Washougal River: NE Vernon Road to Hathaway Park
This is an excellent whitewater run of about 6.5 miles with a mix of class 2 and class 3 rapids, mostly along a paved rural road in southern Clark County Washington just outside the town of Washougal. It has numerous eddies, surf waves, and several access points from the adjacent road. The put in at Vernon Road is somewhat difficult due to a steep riverbank. The takeout is easy at a county park with a concrete boat ramp.
This run is part of trip #19: Washougal River, Highway 140 to Washougal Fishing Access, in the book A Guide to the Whitewater Rivers of Washington by Jeff and Tonya Bennett. This specific run starts several miles downstream of the put in for trip #19 referenced and extends about three miles further downstream past the takeout for trip #19.
The most significant rapid in this section of the river is called Cougar Creek Rapid and is a solid class 3 at most flows and a 3+ at higher flows. Cougar Creek Rapid is immediately upstream of the confluence with Cougar Creek which comes in on river right. Cougar Creek Rapid is 1.5 miles below the put in.
There are numerous other class 2 to class 3 rapids to follow before the end of the run.
There are two different web sites that report flow in CFS and/or stage in feet:
Department of Ecology reports both stage and flow: Station Information
NOAA reports stage: hydroPlot.php (700×570)hydroPlot.php (700×570)
This river section can be done at a wide range of flow levels. Note that this river was run long before there was a gauge on the river and only used a visual stick gauge. Here is a brief description of the characteristics at different levels:
Level (feet) Description
5.3 Low, but runnable.
5.5 Easy, a little bumpy.
5.8 Technical, but straightforward.
6.3 Technical, with some juice.
6.5 Perfect.
7.0 Getting a little pushy.
7.5 Pushy.
8.2 Even more Pushy.
Preferred stage in feet is between 6.0 and 6.8.
book
A Guide to the Whitewater Rivers of Washington, Over 320 Trips for Raft, Kayak & Canoe, 2nd Edition
by Jeff Bennett and Tonya Bennett | Jan 1, 1998
- Suitable Activities: Packrafting
- Seasons: January, February, March, April, May, June, October, November, December
- Weather: View weather forecast
- Difficulty: Class I-II River, Class III River
- Length: 6.5 mi
- Land Manager: Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife
- Parking Permit Required: None
- Recommended Party Size: 8
- Maximum Party Size: 8
- Maximum Route/Place Capacity: 8
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