Map › USA › Hood River / Columbia Gorge › Mosier / Rock Creek Park

Columbia River Gorge e laghi interni · Mosier, Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge · Wasco County · Mosier, Oregon

Mosier / Rock Creek Park

also known as Rock Creek, Rock Creek Park, Rock Creek Beach

choppyadvanced onlymedium crowds

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

On this page

Wind
- Month by month
Forecast
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
- Rescue
Hazards
Rules & access
Schools
Tips
Getting there
FAQ

Nearby Hood River Sandbar 9 km · Lyle, WA 9 km · Hood River Event Site (Columbia Gorge Sailpark) 9 km · Rowena 11 km · Viento State Park 21 km · Stevenson, WA 38 km · Rufus 53 km · straight-line distance

SeasonMay to Septhe months riders and schools name How windyunder Typical strength, belowthermal, cross-shore Launchokaccess rules on record, below Waterchop18°C in summer · 18 things riders flag LevelIntermediate to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section

Schoolsnone named here

From the airport75 minPDX (Portland International)

When it fills in

Builds through midday and usually peaks between about 2 and 6 p.m.

Rock Creek Park is Mosier's own launch on the Columbia, straight off exit 69 and about fifteen minutes upriver from Hood River. A gated gravel road drops under the railroad into a large lot with lawn, shade, a covered deck and a port-a-potty; the beach itself is coarse gravel at the mouth of Rock Creek.

The wind is the standard Gorge westerly, a pressure-gradient thermal that runs nearly every day from May to September and builds through midday to peak mid-afternoon. It blows against a river that is always moving west, which is what stands the chop up into rideable swell.

The river here is wide and the current moderate, so drifting downstream is the thing to manage. It is not a beginner launch, and the gravel entry alone would settle that. Parking inside the gate is a paid token bought at the market in town, and on strong summer days the lot fills.

Winter high water sometimes closes vehicle access entirely.

The wind

locals call it the Gorge westerly

Direction

cross-shoreW

Kite sizes

456789101112

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

thermal

fills in: Builds through midday and usually peaks between about 2 and 6 p.m.

Typical strength

No published figure for Rock Creek itself. The nearby Gorge reaches run 20-30 on most July and August days, with 14-25 more typical across spring and summer as a whole.

Pressure-gradient thermal driven by heat east of the Cascades. Wind blows to some degree almost every day at this park in season. It can come up fast, and it blows into a moving river, so the surface is chop with medium swell at best rather than flat.

Strong thermals run nearly daily from May through September, with the hot high-summer days the strongest. Cold-season easterlies exist in the Gorge but the park is not the site for them, and winter high water sometimes stops vehicles getting in at all.

Thermal or synoptic

thermal Gorge westerly pressure-gradient wind

The quiver, in words

6-10 m covers most summer days in this part of the Gorge.

Forecast

Month by month

Jan10
Feb12
Mar23
Apr32
May, riders' month50
Jun, riders' month52
Jul, riders' month68
Aug, riders' month50
Sep, riders' month48
Oct24
Nov5
Dec5

windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep.

10%Jan
12%Feb
23%Mar
32%Apr
50%May
52%Jun
68%Jul
50%Aug
48%Sep
24%Oct
5%Nov
5%Dec

windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+) · season highlighted

Month	Windy days	Force 4+	12 kn or more	Knots	From	Peaks at	Air	Readings
Jan	10%	27%	21%	7.9 kt	NW	13:00	1.4°C	62
Feb	12%	35%	25%	8.8 kt	NW	15:00	4°C	57
Mar	23%	47%	40%	10.1 kt	WNW	14:00	7°C	62
Apr	32%	63%	52%	12 kt	WNW	15:00	9.2°C	60
May	50%	81%	66%	13.8 kt	WNW	15:00	14.8°C	62
Jun	52%	80%	68%	13.4 kt	WNW	15:00	18.8°C	60
Jul	68%	76%	71%	13.6 kt	WNW	15:00	24.4°C	62
Aug	50%	69%	68%	13.1 kt	WNW	15:00	23.9°C	62
Sep	48%	68%	60%	12.5 kt	WNW	15:00	19.5°C	60
Oct	24%	39%	34%	10 kt	NW	14:00	13.7°C	62
Nov	5%	20%	17%	7.8 kt	WNW	14:00	5.5°C	60
Dec	5%	21%	13%	7.7 kt	NW	15:00	2.7°C	62

modelled

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

Modelled from the operational forecast archive at 1.5–7 km (2023-2024), daylight hours only, not a ground station: it resolves thermal, lake and valley winds far better than coarse reanalysis but still tends to understate a strong local thermal. A windy day has at least three consecutive daylight hours at 12 knots or more. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

High-resolution weather model (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical forecast archive — best-match operational model (ICON-D2 / AROME / ICON-EU / GFS by region), not a ground station · 2023-2024

The water

Type

chop

Tides

None. This is a river reach well above tidal influence.

