Swimmers are required to have an escort in a non-motorized craft (kayak, SUP) in a life vest and equipped with an additional life vest for the swimmer. Each escort will be provided additional mandatory race-specific safety materials. Swimmers MUST wear the brightly-colored swim cap and use the STB provided in their race packet. Swimmers and escorts must follow all announced safety rules without exception.
Safety boats will monitor the entire course and Race Officials in kayaks will travel with swimmers to coordinate in an emergency.
Time Limit: Swimmers who cannot complete one mile in open water in 35 minutes should NOT enter. Swimmers must clear the Fremont Bridge (approximately 5.5 miles) within 4 hours of the race start time and must complete the swim within 7 1/2 hours of the race start. Any swimmers on the course after these time limits may be stopped and listed as DNF in the results.
To qualify, swimmers must show that they have completed a minimum 5000 m/5500 yd swim faster than 1:40, within 3 years of race day. Only pool swims will be accepted for qualification. Swimmers who cannot complete one mile in open water in 35 minutes should NOT enter. All entries MUST be received by 4:59 pm Pacific time on Sunday, July 5, 2026. Due to organization & safety needs, late or day-of-race entries will not be accepted.
Yes - you must have a qualifying time before registration. Entrants that do not meet the standards will not be eligible to register.
Swimmers are required to have an escort in a non-motorized craft (ie. kayak or paddleboard). Swimmers must provide their own paddler escort and craft. For swimmer safety, motorized watercraft are not permitted to escort swimmers.
We have a wonderful community of local paddlers who volunteer to help our swimmers. Here are some places you can post to recruit a paddler:
Oregon Wild Swimming
Western Washington Open Water Swimmers
Portland Bridge Swim Participants and Crew
Standup Portland
Masters Swimming Groups
If you are renting a kayak from us for the event, there is a single-kayak rental limit. The kayaks available are mostly sit-inside kayaks, with a handful of sit-on-top kayaks as well. We typically try to set the sit-on-tops aside for the tallest paddlers so they’re not crammed into a shell too short or narrow. If you’re looking for alternative vessel options:
Yes, your paddler is able to use a SUP. But, please consider:
The river is an active shipping channel with a lot of traffic. Even experienced SUP users may find it stressful or difficult to both support their swimmer and remain stable on their SUP. It may be pragmatic to sit and paddle on a SUP, rather than kneeling or standing, due to the conditions and duration of the swim, as well as the ease of access to the swimmer’s nutrition and gear. If there’s chop, wake, wind – will your paddler be comfortable enough to be able to have 100% of their focus on you as the swimmer? If not, please consider switching to a different vessel.
Swimmers must provide their own kayak and escort kayaker. A limited number of kayaks are available for rent at race registration. Kayak rental, provided by our friends at Alder Creek, includes boat, paddle, and 2 life jackets. Boats will be dropped off for you to pick up at the race start. At the end of the race, leave the boat with us in Cathedral Park and Alder Creek Kayak will take it from there.
A shuttle will be available at the finish to transport swimmers and escorts back to Sellwood Park. With the exception of the rental kayaks above, swimmers are responsible for transporting their kayaks and they may not be taken on the shuttle.
All finishers will receive a 2026 Portland Bridge Swim medal. Awards will be presented to overall race winners, and the top 3 finishers in each category.
Current United States Masters Swimming rules apply. There will be a separate awards category for Category II swimwear, which includes wetsuits. Propulsive devices, such as fins & paddles, and flotation aids, such as pull-buoys, are not allowed. Additional race-specific rules will be discussed at the pre-race briefing.
If the swim is canceled up to 60 days prior to race day, 50% of entry fees will be refunded. If the swim is canceled less than 60 days prior to race day, no fees will be refunded. Swimmers who do not compete, or who do not complete the swim, are not eligible for refunds.
