Snoqualmie, S. Fork
2. Tinkham Road to SE Homestead Valley Road(Seattle Gorge)
| Difficulty | IV-V |
| Length | 2.9 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Sf Snoqualmie River Ab Alice Creek Near Garcia, Wa |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 84 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | March 2, 2023 |
River Description
Tucked at the base of the mountains is a short high quality IV-V gorge 45 minutes outside of Seattle. After a short paddle in the river gorges up, and welcomes you to the Emerald City, and a stacked set of clean bedrock ledges. The biggest of the ledges 'Space Needle' is worth a scout to make sure no wood has lodged in the landing zone. At lower flows, all of the drops can be broken down and scouted. As the flow increases, things will start to flow together, though there are still eddies between the drops.
River Features
Tinkham Road Put-in
Put in at the Tinkham Road Bridge across the river at I-90 Exit 42.
Short put-in
A small put-off at a gated dirt road off I-90 provides an access that removes the 2 miles of mostly flatwater at the start. This access can get blocked by snow plows in the winter. It can be reached from eastbound I-90 at mile 40.9 where the far right lane ends. Slow down and stay right as you see the lane ending as it is easy to miss.
Emerald City Entrance
Boogie entrance into the gorge proper
Pike Place
First ledge. Left of center
Ballard Boof
Second ledge. Left of center chute or right side boof
SoDo Slide
Bumpy slide. Center or driving somewhat left due to some rocks in the middle.
Coffee Corner Boof
Bumpy slide. Center or driving somewhat left due to some rocks in the middle.
Space Needle
Large ledge with multiple routes. River left is very congested and backed up by rocks. River right has a couple of lines, with the main one being a two stage drop just right of the island. 6-7' then over the final 6-7'.
Fremont Falls
There are left and right routes around a giant boulder in the center of the river. River right has two options, far right off a tricky boof into an overhung cavern, or down a thumpy center line with the majority of the flow going into the river left undercut cave of the center boulder. River left is a simpler and cleaner line, with a great arcing 10' boof.
SE Homestead Valley Road Take-out
Take out at the Grouse Ridge Road Bridge at the Olallie State Park Far Side Trailhead at I-90 Exit 38.
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportEfforts to remove wood over the summer paid off with all rapids being clean. Big double drop was too low to ride or boof the wall. Bottom falls was a thin line with most penciling on the first run.