Collins Beach is a sandy beach on the Columbia River

Columbia River

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...

 side of Sauvie Island

Sauvie Island

Sauvie Island, in the U.S. state of Oregon, originally Wapato Island or Wappatoo Island, is the largest island along the Columbia River, at 26,000 acres , and the largest river island in the United States...

 in Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, located north of Portland

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

.

Part of it is a clothing-optional

Nude beach

A nude beach is a beach where users are legally at liberty to be nude. Sometimes the terms clothing-optional beach or free beach are used. Nude bathing is one of the most common forms of nudity in public. As beaches are usually on public lands, any member of the public is entitled to use the...

 area. The beach is one mile (1.6 km) long and begins about 0.25 miles (402.3 m) after Reeder Road becomes gravel. Hours are 04:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. every day.

The beach has been popular for nude use since at least the 1970s. It is surrounded by a 12000 acres (48.6 km²) fish and game reserve, except for a 10 acres (4 ha) parcel of privately-owned land west of Reeder Road at the north boundary of Collins Beach. Nude beach users continue onto the non-nude North Unit Beach which is poorly delineated and ineffectively screened from view, which has led to a legal complaint by the property owners.

Collins Beach is one of two official clothing-optional beaches in Oregon. The other is Rooster Rock State Park. It is administered by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is an agency of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for programs protecting Oregon fish and wildlife resources and their habitats....

 in cooperation with the Columbia County

Columbia County, Oregon

Columbia County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was named for the Columbia River, which forms its eastern and northern borders. As of 2010, its population was 49,351. The county seat is St. Helens.-Economy:...

Sheriff's Office.

External links

• Oregon State Court of Appeals map showing Sauvie Island, the wildlife area, and Collins Beach