Riverfront Reimagined: Travel Oregon Grant Helps Newberg Envision New Future for Willamette River Access

NEWBERG, Ore.—Newberg’s riverfront could be on the cusp of transformation thanks to a program from Travel Oregon, in partnership with Taste Newberg and other area organizations. Organizers want to hear what residents think about it at an upcoming public gathering.

The city is one of four rural Oregon communities selected to participate in Travel Oregon’s Recreation Ready program—an initiative designed to help early-phase recreation concepts become viable public infrastructure projects.

“The project seemed really great, and it would really support the pillars of the program that we were looking for,” said Travel Oregon Destination Services Manager Nastassja “Staj” Olson. “We were looking at types of projects that would drive new tourism traffic, and Newberg, as a rural community known as wine country, is a great opportunity to diversify its offerings.”

Spearheading Newberg’s application is Taste Newberg Deputy Executive Director Katie McFall, who said the program offers a rare opportunity to invest in vision-building before traditional funding becomes available.

“This program is really different from most grant programs,” McFall said. “Usually, you can only get funding when a project is shovel-ready. This helps you get to that point.”

What is the Recreation Ready program?

Travel Oregon’s Recreation Ready program is aimed at rural and tribal communities with ideas for outdoor recreation projects in one of four categories: soft-surface trail recreation, water recreation, dark skies, or camping. The intent is to help communities develop these concepts through feasibility analysis, stakeholder coordination, and public engagement.

The program, launched in fall 2024, is the first of its kind, according to Olson. It’s designed to support rural communities in developing new outdoor recreation experiences that attract tourism and drive economic development—while respecting natural environments and increasing accessibility.

“We call it tactical destination planning,” Olson said. “There’s a really long ramp to get these experiences developed. There are often amazing ideas and things that would really support communities, but in many cases, it’s 10 years before shovel meets dirt. So Recreation Ready was designed to help these smaller communities that don’t always have the capacity or resources to tackle these projects and fast-track parts of them.”

There’s no cost to participate, but applicants must form a project steering committee and commit to planning work.

Other participating communities include a dark skies experience in Cave Junction, a mountain bike trail in the McKenzie River area, and a bike park in La Grande.

Newberg’s Proposal: ‘Riverfront Reimagined’

McFall said Taste Newberg initiated the conversation with Chehalem Parks and Recreation District, the City of Newberg, and Yamhill County Parks—the current manager of Rogers Landing—to explore possible project ideas. They landed on the Willamette River.

“There’s so much potential there at the riverfront,” McFall said,” and this program gave us a reason to start looking at it seriously.”

CPRD Superintendent Clay Downing said the project is of increased interest since the Chehalem Paddle Launch in Dundee closed in 2017. The closure requires area paddlers to lauch out of Rogers Landing, which also serves as a launch point for motorized boats.

“We hear from both sides that they are wary of the other,” Downing said. “Some people want to paddle, and others want to wakeboard. It would be nice to have a slower and quieter part of the river for people wanting to paddle.”

The working title of the proposal—Riverfront Reimagined—reflects the open-ended nature of this early-stage project. While no final design or construction timeline has been established, the city and its partners are focusing on several key questions: What does the community want from its river access? More nonmotorized boat launches? Trails along the river? A stronger connection between downtown and the waterfront?

One early step has involved evaluating land ownership along the river, which is currently a patchwork of public and private stakeholders, including the City of Newberg and Yamhill County. While the city’s Riverfront Master Plan was referenced during the application process, McFall said it contains no actionable items at this stage.

“This process is really about laying the groundwork,” she said. “It’s not about breaking ground next year—it’s about understanding what’s possible and what our community wants.”

What Happens Next

As part of the Recreation Ready program, the city and its partners will spend the coming months engaging with community members, landowners, and planners to understand the challenges and opportunities of a revitalized riverfront. While a fully realized project could take 10 to 15 years and cost tens of millions of dollars, McFall said this is the kind of long-term visioning Newberg needs.

“We want to diversify the experiences available to visitors and residents alike,” she said. “Wine will always be part of our story, but the river is too important to overlook.”

Participation in the program doesn’t guarantee future funding, but it does put Newberg in a better position to apply for capital improvement grants. Perhaps most importantly, it starts the conversation.

“This is about imagining what our community’s relationship with the river could be,” McFall said. “And then building toward that, together.”

Travel Oregon and Taste Newberg will host two community gatherings to provide more information about the project on April 23. Organizers will be at the Chehalem Cultural Center from 9 to 11 a.m. and at the Stoller Wine Bar in Newberg from 5 to 7 p.m. for those unable to attend the morning session.

McFall said both sessions will be structured, with the first portion focused on the program and tourism impact, followed by time for community input about hopes for the waterfront.

Community members interested in attending must RSVP by filling out a form on Travel Oregon’s website.

For those unable to attend, the recording from the morning meeting will be posted on the Recreation Ready webpage alongside an online survey for interested parties to input their ideas. Users will be required to watch the recording before submitting their comment, as context of the project is important, McFall said.

Learn more about the Recreation Ready program at Travel Oregon’s website.