This is the Marina at the Northwest corner of Fern Ridge. There is a two-lane ramp with good surface and a dock down the middle. There is no specific charge for ramp use, but there is an entry fee for the park, with a pay station at the entry. If you are using the marina or the campground, no further fee is required. Be sure to display your receipt or permit on the dashboard of your vehicle.

GPS Location: 44.117448, -123.314721

The map above shows most of Richardson Park. The entry off of Clear Lake Road is shown with “Entry,” and the boat ramp is also shown. The two parking lots near the boat ramp have provision for boat and trailer parking. The marina has five main docks that have some “transient” spaces that can be rented. Two more docks can be used for short time shore visits. The park is operated by Lane County. The marina has a host who may be at a trailer by the marina. Do not count on that and reservations and questions should be dealt with either on line, or at the Lane County Parks, Eugene (541) 682-2000.

Boating season is officially April 1 to Sept 30. Boat ramp use can extend outside of this season, as the park is kept open for day use. During the boating season, over-night parking is available for marina users.

Here are the two ramps and the service dock in between. The other dock on the left is for short time use, such as to clear a boat from the main dock This picture was taken in the early spring when the water was still about 4-ft below full pool. Full pool is an elevation of 373.5 feet. That elevation system is used to track the water level, and is available on line.

Fern Ridge Ridge Reservoir is operated by the US Army Corps of Engineers to help control flooding and to provide water for summer irrigation. The level is raised with the spring rain, starting in February . The water is deliberately lowered in October and later. During the summer the water drops slowly ending several feet below full pool. For some summers, the water becomes too low to allow use of deep keel sailboats.

In late summer, blue-green algae may appear in places. This requires ingestion to be toxic and so is most often a problem for dogs.

This is a general use lake shared by people-powered, sail and power watercraft. There are two swimming areas and these have buoys and ropes to isolate them.