Portland Bridge Swim

Swim 11 Miles Through Downtown Portland

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12 Bridges

11 Miles

100 Swimmers

~ 70 Degrees

Welcome

Heading into its eighth year, the Portland Bridge Swim is a marathon swimming race through the heart of Portland, Oregon. Part nature experience, part sight-seeing tour and all physical & mental challenge. The swim is open to solo swimmers and 3-person relay teams. Proceeds benefit Willamette Riverkeeper.
In 2018, we are proud to host the US Masters Swimming National Championship, Ultramarathon Distance.
See the Portland from the water!

2018 Race Information

Race Date: Sunday July 8, 2018
Registration Opens: January 5th, 2018

Registration closes (and final payment is due): either when the swim has reached capacity at 100 entries or  July 1, 2018 at 4:59 PM, whichever occurs first.  Additional swimmers wishing to register if capacity is reached before July 1 will be added to a waitlist. 

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Low tide is 11:48 am, high tide is at 3:23 pm.  It’s going to be a bumpy ride! To avoid the heaviest boat traffic as much as possible, the swim will start at 7:30 am. To ensure a safe and orderly start, swimmers will take off in waves of 20.

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The Course

The Course

Start: Sellwood Riverfront Park
Finish: Cathedral Park

The Portland Bridge Swim course is approximately 11 miles (17 km) with the current. Swimmers will enter the water at Sellwood Riverfront Park (SE 7th Ave & Miller St, Portland), swim South under the Sellwood Bridge, pass around the bridge pylons and swim North along the East side of the river. The course runs under all 12 of Portland’s Willamette River bridges, through downtown and beyond. Swimmers will pass under the St. John’s bridge and exit the water via the boat ramp in Cathedral Park (N Edison & Pittsburg Ave, Portland).

Safety

Safety

The nuts and bolts of our safety plan: To ensure that entrants are capable of completing the swim safely, a qualifying swim will be required upon entry. Swimmers must show that they have completed a 5000 yd pool swim within 1 hour, 30 minutes. (Time must be verified by a counter but it does not have to be an organized swim.) The number of entrants will be capped at 100 so that organizers can safely track swimmers. The Portland Bridge Swim will be held in the Willamette River. The Swim will begin at Sellwood Riverfront Park and end at Cathedral Park. To avoid as much boat traffic as …

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Registration

Registration

Register for 2018 Here

Race Date: Sunday July 8, 2018
Registration Opens: January 5th, 2018

Registration closes (and final payment is due): either when the swim has reached capacity at 100 entries or  July 1, 2018 at 4:59 PM, whichever occurs first.  Additional swimmers wishing to register if capacity is reached before July 1 will be added to a waitlist.

For additional logistical and other information, please see our Frequently Asked Questions.

 

Additional Information