HASSO HERING

The boat dock at Bowman Park looked like this on Jan. 23, 2026.

The floating dock at Albany’s Bowman Park looks in poor shape, but mostly it’s a seasonal problem that another period of high water in the Willamette River may help solve.

A reader who lives near the park called my attention to the shape of the dock last week, and the bike took me there to take a look the next chance I got.

Part of the floating dock wasn’t floating but sitting in the mud on the ramp because the river was low. The other sections were trying to emulate a roller coaster.

Rick Barnett is retiring at the end of this week as the parks and facilities maintenance manager in the Albany Parks and Recreation Department.  But before he leaves, he sent me this about the dock:

“There is debris that floated under the dock with higher water and the dock settled down on it.  Twice already this year we have had to move debris from under the dock.  With this dry winter we are hoping that the water comes up again so it is easier to float stuff out from underneath. If not, we will figure out another (and more difficult) way to remove debris.”

In an email, Barnett also said there had been an extraordinary amount of debris hanging up on the dock this year. “My theory (and that is all it is) was that removing debris from the railroad bridge put more debris on shore for high water to push into [the] Bowman dock.”

Last May, a contractor for the Portland & Western Railroad cleared away a large drift of woody debris from the railroad bridge upstream of Bowman.

When I looked at the dock last week, I noticed that the wooden deck and beams showed a lot of weathering and wear. I asked the parks department if there were any plans to replace it.

Barnett replied: “The dock is regularly inspected, maintained and repaired as needed. It is within its usage lifespan.”

So, replace the dock? Probably not anytime soon. (hh)

The beams and deck planks of the Bowman dock show quite a bit of wear.