Towing in Estacada, OR: The Highway 224 River Corridor

northwesterntowing

Oct 7

2 min read

Estacada is where the suburbs end and the Cascades begin. The Clackamas River runs right through town, and on any summer weekend Highway 224 is bumper to bumper with rafters, kayakers, and trucks pulling boat trailers. In winter it's the road to Ripplebrook and the snow. Either way, when something goes wrong on 224, you're a long way from a dealership.

Highway 224: the river road

224 follows the Clackamas River east out of Estacada past Milo McIver State Park, Estacada Lake, and Timber Park, winding the whole way. It's gorgeous and it's narrow, with rock walls on one side and the river on the other in places. Summer brings overheated trucks dragging trailers up the grades and flat tires from gravel pullouts. The turnouts near the park fill up by 10 AM on Saturdays, and we've winched more than a few rigs out of soft shoulders where somebody parked a dually where a dually shouldn't go. If your trailer starts swaying on the curves, slow down before the corner, not in it.

Logging roads and winter mountain access

Past Ripplebrook, 224 becomes forest road and the plows have opinions about how far they go. Hunters, snowmobilers, and Christmas tree cutters head up there every winter, and every winter a few of them find out all-wheel drive isn't the same as chains. Snowbank slide-offs, high-centered rigs on logging spurs, dead batteries at trailheads on 25-degree mornings: that's the winter menu. Carry chains, carry a blanket, and save our number before you go up, because cell service gets creative past the lake.

River season breakdowns

From May through September, Estacada runs on river traffic. Boat trailers with bad bearings, rafts strapped to roof racks, coolers in every back seat. If your tow rig quits at the Milo McIver boat ramp on a 95-degree Saturday, you're blocking the only ramp and forty people are watching. We've been that call. We'll get you and the trailer out without the audience.

Estacada is our kind of territory: river road, mountain road, and everything in between. Northwestern Towing covers Highway 224 from town all the way toward Ripplebrook, Milo McIver State Park, Estacada Lake, and Timber Park, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Rafters, hunters, commuters, loggers: when you're stuck, call (503) 253-3030 and tell us where on the river you are.