Portland is literally getting its feet wet. On Friday, city officials and volunteers marked years of cleanup work and fresh public access along the Willamette River, celebrating newly opened beach spots, shoreline restoration and a City Council pledge to join the international Swimmable Cities movement. Organizers say the work is steadily turning the river into a go-to spot for swimmers, paddlers and families across the city.
A post by City of Portland, OR
City Council backs Swimmable Cities charter
The City Council adopted a resolution urging the mayor to make Portland a signatory to the Swimmable Cities Charter, calling "safe and swimmable waterways" "a sacred treasure and fundamental right," according to Portland.gov. The resolution, introduced by Councilors Olivia Clark and Mitch Green, explicitly cites the city's Big Pipe investment and frames river access as a civic priority that links recreation with environmental stewardship.
From Big Float to official beaches
The volunteer Human Access Project traces its roots to a 2010 idea that led to The Big Float and a string of river-access campaigns, according to The Big Float. That grassroots push helped convince the city and parks agencies to recognize and improve riverfront spots for public swimming and safer access.
Human Access Project's website says the group has brought more than 50,000 people to the river, helped establish Poet's Beach and Audrey McCall Beach, and partnered with Portland Parks & Recreation to designate safer swimming areas while removing "hundreds of tons" of concrete and riprap to uncover new shoreline. The group’s impact summary notes site improvements like ladders, stairways and dock conversions, all aimed at making the river easier for people to use.
Infrastructure made this possible
City environmental officials point to the Big Pipe project, a roughly 20‑year, $1.4 billion program completed in 2011, as the foundational infrastructure that dramatically reduced combined sewer overflows and helped improve river water quality, according to Portland.gov. While it did not eliminate overflows entirely, the Big Pipe cut yearly CSO events and helped shift public confidence in the Willamette.
What’s next for river access
In a City of Portland Facebook post, officials credited thousands of volunteers with cleaning and activating beaches, said Human Access Project has opened permanent access at seven beaches and two docks, and noted plans for another beach to open in 2026. The post quoted Scott Fogarty saying "we like to say this is activism disguised as a party," and tallied more than 500 tons of concrete removed from the river and its banks, a larger citywide figure than some site-specific tallies but one used to highlight the overall scale of community effort, according to the City of Portland.