Temperature

18°C summer

Wetsuit

Across this stretch of the Gorge: boardshorts in July and August, a shorty in June and September, a full suit the rest of the year.

Currents

The Columbia runs downstream, westward, all year, and the drift is reportedly 3-5 km/h with a stronger band out in the main channel. West wind blowing against that current is what stands the chop into swell. Managing the drift is one of the two things riders deal with here, the other being the entry.

Fresh water. The beach at the mouth of Rock Creek is coarse gravel rather than sand, and late in summer and into autumn algae makes the rocks slippery. Rock Creek itself is a seasonal stream and spawning fish use it in the wetter months.

Your level

not for beginners hereintermediateadvanced

Intermediate on one rating, an advanced launch and not suitable for novices on another, and no novice launch either way. The rough gravel entry, the downstream current and the width of the river are what push it out of beginner range. Take lessons at Hood River and come here once you can hold ground upwind.

The scene

What riders come here for

freeridebump and jumpcruisingfoil

A mixed local crew of windsurfers, kiters, wingers and parawingers rather than a scene. Quieter than the Hood River sites ten minutes downriver, but the lot fills on the strong summer days and swimmers use the same beach.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

No school names this spot

Nobody has been recorded teaching or running a boat here.

On your own

Room to launch: ok

access rules on record

Somewhere else

Hood River Sandbar, 9 km

Hood River Sandbar Lyle, WA Hood River Event Site (Columbia Gorge Sailpark)

Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.

Rescue

No lifeguard, no beach patrol and no safety boat covers the park, and the swimmers who share the beach have no cover either. Emergencies go through 911. The city office on 541-478-3505 handles the park itself, not water rescue, so the arrangement here is a buddy on the beach and a downwind limit you set before you launch.

Launch

Exit 69 off I-84, curve left off the overpass onto Rock Creek Rd, then a gated gravel road on the right before the bridge; drive through the gate and under the railroad to a large gravel lot. The park has lawn, a covered deck, picnic benches, shade and a port-a-potty, and the rigging area is shady.From there it is a short walk to the gravel beach at the mouth of Rock Creek. Parking outside the gate on Rock Creek Rd is free; inside the gate needs a paid token.

Space

Hazards riders report 18

moderate Columbia River current
gravel/rock beach
parking fills on windy summer days
rough gravel and rock entry
moderate downstream current on a wide river
commercial barge traffic in the main channel (reportedly)
wind builds fast on hot afternoons
railroad line between the lot and the beach
slippery algae on the rocks in late summer and autumn
winter flooding blocks vehicle access to the park
lot fills on windy summer days
freeway immediately behind the launch
moderate downstream current on a wide river, reportedly 3-5 km/h and stronger in the main channel
commercial barge traffic in the main channel (reportedly, unconfirmed against a navigation source)
wind builds fast on hot afternoons and can go from nothing to overpowered inside an hour
railroad line between the lot and the beach; the access passes under it and crossing the tracks on foot is prohibited
cold fresh water: 12-18 C through summer, so a long swim downstream is a hypothermia problem before it is anything else
no lifeguard, patrol or rescue boat

Rules & access

As of 2026 the City of Mosier charges $6 for one-day access or $85 for a yearly access card to drive through the Rock Creek Park security gate; day tokens and annual access cards are sold at Mosier Market, 1010 1st Ave, across from Totem Plaza. Parking outside the entrance on Rock Creek Rd is free.

Signage at the site covers where gear may be placed, and the local ask, published in 2020, is to be respectful of native plant species.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Rider tips

Buy the token at Mosier Market before you drive to the gate; there is no payment at the park.
If the lot is full, park free on Rock Creek Rd outside the entrance and walk in.
Bring booties. The entry is rough gravel and the rocks get slick with algae later in the season.
Come here when Hood River is a zoo; same wind system, a fraction of the people.
Set your downwind limit before you launch. The river is wide and the current only goes one way.
Check vehicle access before driving out in winter or early spring; the park floods.

Getting there

Airport

PDX (Portland International)

Route

Car. I-84 east from Portland to exit 69, roughly 1 hour 15 minutes. Hood River is about 15 minutes west on the same freeway.

Transfer

75 min

Cost level

mid

Staying

Mosier is very small; almost all lodging is in Hood River or The Dalles.

No-wind days

The Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail and the Twin Tunnels start next to the park entrance, and Mosier's Pocket Park leads to the Mosier Plateau Trail, the pioneer cemetery and the Mosier Falls swimming hole. Hood River town is fifteen minutes away.

FAQ

Is it suitable for beginners?

No, it is rated intermediate to advanced.

When is the best time to kite?

The westerly Gorge thermal is best from May through September.

Are there fees?

As of 2025, a local guide lists a Rock Creek Park fee of $5 daily or $50 annually, sold at Mosier Market.

What are the hazards?

Hazards include moderate Columbia River current, a gravel/rock beach, and parking that fills on windy summer days.

Last updated: August 2026