Teanaway
N. Fork Teanaway to E. Masterson Road (near Musser Creek)
| Difficulty | II+ |
| Length | 7.1 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 14 fpm |
| Gauge | Teanaway River at Forks Near Cle Elum, Wa |
| Flow Rate as of 7 hours | 230 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | June 19, 2019 |
Projects
The Mountains to Sound Greenway stretches more than 100 miles along Interstate 90 from the shores of Puget Sound in Seattle, across Snoqualmie Pass, and into Central Washington. Encompassing over 700,000 acres of public land managed by local, state, and federal agencies, the Greenway protects an extraordinary landscape that [...]Read More
River Description
The season for this run is generally April and May. It sometimes runs into June but generally tapers off by the end of the month. Because it's class II, this river is often overlooked with so many options in the spring but its a great run for instruction with some fun playspots to keep everyone happy. For most of the run the river left bank is agricultural land and river right is the state-managed Teanaway Community Forest. Over the course of the run there are a number of sandstone ledges that form great surfing waves that are the perfect size to learn on. Stay alert for wood hazards which shift from year to year.
Logistics: Take Highway 970 which heads east out of Cle Elum and at mile 6.9 turn north onto Teanaway Road. Follow Teanaway Road to mile 0.5 and turn left onto Red Bridge Road. Follow this road 0.5 down to the bridge across the Teanaway River and the take-out. The state manages a formal public access on the downstream river right side of the bridge.
To reach the put-in, head back out to Teanaway Road and continue upstream to mile 7.1 where the road cross the river. The put-in is on the upstream river right side of the bridge.
River Features
Put In
The put-in is on river right just above the bridge.
Red Bridge Road Take-Out
The take-out is on river right below the bridge.
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportThis was Teanaway dreamy perfection... sunny and seemed like ideal flow (compared to running it the year before at 700). Just a couple little portages and no scrapey scrape. I love this run.. if you are a class 2 boater... get out to this river, so worth it! It has a very short season and April is best. We added on the section after the usual bridge take out all the wayu to the confluence with the Yakima - if you have water for it go for it... wouldn't be fun if under 900 guessing.
Floated the Teanaway River in Washington this past week in a 13' raft, ~1,000cfs. There is a major hazard several miles downstream of the N.Fork put-in, where the main channel takes a hard right at a property with abandoned trailer, bus and truck (see photos). The smaller channel to the left has three fallen large trees that span the ENTIRE left channel - and there is scant time to get to the right bank before you are swept toward this hazard. You don't see it until you are right on top of it.
When you see the abandoned vehicles, make sure you are going river-RIGHT.
Other than the unexpected portage, a great trip - doable at 1,000 in our raft with 3 boaters - recommend 8' oars.
Ran on 5/12/21 at 900cfs in IKs and packrafts. Fun run with some good catch on the fly surf waves. There were two river wide strainers that required portages. There were also a few logs spanning nearly the entire river that required some maneuvering to get around.
Access site visits
5/21/2011 @ 1500cfs. What a fun level, we were wondering since it was above 'recommended' level per this site if the run would be washed out. To our surprise the level just made the surf waves bigger and more abundant. The run was pretty clean verses the last couple of years, no portages, however we did get out and look before heading through a couple of tiny passages with wood on both sides. Great run - surfed our fanny's off.
As of spring 2007 the run was clean of wood aside from a few hazards along the side that were possible to avoid.
One of the fun surf waves near the start of the run.
Along river right for most of the run are beautiful
sandstone walls that also form ledges that create good
surf features.
One of the fun surf waves formed by the sandstone
ledges.
It's also possible to put in on the Middle Fork or West Fork. The Middle Fork tends to get a lot of deadfall. The West Fork is entertaining, as most of the channel is through smoothly-eroded rock - it's like a big waterslide. The main problem with the West Fork is access, as it goes through private land. If you put in above the campground, be aware that there will probably be a tree across the river right after you put in.
In early summer 2002, there were a couple of big trees down on the main Teanaway, but there was plenty of time to get to the side, even at moderately high flows. None of the logjams we encountered in the farm areas were a problem. The obvious braids were all runnable.