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Columbia River locks, barges and the shipping channel: a recreational boater's playbook

By Cap'n Guy Morgan, USCG-licensed 100-ton Master · Facts last checked against official sources on November 12, 2026

If you boat out of the Tri-Cities, the two locks you're most likely to meet are McNary on the Columbia (river mile 292) and Ice Harbor on the Snake (river mile 9.7)^[2]. You'll also share the river with tug-and-barge tows that can't stop or swerve for you. This page covers what the Corps of Engineers and the federal rules actually require, plus how a working captain handles it.

Before you go: radio, lines, life jackets

• A VHF radio, or a plan B. All Columbia and Snake locks work on VHF-FM Channel 14 (156.700 MHz) for calling and working^[1]. No radio? Every lock has pull-cord signal stations and intercoms near the ends of the upstream and downstream entrance walls^[1][2]. The Corps also lists phone contact; McNary's chief operator is (541) 922-2231 and Ice Harbor's is (509) 543-3231^[3].
• Two 50-foot lines and fenders. The Corps says your boat should have at least two 50-foot lines and fenders fore and aft, set high enough to protect the outermost edge of the hull^[2].
• Life jackets on everyone. The Corps requires every person aboard to wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket for the whole lockage, and nobody standing on the foredeck or roof^[2][3].
• Know whether you fit. Ice Harbor has a 67-foot height restriction at normal tailwater (to the bottom of the lift gate). McNary has a bascule bridge that is raised during lockages^[2]. If your mast or tower is tall, ask the lock operator first.

The Mid-Columbia locks at a glance

Heading downriver toward Portland, the next locks are John Day (WUJ 35), The Dalles (WUJ 34) and Bonneville (WUJ 33), run by the Corps' Portland District^[1].

When recreational boats lock through

Summer (scheduled lockages)

In 2026 the Walla Walla District ran a recreational schedule at McNary, Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower Granite from May 16 through September 20^[3]:

During those slots, waiting recreational boats lock through and take precedence over commercial traffic; outside those times, commercial vessels lock on arrival. The lock operator may let recreational boats lock with commercial craft^[3]. Clubs and groups can ask for a special lockage outside the schedule with at least 24 hours' notice to the control room^[3]. I hadn't found a 2027 summer schedule notice when this page was checked, so look for the Corps' notice in spring.

Winter and off-season (now)

Outside the summer schedule, recreational lockages at McNary and the Snake River locks are made during daylight hours only, on request^[2]. The Corps says commercial and government contract vessels take precedence between September 15 and May 15^[2]. When no recreational schedule is in effect, the federal regulation says a recreational boat may be locked separately if no commercial lockage is coming within a reasonable time (not more than an hour after you arrive), and that if a combined lockage can't be arranged you go after waiting three commercial lockages^[1]. In practice: call ahead, and bring patience.

2027 lock closures

Dates can change. Before a trip, check the Corps' navigation notices or call the Walla Walla District Operations Division at (509) 527-7364^[4].

Locking through, step by step

1. Call ahead. Raise the lock on VHF 14 using its call sign (for example, "McNary, WUJ 41") as soon as you can reach it, and at least 30 minutes before you arrive, because the lockmaster isn't in constant attendance at the lock^[1][2].
2. Wait clear. Hold outside the lock approach channel unless the lockmaster tells you where to wait inside it. Don't moor or anchor in the approach where you'd be in the way^[1].
3. Watch the lights and horn. Red: stand clear. Green: enter, in the order the lockmaster gives. One long blast on the lock horn means the lock is ready for you to enter; the green exit light and one short blast mean you may leave^[1].
4. Go in slow. Enter at the minimum safe speed. If several boats are going in, stay at least 200 feet behind the boat ahead^[1]. If you're locking with a commercial vessel, you go in after it's secured, and when practical you leave while it's still tied up^[1].
5. Tie to a floating bit, never a ladder. Use the bit the operator assigns, with the bit about amidships, one line from the bow and one from the stern. The bits float up and down with the water. Stay alert in case a bit sticks and you need to release quickly. You may be told to raft alongside another boat^[2]. Keep your whole boat inside the lines painted on the lock wall^[1].
6. Stay at the helm and on the radio. The operator must stay at the controls, keep monitoring Channel 14 (or otherwise stay reachable), and keep the boat from moving fore and aft. No propulsion while a gate is closing unless the lockmaster says otherwise^[1].
7. Nobody steps off. No passengers or gear may be landed on the lock walls without the lockmaster's permission^[1].
8. Leave when told. Stay secured until the operator tells you to go^[2]. If you're slow to enter after being cleared, you can lose your turn^[1].

Captain's advice: rig both lines and fenders on the lock-wall side before you call the lock, and brief your crew on who handles the bow line and who handles the stern. A lift of 83 to 103 feet^[2] is a long time to be fending off by hand. Keep a knife within reach of each line handler in case a bit hangs up.

