Willamette Jetboat Excursions

OUTSTANDING EXPERIENCE! My wife and I decided to take the kids out for one last Funday before school started. Yes, we got a little wet, but everybody had the time of their lives. Our guide «Bob» was awesome! He was very educated about the history of Portland and all the sites along the tour. We will definitely be back for another great time. Thank you Bob for making our family excursion one to remember.

So much fun. Took an out of state friend and we had a blast. Definitely recommend for a hot day (85 +) because you get very wet and going 50 mph on the water when wet feels great when it’s 90 degrees but would feel chilly if it is less. Bring your own water — you get very thirsty and no drinks are available on the boat. Two hour tour was perfect amount of time.

The crazy power boating and noise must be obnoxious for the people living and recreating on the river. Our pilot also saw fit to give us an anti Endangered Species Act spiel which was pretty ignorant and offensive.

Lots of fun and learned a lot about the bridges, buildings and ships along the Willamette. Be prepared to get wet! My teens loved it.

I had been sitting on two gift cards for the two hour Jet Boat tour for almost 3 years. I decided to take my little sister out on it while she was visiting for her birthday.
The location is right behind OMSI and is pretty easy to find. The only issue is they make you go into OMSI and pay for parking (unless you park a little ways away like we did.) Like I said, this was free for me but the cost per person for the two-​hour tour is around $ 40-​$ 45 which I think is a good price.
The tour guide was very knowledgeable and despite living here I learned some interesting things (we have these crazy eels in the river that live by the Clackamas falls and you can get a license to catch them?!) You will get wet on this ride no matter where you sit. They are very up front about this and speaking of up front, if you sit up front (1 – 2 rows) you will get SOAKED. I recommend taking a waterproof camera (I had my GoPro) or putting your cell in a plastic bag. There is plenty of time they let you take photos and the driver lets you know when you’re going to get soaked.
The boats are really fun and they go up to 50MPH. They also spin a lot and make huge splashes (did I mention you will get wet?) It was a 100 degrees outside so getting wet was great, I’m not sure how this tour would be in the winter months.
Personally I thought two-​hours was a bit much but I do live here and know a lot about the area already. With that said, the $ 40ish they charge for this tour is a good deal. You do get to go under almost all of the Portland bridges and all the way to the falls in Oregon City. That is quite the distance. One tip: I’d recommend going earlier in the Spring/​Summer if you want to see the falls in all their glory.
Overall they do a great job and I think it’s a great thing for anyone visiting the city to partake in! Just to remind you one more time. YOU WILL GET WET!

So much fun! We were a group of 8, between 3 and 38 and everyone loved it. Lots of info and lots of water… in our faces! Be prepared to be soaked (like don’t plan on going out for a nice dinner afterward soaked) but the 360 degree turns are worth it. Our guide was knowledgeable and funny. The 1 hour ride was perfect for young kids.

We did the two hour tour… SO MUCH FUN!!! We got soaked. I was freezing, still the best time ever. Doug actually had a wealth of knowledge about the area and all the bridges which was awesome because we were on a little mini vaca and dying for a bit of guidance about what things were and where to go! Seriously, so much fun for kids of all ages. Do it!

I had an incredible time. Bob was our guide and was very funny, informative, and professional. This was definitely the highlight of my trip to Portland. I grabbed a couple extra brochures to hand out to my friends when I get home. You will get wet, some people brought raincoats but I think that defeats the fun of it, I went all out and got thoroughly drenched. The next time i visit Portland I will be booking another tour with these guys.

Wow! What a great time we had for over 2 hours on the river! The captain was awesome! He really had control over the boat. Tour included getting out on the river, learning about living and enjoying the river, some history of Portland, driving fast (speed), blowing the horn, and everyone on the boat got soaked (and everyone laughed and had a blast)! It was all good as it was a very warm day in Portland. We had all ages on our trip from older folks to little kids. This was the BEST part of our trip to Portland! Thanks for such a memorable time! JUST DO IT!

Took my 7 year old brother and 31 year old bf on this excursion! It was a blast. You definitely get wet and will squeal with the turns in the boat. It was both an adventure and educational. Would highly recommend it for anyone looking for a fun afternoon. Tour guide was great and made the excursion that much better!

We had an AWESOME time on the jet boat ride! Our tour guide (can’t remember his name but was missing the top of his index finger) was fun, funny and very informative. The river was great– such a cool way to experience this beautiful area. The boat ride was fast, fun and wet! One of the greatest highlights of our trip to Portland. Thank you for a really awesome day! I could not recommend this more; both for locals and tourists!

