach is very popular in the summer months, with plenty of open areas well suited for sunbathing, swimming, and floating on inflatables. Shade is a bit limited. Unlike the clothing optional beach at Rooster Rock State Park in the Columbia River Gorge, Collins Beach is downstream from the Willamette, so the water is not a clean as in the Gorge but it is still good for swimming and there is much more sandy shoreline. Of course, conditions vary with river water level.
The area is under the control of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, which banned alcohol use at Collins Beach in 2018. Rooster Rock and Collins Beach both have officially designated clothing optional areas. Nudity is allowed but remember, this is a family friendly area, with children sometimes present, and sexual activity is illegal.
How to Get to the Nude Beach at Sauvie Island
From Portland, take US-30 W, past St. Johns Bridge to the Wapato Bridge exit. Collins beach is about a 20-25 minute drive (aprox. 14 miles) from the bridge. Watch your speed because there are often police enforcing speed limits and there are school and residential zones en route.
There are nice views of Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams from Wapato Bridge. At the end of the bridge, simply follow NW Reeder Road to the beach. The clothing optional portion of the beach begins just past where the road becomes unpaved. Permits are required for parking. Research before starting the journey, so you know where to buy a permit and watch for the signs along the roadway. Day use permits are $10 per vehicle. Annual permits only cost $30.
No, that’s not a space ship
The so-called Collins Beach UFO Boat was built by Richard Ensign, of Hubbard, Oregon in the early 1970s. It was a sail boat that also had a small paddle wheel driven by a car engine. Evidently, high water from a 1996 flood carried the craft away and it landed well away from the shore and remains there to this day.
Clothing Optional Area
The start of the official clothing optional area is designated fairly clearly. The northern boundary is also marked. Pay attention to the north end. Collins beach is mostly surrounded by a 12,000-acre Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) fish and game reserve. However, there are pockets of private land and some land owners have complained of nudity outside of the designated areas. That, and alcohol possession can lead to trouble for violations and also jeopardizes the status as an official clothing optional area. Both the ODFW and the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office have been known to visit the beach and issue citations. Staying past 10:00PM can also result in a ticket.
Respect the Environment
If you packed it in, you can pack it out! Be sure to pick up your trash. Be a mensch and carry out some extra garbage left behind by someone less thoughtful than yourself. There are no restrooms near the river shoreline. A few portables can be found in the parking area on NW Reeder Road.
No Alcohol
Since March 2018, alcohol is not allowed at Collins Beach.
The authorities do issue citations.