Approaches, restricted areas and waiting

The Corps designates the waters above and below its dams, including lock approaches, as restricted areas because of strong currents, turbulent spill and powerhouse flows, and limited room for vessels using the lock^[7][2]. 33 CFR 207.718 describes the exact restricted boundaries at McNary and Ice Harbor, and signs mark them on the water^[1]. The Walla Walla District's safety reminders^[7]:

• Don't enter a lock or its approach without the lockmaster's authorization, and obey the lockmaster.
• Don't loiter in lock approaches or near guide walls.
• Yield to vessels entering or leaving locks, and slow down near a lock.
• Monitor VHF 14 for lock announcements.

Violators may face fines and criminal penalties from the Corps and the Coast Guard^[7], and the lockmaster can refuse lockage^[1].

Kayaks, canoes and paddleboards

At McNary and the lower Snake River dams, the Corps' preferred method for non-motorized craft is to portage around the dam. A non-motorized boat can lock through only if it's secured to a motorized assist vessel with everyone riding on the assist vessel, all wearing life jackets^[2][3].

Sharing the channel with tows and barges

Commercial barges carry grain, wood products, fertilizer and other cargo down the Columbia, and bring fuel upriver to the Tri-Cities and the Snake River communities^[15]. The Oregon State Marine Board's Middle Columbia guide, produced with support from the Corps, describes tug-and-barge combinations as upwards of 600 feet long, able to weigh more than 15,000 tons and move 6 to 9 knots. It warns that it can take several miles to bring one to a stop and that tug pilots may have a blind spot of half a mile in front of them^[15]. The same guide's advice^[15]:

• Commercial vessels need to stay in the marked mid-river channel. Recreational boats should stay out of the middle and run along one edge or the other.
• If you're sailing, take short tacks along the edge rather than long tacks across the channel.
• Cross where you have a long, clear line of sight both up and down the river.
• Five or more short blasts is the danger signal: act immediately.
• Be especially careful running at night. Obstructing commercial traffic is unsafe and unlawful.

Captain's advice: if you can't see the towboat's pilothouse windows, assume the pilot can't see you. Make your move early and make it obvious: a big course change made a mile out reads clearly from a wheelhouse, while a small one made at 200 yards doesn't. And never drift, fish or anchor in the channel in front of a tow.

The Navigation Rules that matter here

The Columbia at the Tri-Cities is inland water (shoreward of the COLREGS demarcation lines), so the Inland Navigation Rules in 33 CFR Part 83 apply^[11]. The ones recreational boaters most often run into with commercial traffic:

• Rule 9(b), narrow channels: a vessel under 20 meters (about 65 feet), or any sailboat, "shall not impede the passage of a vessel that can safely navigate only within a narrow channel or fairway." That describes nearly every recreational boat meeting a loaded tow^[8].
• Rule 9(a)(i): keep as near the starboard (right-hand) edge of the channel as is safe and practicable^[8].
• Rule 9(c) and 9(d): fishing boats must not impede vessels in the channel, and nobody may cross a channel if the crossing impedes a vessel that can only navigate within it^[8].
• Rule 9(f) and Rule 34(e), bends: near a bend where other vessels may be hidden, navigate with particular caution and sound one prolonged blast; answer one if you hear one^[8][9].
• Rule 34, whistle signals: one short blast means "I intend to leave you on my port side," two short blasts "on my starboard side," three short blasts "I am operating astern propulsion." Five or more short, rapid blasts is the doubt/danger signal^[9]. Agreement reached by radio means whistle signals aren't required, though they may still be used^[9].
• Rules 5 and 6: keep a proper lookout at all times, and run at a speed that lets you stop or avoid a collision in the conditions^[10].

A detail many boaters get wrong: Rule 9(a)(ii), which gives a downbound vessel with a following current the right-of-way over an upbound one, applies only on the Great Lakes, the "Western Rivers" (the Mississippi River system) and a short list of southeastern rivers^[8][11][12]. The Columbia isn't on that list. Rule 9(b) still applies, so a recreational boat should stay out of a tow's way regardless of direction.

Radio channels: 14, 13 and 16

• Channel 14 (156.700 MHz): the locks' calling and working channel. Monitor it from the time you enter an approach channel until you clear the lock^[1].
• Channel 13 (156.650 MHz): the bridge-to-bridge navigation channel. Towing vessels 26 feet and over, and power-driven vessels 20 meters and over, are required to carry a radio and keep a listening watch on it^[13]. If you have a radio, listening on 13 near a tow lets you hear passing arrangements.
• Channel 16 (156.800 MHz): FCC rules require recreational boats that carry a VHF radio to keep a watch whenever they're underway and not using the radio. For most radios that means Channel 16. DSC-equipped radios may watch DSC Channel 70 instead, and non-DSC recreational radios may use Channel 9 for routine call and reply^[14].

