For all but a handful of paddlers in the world this creek is unrunnable. It's listed here to document the existence of whitewater that has been boated, but it is at the very extreme limit of what is being run. The last half mile is basically one long set of waterfalls and slides (it's basically the side of a mountain)
The "run" was featured in the video Twitch 2000 and was also the site of Tao Berman's speed altitude descent record featured in Twitch IV. He paddled over five of the creek's waterfalls for a total of 100 vertical feet in 19.38 seconds in May of 2001. In the years since packrafters have even discovered the creek (see video)
LOGISTICS: To check out this river take exit 33 off I-90 and head north towards the truck stop. The Middle Fork Road (FR 56) turns off to the right within a half mile or so. Start your trip odometer and watch for milepost signs. At mile 5 you will cross the Concrete Bridge across the Middle Fork and at mile 12 you will cross the Taylor River. Within 100 yards of the Taylor River bridge, the Middle Fork Road turns off to the right and heads up a short hill (it's easy to miss this turnoff as the spur road, which looks like the main road and continues straight, comes to a gated dead end). From this point on the road is in very poor condition. You could conceivably make it in a car, but a high clearance vehicle is strongly recommended. Continue another 6.6 miles from the turn-off to the Dingford Creek trailhead at Middle Fork Road mile 18.6. Park here and it's another hundred yards or so to the bridge across Dingford Creek.
Someone has digitized Twitch 2000 (https://youtu.be/6wBnL0v5JWM) the Dingford Creek footage is from 12:10-16:05
DAMNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!! That is one steep bitch of a run. How many portages are being done by Tao from the creek down? This might be the magic 1000 fpm creek!!!! Anyway, According to Delorme's topo program, from the confluence up 1048 feet in the mile!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! damn. The next mile above that drops a 'mere' 240 fpm. The steepest half mile in the final plunge to the snoqualmie is 650 feet. thats the info on dingford. your numbers may vary. cool. Bradley
Tell us about this gauge by leaving a comment.
Permits are not required for this reach.
47.5156402587891,-121.454010009766
47.5226402282715,-121.454010009766
NA
We have no additional detail on this route. Use the map below to calculate how to arrive to the main town from your zipcode.
Upper Dingford Creek
Dingford Creek
If someone gets hurt on a river, or you read about a whitewater-related injury, please report it to American Whitewater. Don't worry about multiple submissions from other witnesses, as our safety editors will turn multiple witness reports into a single unified accident report.
The U.S. Forest Service has recently initiated a process to develop a Comprehensive River Management Plan for the 27 miles of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River and the entirety of the Pratt River that were designated Wild and Scenic in 2014. Paddlers are encourage to provide input online and/or attend the planning workshops planned for October 11th.
Log into the American Whitewater website and you can contribute to river descriptions, flow and access tips, and maps associated with runs you've done. You can even add new runs to the inventory!