Sauvie Island

Oak Island is located in the middle of Sturgeon Lake which is enclosed within Sauvie Island, about 15 crow-flying miles northwest of Portland.  A dirt road leads across a dike providing access to the trailhead. 

Sauvie Island is the largest island along the Columbia River at 33 square miles, and one of the largest river islands in the United States. To put it into context, Manhattan Island is about 23 square miles in size.

A 2 1/2-mile trail meanders around the northern perimeter of Oak Island. It’s a nice place to spot a wide variety of birds, along with wildflowers, butterflies and critters. At one time there was an eagle’s nest near the trail in an old oak tree. Every year we looked forward to seeing the adults on the nest, eaglets showing their heads, and finally the fledglings beginning to fly. But, sorry to say, several years ago the bulk of the tree holding the nest fell to the ground (lightning strike?). We still see the eagles flying in the area from time to time.