Page 30 - Clackamas County Watertourism Strategic Plan. Final.v3

STRATEGIC PLAN FOR WATER-BASED TOURISM IN CLACKAMAS COUNTY, OREGON THE WATER
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Molalla River

The Molalla River flows freely for its entire 51 miles from its headwaters in the
Table Rock Wilderness to the Willamette River at the Molalla River State Park in
Canby. The Molalla River Recreation Corridor, which is approximately the first 15
miles, is recognized by the State of Oregon as being “highly suitable for inclusion
into the Scenic Waterways Program” due to its outstanding fishing, boating,
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swimming, picnicking, and camping experiences in a wilderness setting . Molalla
River Alliance promotes the Molalla River as a prime example of a wild Cascadian
stream and is home to some of largest runs of wild winter steelhead. The BLM
estimates that 50,000 annual visitors recreate in the Molalla River Recreation
Corridor, participating in rafting, kayaking, hiking, picnicking, swimming, tubing, mountain biking, horseback riding,
camping, hunting and fishing activities. The upper section of the river is managed by the BLM and referred to as
Molalla River-Table Rock Special Recreation Management Area (SRMA). It includes 27,405 acres of public lands,
5,700-acres of which is the Table Rock Wilderness. They also manage 25 miles of shared use trails. Three Bears and
Cedar Grove campgrounds were built in 2012 and 2013 and are located on a forested river terrace above the river.
Each campground provides parking and walk-in campsites with tent pads, picnic tables, fire rings, BBQ grills, potable
water, and vault toilets.
Three Bears has sixteen sites and Cedar Grove has eleven. At the time of this writing, the campgrounds were only
open Friday to Sunday on a first come, first served basis between May and October. There is ample demand for full
time operations but not enough volunteer hosts to keep the operations open. A third proposed campground in the
Molalla River Corridor is Pine Creek and would offer 14 back-in or pull-through RV/trailer campsites located near the
Pine Creek Bridge. Pine Creek would offer similar amenities as Three Bears and Cedar Grove, yet with an ability to
accommodate RVs and trailers. The BLM estimates that this would cost $400,000 to construct. The closure of
campgrounds during the week places the managing agency in a difficult position. Closures do not prevent visitors
from using the site, therefore enforcement is still required. Yet closures do prevent any additional revenue from
being generated so enforcement becomes costlier. The BLM has been working with two local non-profit
stakeholders, Molalla River Watch and the Molalla River Alliance, in helping to manage the SRMA. The BLM has
engaged these groups to help find volunteers, work on projects, and clean up the corridor. This cooperation occurred over the last 10 years and has resulted in notably reduced
illicit activity in the area. Due to federal cutbacks in recreation management, the BLM will need additional stakeholder support to keep their existing campgrounds open all season
and to build new ones.