Trip Report: Kayaking the Lower Washougal River
When: 12/01/2018
Location: Lower Washougal River
Conditions: Perfect! Clouds and Rain! Flow was 1000cfs.
Duration: 4 hours. Could easily be done in 2 hours.
Difficulty: Beginner friendly! Approachable, class 2 whitewater.
Kid Friendly: In an inflatable with supervision, yes.
Usefull links: www.americanwhitewater.org
The Full Report:
The Lower Washougal river is, in my opinion, the best section of local river to learn how to whitewater kayak. This section has only class 2 whitewater, which is great because usually there are a bunch of different rapids in the mix. The take out for this run is at Hathaway Park ( 799 25th St, Washougal, WA 98671 ) and the put in is at Milepost 3 on the Washougal River Road. There is a pullout there with lots of space to park and a bathroom. These are both very convenient and right off the main road.
Once on the river, you will find a nice wide river that will channelize to form rapids. Most of them are very clean class 2 wave trains or tongues with an obvious route down. You will also find an abundance of big deep eddies with really clean eddy lines which are great for practicing entering and exiting them. You can really take your time here and pick this river apart piece by piece. There are also plenty of mini surf waves if you feel like being adventurous! The crux of this run is when the river swings to the right and there is an island right in the middle of the river producing 2 channels. Here is a great spot to stop and have lunch and scout each side of the island to see which line you'd like to take. We spent almost an hour here crossing all the eddy's we could and then walking our boats back up to run rapids on the right side of the island. It seems like that side is the most fun.
All in all, this section of the Washougal is great for beginners or anyone who wants some simple, fun, and beautiful class 2 section of the river. I would recommend this place to almost anyone. The best flow is from 800cfs to 2500cfs!
The Full Report:
The Lower Washougal river is, in my opinion, the best section of local river to learn how to whitewater kayak. This section has only class 2 whitewater, which is great because usually there are a bunch of different rapids in the mix. The take out for this run is at Hathaway Park ( 799 25th St, Washougal, WA 98671 ) and the put in is at Milepost 3 on the Washougal River Road. There is a pullout there with lots of space to park and a bathroom. These are both very convenient and right off the main road.
Once on the river, you will find a nice wide river that will channelize to form rapids. Most of them are very clean class 2 wave trains or tongues with an obvious route down. You will also find an abundance of big deep eddies with really clean eddy lines which are great for practicing entering and exiting them. You can really take your time here and pick this river apart piece by piece. There are also plenty of mini surf waves if you feel like being adventurous! The crux of this run is when the river swings to the right and there is an island right in the middle of the river producing 2 channels. Here is a great spot to stop and have lunch and scout each side of the island to see which line you'd like to take. We spent almost an hour here crossing all the eddy's we could and then walking our boats back up to run rapids on the right side of the island. It seems like that side is the most fun.
All in all, this section of the Washougal is great for beginners or anyone who wants some simple, fun, and beautiful class 2 section of the river. I would recommend this place to almost anyone. The best flow is from 800cfs to 2500cfs!