Relieved to find this thread. Longtime Portland-based photographer, newbie recreational (for now) flyer (P3P.) I’m somewhat confused though…I thought National Recreation Areas were all NFZ, just like national parks? But the above forest order seems to cover just some specific areas. Surprised too that areas near locks and dams are seemingly ok.
@db4476 I wouldn’t mind picking your brain sometime?
I was able to do some nice flying in the area, but there are some spots that are ambiguous. Would have loved more time out there, for sure.
The Bonneville Dam is one such ambiguous spot, the perimeter directly around the dam (on the Washington/Bonneville side) is all fenced off and clearly Corps of Engineers zone. However, the land to the west is a nice size recreation area listed as the “Fort Cascades Historic Site” and there aren’t any clear markings about whose authority the land is under.
Well, I found out after our trip, that rec site is managed by the Army Corps of Engineers. The website for the Portland District (as of date of this post), states “Drone policy: For both safety and security reasons, the operation of aircraft, including drones (formally known as Unmanned Aircraft Systems) may not be operated within 500 feet of operational areas at Corps projects. This includes land with structures such as dams. Click
here for the complete District policy memo.” Link is to the document
@db4476 posted. So, whether you can fly from the rec area or not, I’m not sure. There is definitely enough room to stay 500’ away from the operational area. Probably a call to the Dam operations authority line would clarify. It would be a fantastic spot to fly from. When we went to the visitor center inside the dam, they actually specifically asked if we had any drones in the car at the guard station (thankfully I had left mine at the Airbnb).
If you continue to the East on 14, there’s a small roadside historic site on the south side of the road, maybe 1/2 mile down, basically just a gravel lot with a couple plaques. I flew from there and was able to get some nice shots of the other side dam, as well as the river in the other direction, and even caught a paddlewheeler riverboat and another cruise boat passing each other right in front of me, on their way in/out of the locks. Good place for the morning due to location of the sun, and maybe a good sunset over the dam if you can get the light right. I also flew to the west of Cape Horn, from one of the roadside pull-offs, it was a fair place to get the river and I did get some great textured stills of the clouds that day, although it would be nice to be able to get closer to Cape Horn if nothing else to get it in the distance, but that would be tough.
One thing I wanted to do but wasn’t able to was get some good footage of trains along the river. I had some great spots picked out between Stevenson and Bingen, but it ended up being too windy that day. I was able to get a really good sunset over a barge and Bingen one evening. Still bummed about the trains though. There was also a kiteboarding festival going on that I wasn’t able to get, and would’ve been cool.
Just a tidbit, we stayed at the Artbliss Hotel in Stevenson (which are actually nice little cedar cabins), and it was very cool. Definitely recommend if you need a place to stay.
