Sawmill Flat to bl. Town of NachesClass II-III
34 Miles
Avg Gradient 35 fpm
Paddling the Naches
Paddling the Naches Photo by Thomas O'Keefe © taken 26MAY2007 @ 1880 cfs River DescriptionThe Naches is a great river with some wonderful scenery, and good weather in the spring makes this a great day trip on the east side. You can easily turn the run into a two-day trip, starting out on the American, Bumping, or Little Naches, and spend the night at one of the campgrounds along the way. More typically the run is divided into sections which have their own characteristics. For the first 7.6 miles in the National Forest the run starts out forested with a few cabins and a couple of small riverside communities at Cliffdell and Nile. The river leaves the National Forest shortly after you pass Cottonwood Campground and the trees start to diminish as you float into more arid country and agricultural lands for 18.4 miles down to the Tieton confluence. The geology is impressive throughout and the river provides a great escape for those hot days in late spring and early summer. After you pass the Tieton it's another 8.3 miles to the town of Naches through a rural landscape. You get a second shot at this section in the fall when the Tieton Reservoir starts releasing in early September. Be cautious of diversion structures on this river. There is one dam above the Tieton confluence and another just downstream of the confluence that is extremely deadly and must be portaged. Logistics One popular alternative for this run is to begin your day further upstream by starting on the Bumping at the FR 1709 Bridge (the road to Halfway Flat) or Little Naches . The standard put-in though is to access the Naches at Sawmill Flat Campground, about a mile downstream of where the Bumping and Little Naches join to form the Naches. Sawmill Flat Campground is at Highway 410 mile 93.3 and it has a picnic and day-use area with good river access (i.e. you don't have to hike through someone's campsite to get to the river). Highway 410 parrallels this run on river left and a series of local roads on river right provides different alternatives for access. Cottonwood Campground at Highway 410 mile 99.3 is about the last potential access before the river leaves Forest Service lands but unfortunately no designated access is provided and you have to find your way through a campsite to the water. There are some bridges upstream and downstream of this point and a number of places you can scramble up the bank to the highway.
Note: Lat/Long for the take-out is very approximate and is not necessarily at the actual take-out location. StreamTeam Status: verified
Last Updated: 2006-07-16 20:29:05
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Flow for the upper run (above the Tieton confluence) is available from the ACOE Naches at Cliffdell gauge. Look for flows of 1200 to 3000 cfs on this gauge. Flow information for the lower run is available from the USBR Naches at Naches gauge or the ACOE Naches at Naches gauge. This gauge is located downstream of the confluence with the Tieton River. Look for flows of 1500 to 3000 cfs on this gauge. To get a picture of what's happening with flows in the basin, check the USBR tea-cup diagram or the ACOE Yakima Basin map.
User Comments |
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2006-10-06 16:36:06 (702 days ago)
David Elliott
The stretch from the Tieton confluence down to the town of Naches has 3 diversion dams. The first can be seen from the road, and it should be portaged on the right (it's an easy portage that puts you away from the dangerous parts of the dam). The second is about 4 miles later, and is only a couple of feet high. The third is another mile or so down the river. It's about a 6 foot drop over boulders. The easiest runs are on the downstream side (river right), but there are also slots on the far left and about 15 feet from the left.<br />
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The takeout at the bridge in Naches is pretty easy and convenient, but the eddy on river right next to the bridge is small and not easy to hit. Stage boats at the eddy about 50 feet above this and have them come in one at a time.
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2004-05-31 22:32:09 (1560 days ago)
David Elliott
Bennett lists Cottonwood Campground as an access point, but as of 2004 it is no longer a reliable option unless you are camping there (you might get someone camping there to let you use their campsite to park, but don't depend on that). Luckily, there's a nice access point on river left at the bridge on Old River Rd.<br />
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The best reason to use this access is to either extend the Little Naches or the lower American.
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No rapids entered. If you know names, and locations of the rapids please contact and advise the StreamTeam member for this run. 
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