Mike,

Cathlamet is a double lane concrete ramp with floating dock on either side. It's very nice. Launch fee last year was $6. Parking isn't quite as nice. You may have to park and walk back a ways if you're not there before O'dark-thirty. I hear, but haven't used, that the Willow Grove launch just outside Longview is the best on the river.

Prop drive is fine and probably the norm. Do pay attention to the nav markers. They are for real. There are shallow sand flats that people get stuck on when they try to cut corners. Pay attention to your depth finder. Some people camp at the rough, almost a park near the launch. Aesthetics are non-existent; it's all about fishing. I've driven back to Longview for a motel, but there must be better alternatives. Maybe camping toward Chinook or something.

Sg