Dosewallips River

FLOW

• NOAA Gauge page: Duckubush River near Brinnon shows current and forecasted flow
• USGS Gauge page: Duckubush River Near Brinnon  
• 500 CFS - 2,500 CFS is considered runnable for packrafts
• Average Gradient: 38 feet per mile

PUT-IN

• Six Mile Bridge. From Highway 101 mile 306.0 turn west onto Dosewallips River Road (FR 2610). Follow this road 5.9 miles to FR 2620 (unmarked). Turn left and go 0.1 mile down to the bridge. Do not put in directly under the bridge which is private property. Continue across the bridge, immediately turn left onto a short spur road that dead ends within 100 yards, and hike a short distance to the river. 

TAKE-OUT

• Dosewallips State Park.   From Dosewallips Road, head south on Highway 101 for 1 mile and cross the Highway 101 Bridge. You can turn west into the campground to access the river at the Highway 101 Bridge on river right. To enjoy more that the river has to offer in the way of marshland wildlife viewing, continue for 1/2 mile down Hwy 101 to a day use area on the left with a short trail to the river.

ON THE RIVER

Shortly below the bridge you reach Wilson Creek entering on the left, one of the better playspots at a small hole and then you enter an impressive gorge. There is a rapid at the entrance and then the walls close in around you. This section consists of a few miles of nearly continuous class II/III whitewater with a few fun but short class III rapids. There are waves, small ledges, short boulder gardens, and little holes.  After exiting the gorge, the channel becomes braided and the rapids are basically over. Once you exit the gorge, expect to take about half an hour to reach the take-out at Dosewallips State Park. Optionally, continue all the way to the mouth of the river and explore the shoreline of the Hood Canal. 

CAMPING

• Dosewallips State Park Campground is the closest developed camping
• Seal Rock Campground on the Hood Canal waterfront is another nearby camping option
• Elkhorn Campground has dispersed camping

noteS

• Some years there are a couple wood portages; other years there are no required portages
• On the way to the put in stop at Six Mile Bridge to view the impressive class IV drop just upstream, called The Pinch
• The run above Six Mile Bridge is class IV, class IV+, and class V, successively steeper and more difficult the higher the put in