Yes, swimming is common in the Willamette, and there are a number of public beaches. People also water ski and do other water sports. The town of Hood River, on the Columbia River, is a mecca for kite boarders, although I’m fairly certain that they wear protective suits.
Just to comment in general on swimming in the Hudson where it passes Manhattan, since I live next to it on the other side, it’s rare to see anyone actually doing it. Well in terms of me personally seeing somebody, and I walk to the river every day, I never have. There’s a (recently made artificial) beach near my house, from which people kayak and even paddle boarding, some people let their dogs swim from it, I’ve seen people wading, but not swimming. And otherwise another constraint is places you can easily get in…and out (lots of places you could jump in but getting out would be more complicated). It’s obviously cleaner than it was decades ago or you wouldn’t see the resurgence of wildlife: many more fish, now Loons fishing for them which you never used to see, occasional seals, even a humpback whale swam to the GW bridge last year. But not people, generally. As has been mentioned, research finds widely varying bacteria levels depending where, and how much it’s rained recently.
I have a photo of the remains of a giant water jar in Fatepur Sikri, a Mughal capital for a short while. The vessel held sacred Ganges water, hauled several hundred kilometers so the nobility could drink it for their health… back in the 1600’s. It was a common thing back then. The Maharaj Sawai Madho Singh from Jaipur owned the largest silver vessels in the world, two giant 900-gallon jars that he took to London for the coronation of Edward VII - filled with sacred Ganges water. Not the same now, eh?
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources recommends that people don’t drink any untreated surface water (streams, rivers, lakes, etc.) Period. Full stop. No exceptions.
The DNR says the Missouri River is too polluted to swim in, but the Mississippi is safe. In reality, both rivers have so much sediment you won’t WANT to swim in them, and the Mississippi is notoriously dangerous for swimmers due to the current., eddies, whirlpools and other natural hazards.
Apparently, the Chicago River is generally clean enough to swim in from a public health perspective but the primary issues are commercial boat & barge traffic, lack of beaches (or similar access points) and public perception.
The water quality thing does make some sense: the Chicago River was rerouted a long while back so is flows out of Lake Michigan rather than into it (so city sewage wouldn’t pollute the drinking water of the lake) and you can swim in the lake itself (usually) so it stands to reason that you can swim in the river a half mile or mile away from the lake.
I haven’t swum that far downriver, but I very much doubt the Columbia is too cold to swim in the summer. We used to boat and swim it in central Washington at 47°N 120°W (aka Vantage.) If anything I would expect it to be warmer farther down.
Here’s an article on why it’s not allowed.
Yeah, we call the part of the river that runs through town a lake even though it’s a river.
When I visit Reno, I see people swimming in the Truckee river, right by the casinos downtown. It’s basically a water park. Truckee River Whitewater Park at Wingfield Park in Reno
I would guess very few people take a casual dip on a sunny day, but the New York City Triathlon includes a swim in the Hudson:
Also, it’s a bit of a thing to swim all the way around the island:
I used to take my very small sailboat out on the Willamette back in the early 70’s, and I overturned more than once. I didn’t spend a lot of time in the water from those incidents, but I also didn’t have any sense that the water was especially dirty. Did things get worse after that, or was I just dipping in a fool’s paradise? (I haven’t lived in Portland for a long time.)
Wind surfers and kite boarders wear wet suits when out on the water on the Columbia. This is because the strongest winds, and thus the best boarding, are in the spring when the water is cold. If they went out in August, they may not need the suits.
About 30 miles or so downstream from Hood River is the nude beach at Rooster Rock State Park. It’s unlikely they wear wet suits while swimming there, but they probably don’t do it in spring.
Agree. Upstream on the American river during summer there are raft rentals where a shuttle picks you up downstream. Lots of swim-float activity (and booze). There are swim areas where free life vests are offered for kids (for borrowing), so swimming is expected. Lake Natoma, a dammed part of the American, is a swim training area for the local triathlete community.
I don’t think anyone has mentioned the St. Lawrence through Montreal: Beaches - Camping & Beaches