Sixteen nights, one clock
The Christmas Ships Parade started in 1954. The 2026 season is the 72nd. The organiser calls it the longest continuously operating illuminated boat parade in the United States, and about 80 boats take part. The published 2026 schedule runs from Nov. 27 to Dec. 20 and works both rivers, the Columbia and the Willamette.
Admission is free. The About page states no tickets are needed.
One entry on the 2026 calendar starts in the afternoon. A meet and greet runs at Riverplace Marina on Dec. 20 from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. That window sits almost exactly inside a hotelSlots afternoon booking.
Eighteen entries start at 7 p.m.
Most of the run is an evening product. Eighteen of the dated 2026 entries carry a 7 p.m. start, across ten nights, because the Columbia and Willamette fleets sometimes sail the same evening from different ramps. Dec. 7, 8, 9, 11, 15, 16, 17 and 18 each carry two fleets at 7 p.m.
The hotelSlots afternoon window closes at 6 p.m. On those nights the parade leaves an hour after the room closes.
Six entries start earlier
Nov. 27 opens the season at 4 p.m. The combined fleet escorts Santa to the Vancouver waterfront in a 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. block at Grant Street Pier.
Dec. 13 leaves JJ Collins Memorial Park at 4:30 p.m. Dec. 19 leaves Riverplace Marina for Lake Oswego at 4:30 p.m. Dec. 20 leaves Riverplace for the St. Johns Bridge and Cathedral Park at 5 p.m. Dec. 5 and Dec. 12 start at 6 p.m. from the Port of Camas-Washougal and the St. Helens public dock.
Four of those six start before the afternoon window closes: Nov. 27 at 4 p.m., Dec. 13 and Dec. 19 at 4:30 p.m., and Dec. 20 at 5 p.m. Dec. 5 and Dec. 12 start at 6 p.m., the closing minute of that window.
Eight dates between parades
Dec. 6, Dec. 10 and Dec. 14 have no entry on the 2026 schedule. Dec. 1 and Dec. 2 sit empty as well, and Nov. 28 through Nov. 30 fall between the opening escort and the December run.
Dec. 6 sits between the Dec. 5 Camas-Washougal night and the Dec. 7 pair. Dec. 10 sits between the Dec. 9 pair and Dec. 11. Dec. 14 sits between the Dec. 13 run and the Dec. 15 pair.
Two fleets, two ramps
The Columbia fleet assembles at the M. James Gleason Boat Ramp, 4325 NE Marine Drive. The venue keeps the lot gate open later for spectators and names the assembly window as roughly 6:45 p.m. to 7:05 p.m. Parking at that lot costs $5.
The Willamette fleet assembles at Riverplace Marina. Addresses on the schedule read 0315 SW Montgomery St on some entries and 1750 SW Harbor Way on others, and both point at the same downtown marina. The route notes for the Johns Landing run name the Riverplace Esplanade, Tom McCall Waterfront Park and the South Waterfront Greenway as viewing spots.
The organiser prints a caution on every detailed route. Weather, debris in the river and commercial traffic move the fleet, and exact times at a specific viewing location cannot be given.
The room nearest the Columbia fleet
The schedule names the Holiday Inn Portland Columbia Riverfront at 909 N Hayden Island Drive twice as an orientation venue and once as a viewing location on the Columbia routes. That property carries no card among the 19 Portland day-use rates on the Dayuse city page read on Oct. 20.
The nearest priced card is the Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Portland - Jantzen Beach at 2300 N Hayden Island Drive, listed in the hotelSlots Portland directory as 2300 North Haden Island Drive. Dayuse shows US$96 against a US$130 nightly comparison for that property, with three windows on the card. The card states the price includes fees. hotelSlots states no booking fees and direct payment to the hotel.
The boat ramp sits 5.1 driving miles and about 12 minutes from that address, so the evening window can start at 5 p.m.
Which window covers which night
The Jantzen Beach card lists three windows on the Dayuse read: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Only the third reaches a 7 p.m. start. A reader who books the 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. window and expects to walk to the ramp at 6:45 p.m. has bought the wrong block.
The evening window covers Dec. 19 as well, when a meet and greet runs at Riverplace Marina from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. after the Lake Oswego fleet returns.
Downtown cards run later. The Nines lists a 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. window at US$159 against a US$450 nightly comparison, and the Royal Sonesta lists 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. at US$110 against US$173. Both sit in downtown Portland, north of Riverplace Marina.
Metered parking and the downtown marina
The Portland'5 parking page states that metered street parking is paid until 7 p.m., the same hour the Willamette fleet leaves. Pay lots and the Smart Park garages take the overflow.
Book the evening window
Book the evening window when the parade is the reason for the trip. Book a morning or afternoon window when the desk is the reason and the parade falls on a 4 p.m. or 4:30 p.m. night.
Check the property's own published window before paying. A day rate quoted for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ends three hours before a 7 p.m. departure, and the hotelSlots listing and the hotel's availability block can differ on hours.
Sixteen parade nights sit between Nov. 27 and Dec. 20, fifteen of them in December. hotelSlots lists 278 Portland hotels with day rates typically 30 to 75 percent below the nightly rate. Pick the window first, then the property.
