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Trip Report    

Sea Kayak - Cowlitz Gorge

Calm conditions made for a very pleasant late fall trip up the scenic Tilton and Cowlitz Gorges. Lake level and river flows allowed us to make it up to the Mossyrock Dam with a little strenuous upstream paddling.

Will Greenough Will Greenough
November 23, 2025
  • Road suitable for all vehicles

  • The park gate opens at 8:00am.
    Restrooms were open.
    We were the only ones at the park during our launch and when we got back.
    Discover passes are required.

    The weather was calm with a little sunbreak early and a little mist in for a short while in the afternoon. The lake was as still as I've seen it for most of the day.

    Lake level was near maximum - probably around 424 feet (website said it was between 421 and 425 feet.

    River flow below the Mayfield Dam was about 3,490 cfs per the USGS website.

    We launched at the day use swim area to avoid the extra launch fee at the boat ramp. This requires wheels for a bit of a trip from the parking area to the beach.Screenshot 2025-11-23 072048.jpg

After a short beach talk, we launched on time at 9:30 and headed up into the Tilton River Gorge. The sun peaked out for a little bit and we paddled through the gorge and up to the first small rapid (about 1 nm) before turning back to head into the Cowlitz River Gorge. 

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Paddling along the shore of Ike Kinswa State Park, we stopped for a short break at the sharp point just prior to turning north into the Cowlitz River. The best place to get out here is at the very extreme point as the beaches on either side have very deep drop offs making it hard to get out of the boats.

After break we headed into the gorge, enjoying the wild, narrow and lush nature once past the Hwy 122 bridge. Once through the narrow section, we stopped for lunch at a beach at the east end of the open section at the end of the gorge.

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After a pleasant lunch, we continued upstream, into the section that is much more like a free flowing river. The current and water level was perfect, making is possible for us to easily eddy hop up to almost the base of the dam.  Near the base of the dam, we had one capsize in the vigorous eddyline, with a quick and uneventful rescue.

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We then turned around and paddled downstream, once again enjoying the narrow gorge section before taking a short break on a small island in the first open section to the west of the gorge. A bit of mist came in as we paddled under the spectacular Hwy 12 bridge, but stopped again as we pushed off from our last break.

After break we paddle back out of the Cowlitz and along the shore of the campground in dead calm conditions, with the lake like a mirror. We arrived back at the launch at 3:50pm.

Total distance paddled: 15.2nm
Moving pace: 2.9 kt