Chehalis
3 - Doty to Meeskill
| Difficulty | II |
| Length | 7.1 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Chehalis River Near Doty, Wa |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 172 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | March 22, 2026 |
Projects
American Whitewater is strongly opposed to any new dam on the Chehalis River. A 250-foot high and 210-foot wide dam with a 720-acre reservoir is being considered for the Chehalis River as a response to flooding in the basin. While modeling suggests the dam would reduce flood impacts, it [...]Read More
River Description
Rainbow Falls is a small rapid but the biggest thing on the river.
River Features
Elk Creek Road Bridge Put-In
In Doty at Highway 6 mile 33.1 turn north onto Stevens Road. Follow it 0.3 mile and then turn left on Elk Creek Road and follow it 0.2 mile to the bridge. Parking available on the upstream river right side of the bridge along shoulder. The best access to the river is on the upstream river left side of the bridge.
Rainbow Falls
The river flows over a ledge here forming a rapid. It's easy to scout from a pull out at Highway 6 mile 33.1.
River Road Take-Out
A couple parcels of state land provide a take-out option on river right. Coming from I-5 take Highway 6 to mile 39.6 and the turn for River Road. Follow river road to mile 1.5 where a Washington Department of Transporation parcel has shoulder parking across from a long stretch of guardrail between the river and the road. A steep trail leads down to the river here. Alternatively you can continue up river to mile 1.6 where a Washington State Department of Wildlife parcel has a slightly longer but less steep trail to the river. This is used seasonally for an instream fish counter.
Trip Reports
Log in to add a report3-29-11 Ran the Chehalis river from Doty to halfway down River Rd. (approx. 6-8 miles) The water was a blast, there were plenty of fun rapids with some slow water in between. It was a smooth run, and a lot of fun. Rainbow falls was a nice shoot, I paddle a Dagger Centrifuge and it was my first time ever going through any sort of real whitewater. The falls were easy to approach and upon getting to them I had a little time to prep myself for the drop. I went right down the middle and it shot me right through the wave at the bottom. I was able to paddle past the eddy's at the bottom. My buddy went down and the wave at the bottom made his boat do a 180 but he was able to paddle into the eddy and regain himself. There is a small gorge about a mile down river from Rainbow Falls which had some weird whirlpools but we paddled through them just fine. There were a few more fun holes and rapid sets before we reached the lower falls (just past the military bridge). The lower falls were more of a shoot than a drop, followed by a nice little set of rapids. We pulled out to the beach on the right. It was a great day!