SO MUCH FUN. Very informative as well. If you sit in the front four rows though, watch out! You WILL get soaked!

We took the one hr trip, perfect in this unusually hot weather for my family of five. Kids age 5,9,&11 loved it. The only thing I would suggest is taking a motion sickness med if you think you might need it. The 360 turns were awesome, it was the rocking around in the wakes that got me feeling queasy after about the 10^th time. But I would recommend it for a fun family adventure for sure!

I took my friends from CA on this excursion for the first time and we had a blast!!! I thought our boat captain was not only funny, but gave great information about the sights on the tour. We had a fantastic time with having him speed the boat over the water, spin it to get us wet, however, he was still respectful of others sharing the water with us and I never felt that he was being unsafe with the water boat antics.
I would recommend this to everyone and look forward to doing this again:)
Pam
Salem, Oregon

In from out of town and took the 2 hour scenic tour with my boyfriend. Totally worth every penny. I sat in the very front all the way on the left edge and got soaked to the bone! If you wanna stay dry choose a middle seat further back. I’m so glad I didn’t bring my phone with me. I suggest you resist the urge to take your phone and maybe do a digital camera or a GoPro camera.
Anyway, the tour was so much fun! Great info/​history and a fast/​exciting ride to boot. Even though I’m pretty sure I swallowed Willamette river water and I had to go home to shower/​change I’d do it all over again. It was by far one of the best things we did on our 10-​day visit to PDX. Even the locals on our boat loved it.

This was one heck of a ride. I’m so glad my brother in law found this boat ride. We got soaked the first 5 min. If I knew I was getting soaked I wouldn’t have curled my hair or wore mascara. We learned so much about the surronding areas and bridges. Our guide was named Doug and he was hilarious. Every mini heart attack, hair fro and raccoon eyes was worth the $ 41.

This was THE BEST boating experience I’ve ever had! The sign there says, «You WILL get wet & you might get soaked? «Well I guess this was one of the times where it was definitely the latter. Just FYI there are no clear signs where to line up for the boat but you should be on the right of the rope.
Once my boyfriend and I boarded and the tour guide started talking we were off then before we knew it, we were soaked!
We chose the 2 hour tour which includes all of the Portland bridges then makes its way to Oregon City. It was beautiful and we saw places we hadn’t seen before. We were well informed of tons of history while still constantly laughing from being soaked! We enjoyed every second and you will too! Worth every penny!

With the above average temperatures in PDX, this tour is THE way to go:
-$ 41/​pp, prepay online w/​a credit card & print out, or get a boarding pass at the dock
–get a history of the river, falls, bridges, homes & industrial parts surrounding the river
–spy osprey nests, salmon and bald eagles
–stay cool and invigorated with the sudden stops and spin-​a-​roos
–great guides who bring humor to the 2 hour voyage
–see locals enjoying the river, youth dive bombing, kayakers, wake boarders, paddle boarders, wave runners and pups wading
Park at OMSI’s parking lot, pay $ 5 at the reception and walk down to the docks for a memorable tour. Hint: if you don’t want to get AS wet, sit in the middle seats towards the center of the boat.

WoW this was great.
Will you get wet? YES
Will you have fun? YES
Is it worth the money? YES
Will you see cool parts of Portland and nature? YES
Went on the 2 hour (History, Wildlife, Willamette Falls) tour for $ 39 per person. The tour is a lot of fun and a great way to see Portland from the water. You see all of the bridges on the Willamette river, some cool ships, some epic waterfront homes, the Willamette Falls, and learn about the rich and interesting history of Portland. All while seeing some amazing nature, getting fresh air, going super fast, and doing 360’s.
We got lucky with the wether as it was about 80 on the day we went. Our captain was Bob. He was funny, full of information, and made the tour even better.
Highly recommended.

Even despite the summer rain today, the trip it’s self was wonderful!!! We saw every bridge on the Willamette between Portland and Oregon city. We ended at the Willamette falls and everything in between.
Doug did a flawless job of narrating our tour and filling it with not just history but plenty of laughs. We started off with a couple spins every so often between bridges, however for those prone to sea sickness take plenty of nausea meds or maybe steer clear because the finale ride is WORTH EVERY PENNY, and those spins are too much fun, if that’s possible. They do give good warning before so you can hold on, and the little ones in the group not only had a blast but didn’t want it to end.
You WILL get wet, bring LOTS of towels and extra clothes. It’s really too bad it’s only during the summer the rain was kind of fun. Pictures from the view are amazing, but would need water proof equipment.
Personally I had rain gear head to toe and was still a little wet in the arms and back.