Page 51 - Clackamas County Watertourism Strategic Plan. Final.v3

STRATEGIC PLAN FOR WATER-BASED TOURISM IN CLACKAMAS COUNTY, OREGON THE PEOPLE
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Favorite and Most Frequently Visited Water Bodies

The survey explored which waterbodies are the favorites in all of Oregon. This information was gathered to compare Clackamas County water bodies to the rest of the state.
From a simple multiple-choice question “your favorite water body for water-based recreation?” respondents were asked to pick only one of 30 selections, or write in an “other”
option, or answer “I don’t know.” The list was randomized for each respondent. All waterbodies that received a response greater than 2% were included, resulting in ten water
bodies. These data show that the Deschutes River is clearly Oregon’s favorite water body. It is 30% more popular than the second favorite, Columbia River and nearly twice as
popular as the third favorite, the Rogue River.

Oregon's Favorite Waterbodies
Oregon's Most Frequently Visited Waterbodies

19% 18%
24%
16%
17%
11%
12% 9%
10% 7%
9% 7% 5% 5%
5% 4% 6% 5% 4% 3% 3%

A variety of factors, including age, household income, and sex, were used to test if they influenced favorite water bodies. The Deschutes was preferred by all age categories over
any other river. The youngest category of users (age 19-25) is more likely than average to prefer the Deschutes, or the John Day (tied at 27.3%) followed by the Owyhee at 18%.
The next oldest group (26-39) were more likely to name the Deschutes, Rogue, North Coast, and John Day than the sample average. The oldest group (<65 years) is more likely to
choose the Deschutes. When combining all ages, the most preferred water bodies are the Deschutes, Columbia, Rogue and Willamette in that order. The overall table is
significant (p=.025).