columbia river journeys

We made an overnight trip to Richland just to do the Hanford Reach Jet Boat Tour and it was totally worth it. Our boat captain was a wonder - pleasant and well versed in all things Hanford. He was quick to spot a variety of wildlife along the river and made sure that we all had a chance to view them and take photos. He maintained a running dialogue on current and ancient history. We learned about how the geology of the Hanford Reach and the Columbia River evolved through the ice ages and pointed out examples along the different cliffs and ridgelines to exemplify his comments. Moving forward in time, we were told of the early exploration and discovery efforts in the region. He was equally well versed on the development of the Hanford Nuclear Facility through the 40’s to the present. Some prior reviews had complained about getting to Richland to find out that the tour had been cancelled. You need to ask the right question! The question is not are there seats available, the question is, have you booked the minimum number required to guarantee a trip? This is a business and they just can’t send out a 20-passenger boat with two people. They do have two boats, a six passenger and a twenty passenger, with different minimums for both. While the six passenger sounds like fun, there is no restroom aboard. There are no stops along the route and the trip is 4 ½ hours. If you find yourself in Richland on a hot summer’s day, it’s definitely the thing to do.

A great four hours on the Columbia River. The guide was amazing and the scenery incomparable. I reco anyone.

It was an early morning start but our party was very happy with the tour. The guide was informative and had keen eyes. He spotted a great deal of wildlife along the river and was very adept at approaching them without disturbing them. We had a great day and learned so much about the history of this area where we are now living.

It's been a couple of years ago, but we thoroughly enjoyed the jet boat tour to Hanford Reach and the White Bluffs. The guide's information all along the way was very interesting as were the bird rookeries, the history of Hanford, etc. Well worth the money spent for us! (we've been on it twice in 10 years)

We travelled to the Tri-Cities for our anniversary and we had set up the jetboat trip as the centerpoint of our trip. We went out and bough binoculars and had our lunch all ready. We then get a call at 7AM, an hour before our excursion was set to leave, to tell us that the trip is off because we were the only people who signed up. They say that they tried to contact us the day before, but we had no message at our home number or on our cell. I have never seen a business so uncaring about their customers. A simple call in advance and we could have easily adjusted our schedule to go on the previous day. Thank you for putting such a negative experience on what started out as a perfect weekend.

I had a confirmation of receipt of my tour request by e-mail with a reply that the tour operator would be in touch with me as the date of the tour came closer. I had no reply after their initial e-mail reply so thought all was well. We (my wife and I) waited at the designated site and no one showed up. After calling the tour operator (twice) and leaving a message to call back, we left and went back to our hotel room to make other plans. The tour operator finally called back after we got back to our hotel room and apologized for losing track of my request! The tour operator also said that the tour would have been canceled anyway because we were the only two people who signed up for that particular tour! Also, be careful of what information is provided online while signing up for their tours because their e-mail reply to my tour request had all of the information I had provided, at their request, including my charge card number and it's 3-digit code.

We went on the Jet Boat trip through the Hanford Reach area. It was very interesting with a lot of commentary and history provided by the guide. My only complaint was the length of the trip - I think it was only half a day, but we sat in one area for a really long time and most folks were starting to fall asleep after a while.

The tour up the Hanford Reach was a dream come true to me, and even greater than I had accepted. 4.5 hours, 40 miles of river, wildlife, wild river, history, beauty, and all for $90? Unbeatable. The patter of the guide was simplistic at times, and at times even wrong, but he was totally upstaged by the river. We made a page long list of wildlife, and the White Bluffs are alone worth the ride. Bring a wind jacket. This boat is fast.

the naturalist/jet boat driver really was knowledgable about everything. He even extended our tour and was super. This was an excursion for our class reunion and was nothing but outstanding. Animals abound and you see all of the closed reactors.

It was nice to get a picture of Nuclear Reactor B but the trip was too long and costed too much.

Wildlife, light, color, seeing the river in as close to a natural state as we have available.

The area is fantastic to see for the first time. Repeat trips are just that, repeat trips. It would be nice to see some different venues.

Knowledgeable guide gives you background of Hanford activities and local history. Usually you spot lots of wild life. Very pleasant.

My husband and I just took the Hanford Reach trip. It was fun and we saw a lot birds and deer. I would recommend this to anyone. If you have small kids it is a long trip. You need to bring a snack and something to drink. Have fun.

My wife and two small children thought the idea of combining the excitement of a jet boat ride on a wild river with the historical interest of the Manhattan Project era nuclear reactors along the Columbia River sounded great.The guide was knowledgeable and the owners of this company are ethical and accommodating. We saw several coyote and deer along the riverbank. On the downside, the tour lasted about 5.5 hours and the day we went (early August) the temperature was over 100 degrees on the river.The river travels through a completely tree-less, arrid landscape. While interesting in its own way, it wasn't captivating for 5.5 hours. Similarly, while a tour of the reactor sites might hold a typical family's interest for an hour or two, 5.5 hours on a hot day was prolonged.Overall, I think this tour is best appreciated by people with a very specific interest in either the atomic history or this arrid region.