Ramp and dock. Picture from Lincoln County.

This excellent facility is about 10 miles above Toledo. The water is still tidal and reverses unless recent rain have been big. This is operated by Lincoln County Parks and no fees are charged. There is a campground in the same park and fees apply there.

Location

GPS Location: 44.620726, -123.875307

Open Street Map with interaction

A 10 mile paved road connects to Toledo, from the bottom of the map. Going upstream from Elk City by vehicle has two choices. A gravel road follows the Yaquina to US Hwy 20. The other option, Harlan Road faithfully follows Big Elk Creek through the woods to the widening at Harlan, with connection back to Hwy 20 at Burnt Woods. Most people access Elk City from Toledo.

Description

This is a great park, with full day services along with no-hookup camping. Boat trailer parking is available. The launch ramp is in good condition and the L-shaped ramp is convenient and in good repair.

Water Character

The river is open down stream from Elk City, and is a wonderful place to explore. Both the Yaquina River and Big Elk Creek can be accessed going upstream by small boats. The distance varies from year-to-year, limited either by trees across the water or by shallows.

This is a river valley, so the winds are generally reduced by the hills. But, the water is open enough to be challenging for small boats, especially when a winter storm is around. The flow is modified by recent rain, sometimes in a major way, but normally the controlling feature is tidal action. Tide predictions are available for Toledo and they will give a general indication of this area with a delay of around an hour.