Queets, WA

Queets River

Queets River
Photo by Tim Hyatt

Gauge Information

River Description

SEASON: Throughout the winter

FUN FACT: One of the country's best scenic floats on a large floodplain river

TAKEOUT: To reach the takeout, turn onto the Queets River Road which leaves Highway 101 at mile 144.6. At Queets River Road mile 1.9 you'll find the Hartzell boat launch. An alternative access point is Streeter's Launch at mile 5.5.

PUT-IN: From the takeout continue on Queets River Road to mile 13.5 where the Queets Campground is located. You can launch from the campground right at the top of Sam's Rapid. The road continues another 0.2 miles beyond the campground to the confluence with Sam's Creek.

DESCRIPTION:

While the Queets is known more for its steelhead fishing than its whitewater, the gauge is an important one for whitewater boaters. Here's what it can tell you with respect to whitewater conditions on the Olympic Peninsula. It's normally the first gauge to check when planning your long weekend trip to the O.P.

The Queets is not much of a whitewater run as there is really only one section near the put-in with any kind of a rapid. The action is in the tributaries with the Clearwater, Matheny, Sam's, and Tsheltshy all providing excellent whitewater opportunities.

Starting at the campground put-in you'll be treated to Sam's Rapid. It might be a stretch to call it a full class II, but you could easily wrap an open canoe if you swamped. While the rest of the run is not that challenging for experienced paddlers, you'll find a few fun sections of class II- boulder gardens and chutes along with some immense log jams that can create class III hazards. If you do run this river use caution and remember that this is a big river with plenty of power and some nasty strainers. True to its rainforest setting, the Queets has an annual discharge 1/4 of the Colorado River yet drains 1/250 of the land area. It's a unique river with all of the headwater sections and most of the main stem protected within Olympic National Park (the lower Clearwater and Matheny tributaries are notable exceptions to this protected status as their watersheds were hammered during the last big logging operations in the 1980's.) The Queets is one of a very small handful of large floodplain rivers in the country that's allowed to meander freely across the valley floor. Old growth forests, young alder stands, and stately cottonwood create an incredibly beautiful mosaic of vegetation. (vi deo clip from the river 1.2 MB)

lat/long approximate by tiger map server

photo credit: Tim Hyatt

video credit: Tom O'Keefe

for additional information see:

• Korb, G. 1997. A paddlers guide to the Olympic Peninsula. third edition.
• local expert: Gary Korb & Carol Volk, 4930 Geiger Road, Port Orchard, WA 98366, 206-876-6780
• Olympic National Park website
• Queets River research at University of Washington