Willamette Falls and the river in West Linn
Willamette Falls sits on the river between West Linn and Oregon City. Wikipedia describes it as a horseshoe-shaped falls about 1,500 feet wide and 40 feet high, the largest waterfall in the Northwest by volume.
Native people and the falls
Wikipedia reports that the falls were a home and fishing place for upper Chinookan-speaking people, and that several tribes still harvest ceremonial salmon and collect lamprey there each year.
Settlement and industry
The City of West Linn's history page says Robert Moore built a cabin overlooking the falls in the early 1840s and founded a town he called Linn City. Floods and fire hit it in the 1850s and 1860s. Wikipedia adds that the falls produced the first long-distance electrical transmission in the United States, a 14-mile line to Portland in 1889, and that paper mills operated at the falls from 1866 until the last closed in 2011.
The Locks
The City's history page says the Willamette Transportation Locks Company began moving boats around the falls in 1868, and that the Army Corps of Engineers put the locks in non-operational status in 2011. The Willamette Falls Locks Authority, a public board, now oversees the project of restoring them. Its site says it works to repair, maintain and operate the locks for commercial, recreational, cultural and heritage uses. It does not give a reopening date, so check the Authority for status.
What comes next on the waterfront
Wikipedia reports that in August 2025 the state awarded $45 million for an inter-tribal public access project on the West Linn side and $12.5 million for a riverwalk on the Oregon City side. The City of West Linn also announced a 2026 Metro grant of $392,400 for waterfront planning. Plans change, so follow the City and the Authority for updates.