Everybody’s food needs are different and you’re going to have to figure this out by trial and error. This involves your nutritional needs, how often you need to feed, and what your stomach can tolerate. What tastes fine in your kitchen may not go down or stay down as well when you’re in the middle of the river and swimming hard. Make sure you are working on this well in advance of the swim- race day is not a good time to find out that your food’s not right.
Packet pickup will take place the Saturday before the race from 2-4 pm at Alder Creek Kayak & Canoe (200 NE Tomahawk Island Dr.), and on race day from 5:30 – 7 AM at the race start.
The race start is at Sellwood Riverfront Park, right at the intersection of SE Oaks Park Way and SE Spokane St.
The race finish is at Cathedral Park, at the end of N. Philadelphia Ave. right under the St. Johns Bridge.
- Volunteer!
- Come to the race start at Sellwood Riverfront Park
- Watch anywhere downtown between about 8:30 and 11:00
- Go stand on the Steel Bridge between about 9:00 and 10:30
- Come to the race finish at Cathedral Park between about 11:30 and 2:30
We eat and drink and do ridiculous things. We’ve got more craft breweries than we can even begin to count, fabulous food EVERYWHERE, great art, outdoor craft markets and farmers’ markets, concerts… If you’re coming to town and you need recommendations to explore, we’re happy to send you to some of our favorite places, like:
- International Rose Test Garden (Washington Park)
- Oregon Zoo (Washington Park)
- Waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge
- Incredible coastline views (Cannon Beach, Hug Point, Lincoln City)
- Shipwreck: Warrington State Park (Peter Iredale) close to Astoria
- Fishing: charters out of Astoria and Depoe Bay
- Whale watching: Depoe Bay
- Aquarium: Newport
Portland is an amazing city with lots of stuff to do and so many fun restaurants to try. If you’re looking to stay in walkable neighborhoods, we recommend Sellwood, St. John’s, Alberta Arts District. If you’re looking for quieter areas, we recommend SW/Hillsdale, Forest Park, Woodstock, and Lake Oswego areas. There is public transport, but most visitors typically rent a car, especially if you’re looking for Gorge or coastal adventures during your stay. Most neighborhoods have visitor parking or free parking outside of Downtown and near the convention center. As with all large cities, do not leave anything visible in your car when you’re not in it. There are no hotels within close walking distance of the start/finish but there are several within a few miles. The closest two are:
Motel 6, 3104 SE Powell
River’s Edge Hotel Portland, 0455 SW Hamilton Court
We would love for you to stay and visit our lovely city for as long as you can, because there is truly no end of things to see and do in and around Portland. But, for the race specifically, we recommend arriving Friday before the Sunday race so you can acclimate and join us for the pre-race pasta dinner at the Old Spaghetti factory! The swim typically concludes at or before 3 PM on Sunday, and the airport is roughly a 30-45 minute drive from Cathedral Park, so it’s reasonable to fly out right after the event. The rental car lot is on-site at the airport (a 10-15 minute walk to the terminal), so you mostly just need to factor the time for security screening and walking in when taking a Sunday evening flight right after the event.
Absolutely not. Most swimmers are testing themselves, rather than swimming and racing alongside other participants. It’s a large river, and the likelihood you’ll see many other swimmers on the course after the the first 1-2 miles is pretty low. As long as you meet the qualifying time requirements, you should come swim!
It’s very unlikely. During the spring, snow melt from the mountains feed our rivers, causing the water temps to drop as the sun starts warming the city. In addition, various river clean up and water safety initiatives over the past several decades have created an urban paradise in the June/July timeframe. There are cases of blue-green algae later on in the summer once the water warms up, but those don’t start until mid to late August, and typically in coves where there’s slower moving water. The brilliant event race director picked the middle of July because it’s a perfect water temp with sunny skies and roses in bloom with ideal river conditions. That being said, you’re swimming in a shipping channel with lots ‘0 boat traffic. You’ll likely experience some wake, smell a few whiffs of boat exhaust, and touch some river salad as you swim. We recommend not drinking gallons of the river (fish pee in it, and so do you), and showering after you get done with the event.
