Elwha

In 2024 Washington DOT opened the new Elwha River Bridge on Highway 101. The pilings of the old bridge were sitting on top of alluvial material and the bridge had to be replaced. American Whitewater advocated for an area to park and a place to access the river at the site of the old Elwha Resort where the bridge is located had a take out for rafters at the head of the former reservoir.

Easy to scout That Dam Rapid from the Elwha Dam Trailhead and a 15 minute walk down the Lower Dam Rd. The rapid is a fairly manageable class IV, although the length and possibility of scrap metal lying beneath increase the consequence. Ran it at ~1250 @McDonald Bridge and saw one piece of metal that could cause problems in the second half. The rest of the run is was very clean class II.

On 1/25/2014 we could not see any trail at the old dam site

Fascinating landscape to explore as a river comes back to life following a century behind a dam. There are plenty of wood hazards and unstable banks of sediment so proceed with extreme caution. Parking at the old reservoir boat launch and scouting from land is recommended and makes for an interesting excursion even if you have no plans to boat. Once you pass through the Goosenecks things start to clean up a bit. The canyon through the dam site is spectacular and the whitewater poses a stiff challenge. You can check this out before your run too. At lower flows it's a big and technical drop. Bring the creek boat--you will want the volume. Below here and all the way out to the ocean there is more wood in play. We were on it at 470 cfs which turned out to be a good flow for an initial look at things.

Elwha

The Elwha River reemerging where Aldwell Reservoir used to be.

Elwha Dam removal underway.

Elwha Dam removal underway

Site visit to Elwha Dam prior to scheduled removal.

As of this writing (2/13/2005), about 3/4 of the way down this stretch, below the weir, there's an enormous log dam that is impassable. Portaging is difficult at best due to the braided quality of the river. It took us about an hour and a half to get over and around this thing with a friend, my SOAR 16 and our 3 kids. Very unsafe clambering over the logs with the water running underneath. Another portage, although easier, was required not far below this too. Great run except for the log dams!

Working boats down to the put-in below Elwha Dam.

The Elwha River empties into the Strait of Juan du Fuca (take-out for the lower run). When conditions are good boaters come just to enjoy the surf.