What is Scappoose?

Scappoose – A Community Connected by Rivers, Forests, and Mountainviews

Scappoose is one of the Portland’s best kept secrets.  A mere 25- minute drive to the heart of downtown Portland and, as of the time of this writing, Scappoose offers tons of affordable housing options.

Scappoose is a fairly small town with a population of about 7,000 people and is located in Columbia County, about 25 miles north-northwest of Portland.  While there are industries located here that are key to the area’s commerce (the Oregon Manufacturing Innovation Center – a research facility, the Scappoose Airpark, and the CalPortland Santosh aggregate mine to name a few), the vast majority of Scappoose residents work in Portland, but live, eat, sleep and play in Scappoose.

Rivers, Forests, and Mountainviews

Nestled between the forested Tualatin Mountains and the Multonomah Channel, Scappoose residents prefer the brisk Highway 30 commute filled with forests, eagles, and views of floating home marinas over the lengthy and tiresome, stop-and-go commutes to other Portland suburbs off of Highway 26.

Mt. Hood and Mt Saint Helens are a constant presence just about everywhere you go in Scappoose.  The Multnomah Channel connects the Columbia and the Willamette Rivers, and, for hundreds of years, served as a major area of commerce and trade for the native tribes and the early European settlers of Oregon until the railroad was built and moved the center of town from the river toward the hills.  The hills above Scappoose are heavily forested and offer breathtaking views of the mountains, rivers, and downtown Portland. Land is available for sale atop these ridges and large million dollar properties are being built to take advantage of the views, nature and proximity to the city.

Business

There are business here to support the community such as grocery stores, pharmacies, a liquor store, a handful of restaurants, a movie theatre, banks, and even three weed shops. Scappoose locals prefer to support their local businesses, bakeries, and coffeeshops. There is even a floating restaurant and bar that has live music on the weekends and the best selection of draft brews in all of Columbia County.

For anyone with an entrepreneurial spirit, opportunities abound for a new local business to fill a community need. The City of Scappoose is encouraging new business enterprises by offering several incentive programs and waiving the business licensing fees.

Schools

The population supports 3 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 1 high school.  Some students in Scappoose attend the Sauvie Island Academy – a charter elementary and charter school founded on the principles of place-based education.  There, children learn about their world by exploring the island through sailing, archery, hiking, beach walks, gardening, etc.).

In addition to offering stunning views of Mt. Hood from just about everywhere on campus, Scappoose High School class sizes are very small compared to other suburban schools around Portland.  It is much easier to get one-on-one attention from instructors and coaches.  One of the most surprising things about Scappoose High School, given it’s smaller size, is that its theater and arts programs are top-notch, led by some of the brightest and most creative teachers.  But, sports reign supreme in Scappoose.  The culture of sports in ingrained in the community and the whole town gets together to supports its kids on the fields all year long.  With a population of just under 800 students, you may be surprised to learn that 2 Super Bowl 50 players graduated from Scappoose High School!

Transportation

The Columbia County Rider (commonly called the “CC Rider” by locals) is bus service between the communities of Clatskanie, Rainier, St. Helens, Scappoose, Vernonia, and many others, including trips to Portland and Kelso/Longview, Washington.  The routes from Scappoose to Downtown Portland currently run 10 times every weekday from roughly 4:50am to 7:30pm, and the trip takes approximately 35 minutes, factoring in about 3 stops.

Recreation

We will need an entire post devoted to this to cover everything adequately.  So, we’ll just share with you now a few of our favorite things to do during our leisure time in Scappoose.

Scappoose Housing Prices Are on the Rise

Now is the perfect time to check out Scappoose.  For the last 2 years in a row, Scappoose house prices have been increasing more than any other area. But they are still relatively low, as compared to Portland and its other suburbs such as Tigard and Beaverton.  Therefore, in Scappoose, you can buy a bigger house, more land and better views than you can afford to elsewhere.

Whether you are a first-time home buyer looking for anything you can afford, or you’d like a little more space in your home or between you and your neighbors, or you are already living in Hillsboro and can’t stand the commute, now, when the prices are still low, is the best time to buy in Scappoose.

The Portland Team can help you find any property and can help you sell your home.  We serve all of Multnomah, Washington, and Columbia County.