Humptulips, W. Fork
1 - FR 2204 bridge to FR 2203 access (Gorge)
| Difficulty | IV+ |
| Length | 2.6 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 26 fpm |
| Gauge | Humptulips River Below Hwy 101 Nr Humptulips, Wa |
| Flow Rate as of 56 minutes | 359 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | March 22, 2023 |
River Description
SEASON: November to April with rainfall
ACCESS: At Hwy 101 mile 112.6 (approximately 4 miles north of the bridge across the Humptulips), take Donkey Creek Road (FR 22) east off Highway 101. Continue 7.6 miles (just east of the bridge across Donkey Creek) and take a hard left onto FR 2203 (also Rayonier 7940) which heads back west. Stay right where the road forks at mile 0.9 and again at mile 1.2 (if you were to take this second left fork you'd find it ends at the river in 0.2 miles--there is no bridge here as indicated on some maps). Continuing on you'll cross Rainbow Creek and parallel the West Fork Humptulips. Stay on the main road and avoid spurs that head off to the right. The road ends at mile 3.5 where it winds down to a nice access on the river (note: the last quarter mile is a little rough and you may want high clearance). To reach the put-in, return to FR 22 and head east 0.6 miles (mile 8.2) to the FR 2204 turn-off. Take this nice paved road 4 miles north to the put-in bridge. An alternate route to the put-in is from the Newberry Creek Road (FR 2220) from Highway 101 mile 117.0. FR 2220 connects up with 2204 and takes you to the put-in bridge but this makes your shuttle much longer as you have to go out and around on Highway 101. Check with Forest Service regarding current conditions.
DESCRIPTION:
Short gorge less than a mile long. The first two of four major drops can be seen from the put-in bridge. The first drop is a nice 7-8 foot sliding drop. The second drop is the most challenging and technical. The third drop is probably the most fun, a technical sliding drop. The final drop is blind, but the preferred line is on the right which is a slide although you might not have enough water over there are the lower limit of flows. There is some run out after you run that drop (another 8-9 footer).
After this section the river calms down to class I and II. You can continue paddling on dow
...River Features
Put In
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportwe put in river right after bushwhacking approx 1/4 mile upstream from the bridge and going down a gully. Rope your boats.
There is a massive log jam/landslide(20-30ft tall)below the last rapid at the exit of the gorge. At about 1000 cfs, we were able to paddle around it(miraculously) on the left with ease. Unsure of how this line would fair at other levels and could close with any amount of new would and become essentially impassable.
Also, there is a piece of wood at the. Orrin of the third major rapid that largely blocks both exit options. Portage right.
Wanted to run the gorge but settled for Narrows as the Logging company gates prevented access....The Narrows are awesome but would like to do the Narrows too! ...guess have to link to Falls Run or Narrows and take out far below ...overnighter?
Trip and I enjoyed a great fall trip at levels that were pretty ideal for packrafting. Rain hit just this corner of the peninsula and we ran both forks of the Humptulips, Methany Creek, and the Hoh. Awesome trip!
Looking downstream at the gorge from the FR 2204
Bridge.
Mr. Wall and I went through this gorge 10/19/05. The last rapid you can see from the bridge has wood choked channels. River right and river left. You can not see these from the bridge. The only line is right through the gut, witch is even pretty scetchy. All the water pushes you right at pocket on river left, choked with log. We portaged. Great little tributary right after this rapid, on river right. You can not see this from the bridge. The next rapid is alright, but the blind rapid at the bottom is a little tricky. We could not decide wich line to take. Mr. Wall went river left line, banking off the rock right, and I ran the river right line. You can, kinda of boat scout. Will not go back with out a Fly Rod!! Great little paddle out. You need to walk up river about a quarter mile to put in, there is a nice little trail. The flow was about 1600cfs. Good level. Kinda of DIRTY class IV.