Page 101 - Clackamas County Watertourism Strategic Plan. Final.v3

STRATEGIC PLAN FOR WATER-BASED TOURISM IN CLACKAMAS COUNTY, OREGON THE MARKET
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versus a kayak with one. Nonetheless, most households will prefer to take the flatwater kayak out of storage and put it on the water over the canoe. While 30% of the households
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own at least one whitewater raft, it ranks 4 in frequency of use. Even though SUPs are the fastest growing watercraft being purchased today, they are still the least frequently
used boat among paddlers.

Paddler Market Summary
Among non-motorized boaters, flatwater appears to be slightly preferable than whitewater,
but not by much. Households own more flatwater boats than whitewater boats and they
are used more often. Flatwater recreation areas are visited about 25% more frequently
than whitewater, and there is a greater diversity of flatwater boats owned by Oregon
residents (kayaks, drift boats, SUPs). Clackamas County has several of the most popular
flatwater sites in the northwest Oregon region (region 2 according to the SCORP). The
Willamette River between the Columbia and Canby is the second most popular flatwater 90mi.
river in the region and the third most popular in the entire state. Trillium and Timothy
Lakes are also highly popular ranking third and fourth in the state, and second and third in
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the region. In addition, the Sandy, the lower Clackamas River, and the Tualatin are highly
popular flatwater destinations for non-motorized boaters. Since this is a strategic plan to
attract more tourism to Clackamas County waters, some may ask why is visitation rates
among Oregon residents important? The reason is that Oregon residents know the best
places to recreate. In Oregon, with literally hundreds of water recreation areas available,
residents can vote with their feet and demonstrate without bias where the most prized
water recreation areas are in the state. These visitation data provide solid evidence that
Clackamas County has valuable water recreation locations to market to the nation.

“A marketing campaign that targets only paddlers for overnight stays
must attempt to attract Oregon residents that are over 90 miles away,

and residents of northern California, southern Washington, and
western Idaho. Marketing campaigns that are trying to sell only
paddling trips will not be successful for paddlers beyond these

distances.”