Yale Bridge Access Site

Yale Bridge Access take-out on Canyon Creek with parked cars and boats near the bridge.
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The Yale Bridge access site at the upper end of Merwin Reservoir provides parking and stairs for handy-carry watercraft and serves as the primary take-out for paddlers coming off Canyon Creek. This informal but widely used access had long been an eroded roadside pull-out with a difficult bank climb, which made carrying boats up and down challenging. During the relicensing of PacifiCorp’s Lewis River hydropower projects, American Whitewater advocated for improvements to this reservoir access as part of recreation mitigation, requesting that PacifiCorp address erosion and formalize a stable access route with parking and steps down to the water. As a result, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission included in the new license a requirement for PacifiCorp to formalize and improve the Canyon Creek take-out at this location, leading to the installation of defined parking and steps for safe, non-motorized boat access.

Events at this venue

Today

  • Kayaker running the final drop at the finish of the 2008 Canyon Creek Whitewater Race as spectators watch from shoreline rocks.

    Canyon Creek Race (WA)

    Yale Bridge Access Site

    Canyon Creek, near Amboy in southwest Washington, is one of the Pacific Northwest’s most celebrated steep creeks. Dropping quickly through a tight forested canyon toward Merwin Reservoir, it offers a short but intense stretch of technical whitewater that has long attracted skilled paddlers during the spring runoff season. Over the years, Canyon Creek has also […]

    $39.19