One-page checklist

• Lock open? Check USACE notices, especially late February through March^[4][5].
• Schedule: summer slot times, or daylight on-request in the off-season^[3][2].
• VHF on 14, call sign ready, call at least 30 minutes out; phone number as backup^[1][3].
• Two 50-foot lines, fenders fore and aft, everyone in a life jacket, nobody on the bow or roof^[2].
• Wait clear of the approach; enter on green and the long horn; tie to a floating bit, never a ladder^[1][2].
• In the channel: stay to the edge, don't impede tows, cross with clear sightlines, know five short blasts^[8][9][15].
• Washington operators: if you're 12 or older, born after Jan. 1, 1955, and running a motor of 15 hp or more, you need a Washington Boater Education Card (some exemptions apply, including a valid USCG license)^[17].

The Oregon State Marine Board also publishes a handy illustrated How to Lock Through sheet^[16].

Sources

All sources were opened and checked on November 12, 2026. Lock schedules and closures change; the official notice always wins over this page.

1. 33 CFR § 207.718, Navigation locks and approach channels, Columbia and Snake Rivers, Oreg. and Wash. (eCFR, current text). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-33/chapter-II/part-207/section-207.718
2. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Northwestern Division: Navigation (Recreational Lockage & Portage, How to Lock Through, lock dimensions). https://www.nwd.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Navigation/Recreational-Lockage/
3. USACE Walla Walla District, Notice to Navigation Interests 213850 (26-20): 2026 Summer Lockage Schedule for Recreational Vessels on the Snake and Columbia Rivers (dated May 7, 2026). https://ndc.ops.usace.army.mil/ords/ntni/print_nav_notice?in_nav_notice_number=213850&in_title_formatting=UB
4. USACE Walla Walla District, Notice to Navigation Interests 215144 (27-01): 2027 Walla Walla District Navigation Lock Maintenance Outage (dated Oct. 2, 2026). https://ndc.ops.usace.army.mil/ords/ntni/print_nav_notice?in_nav_notice_number=215144&in_title_formatting=UB
5. USACE Portland District, Notice to Navigation Interests 214749: 2027 Portland Annual Navigation Lock Maintenance Outage (dated July 20, 2026). https://ndc.ops.usace.army.mil/ords/ntni/print_nav_notice?in_nav_notice_number=214749&in_title_formatting=UB
6. USACE Portland District, Notice to Navigation Interests 215019: Winter Recreational Vessel Lockage Schedule, Sept. 15, 2026 – May 14, 2027 (dated Sept. 9, 2026). https://ndc.ops.usace.army.mil/ords/ntni/print_nav_notice?in_nav_notice_number=215019&in_title_formatting=UB
7. USACE Walla Walla District news release, "USACE urges boater safety at navigation locks" (May 5, 2025). https://www.nww.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Releases/Article/4175019/usace-urges-boater-safety-at-navigation-locks/
8. Inland Navigation Rules, Rule 9 – Narrow channels, 33 CFR § 83.09. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-33/chapter-I/subchapter-E/part-83/section-83.09
9. Inland Navigation Rules, Rule 34 – Maneuvering and warning signals, 33 CFR § 83.34. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-33/chapter-I/subchapter-E/part-83/section-83.34
10. Inland Navigation Rules, Rule 5 – Look-out (33 CFR § 83.05) and Rule 6 – Safe speed (33 CFR § 83.06). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-33/chapter-I/subchapter-E/part-83/section-83.06
11. Inland Navigation Rules, Rule 3 – Definitions ("Western Rivers"), 33 CFR § 83.03. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-33/chapter-I/subchapter-E/part-83/section-83.03
12. 33 CFR § 89.25, Waters upon which Inland Rules 9(a)(ii), 14(d), and 15(b) apply. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-33/chapter-I/subchapter-E/part-89/section-89.25
13. Vessel Bridge-to-Bridge Radiotelephone Regulations, 33 CFR §§ 26.03–26.05 (who must carry a radio; Channel 13). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-33/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-26
14. 47 CFR § 80.310, Watch required by voluntary vessels (Channel 16 / Channel 9). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-80/subpart-H/section-80.310
15. Oregon State Marine Board (with support from USACE), Boating Guide to the Middle Columbia River, "Commercial Shipping" section (PDF). https://www.oregon.gov/osmb/forms-library/Documents/Publications/Middle%20Columbia%20Boating%20Guide.pdf
16. Oregon State Marine Board, How to Lock Through (PDF). https://www.oregon.gov/OSMB/forms-library/Documents/Publications/HowToLockThru.pdf
17. Washington State Parks, Boater Education Card. https://parks.wa.gov/about/rules-and-safety/boater-education-safety/boater-education-card

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