Bayview, Rockland, Brookfield - the shores of the Columbia were once lined with river towns that are no longer. In the days when 39 salmon canneries and a bustling steamboat network were in operation on the Lower Columbia, these towns thrived. It was a time when the Columbia was the dominant presence in the life of the region. The north shore of the river below Skamokawa is now wild, with cobble-covered coves tucked among dramatic cliffs blooming with stonecrop and paintbrush, or forested hillsides dropping steeply to the water’s edge. Some buildings still stand, but lines of old pilings are often the only visible vestiges of communities with canneries, mills, farms and homes. On this kayak tour we will try to imagine this area as it was, and note how nature has reclaimed this spectacular area. We begin by crossing the main channel to the islands of the Lewis and Clark Refuge, then we cross back to have lunch near Brookfield, and return along the Lewis and Clark route of the Lower Columbia’s forgotten north shore.