Nisqually

A nice run for four packrafters. 1820 cfs at NISQUALLY RIVER AT MCKENNA, WA , medium flow. Put in at McKenna was easy- and park was basically empty early in the morning as well as parking at the take out (yelm powerhouse park). boulder gardens were fun, with lots of eddy out opportunities and even some surfing options. The first railroad bridge does have a tree blocking the river on the right, but center and left are easy, open options that pose no difficulties. There were no river spanning/blocking wood, but established islands do have a fair amount of wood debris some of which looks new, likely from the december- 25 storm.

The river features & rapids are well established and described here on the Am. Whitewater site, with no new info- or edits from this trip.

Big kahuna can be scouted on the right bank, which you reach after you pass the distinctive 'wood island'. We did not see any metal debris or cars at the little Kahuna, and we stuck to the center based on prior descriptions. It is possible that any metal debris was covered (hidden).

Lots of wildlife- ducks, eagles, porcupine, and a fun day at this flow level.

The gate to Nisqually Powerhouse Park locked. Told by a local that due to a death from falling falling tree in storm last week they are closeing Powerhouse and McKenna Park if wind high (today 13knt).

Did this section of the river for the first time today in a kayak.  The flow was at the very bottom of the recommended runnable range.  Several areas were quite shallow.  There are several log jams but all are visible well in advance and easily avoided.  Didn't see the car at little Kahuna

A fun trip on a May weekend with light mist in the air. This was a good flow on the lower end of medium water level but plenty of water for a kayak and a couple packrafts. We encountered no signficant hazards except for a couple pieces of wood along the side in a couple places and the fish trip near the end of the run but was easy to avoid

The surf wave close to the take-out was at a fun level.

Great float at mid-flow on Nisqually. Bathrooms locked at put-in at McKenna Park, portapotty at Yelm Powerhouse Park. Easy to avoid fish wheel, no major log jams or wood hazards. A few eagles swooping around!

Couldn't spot any of the cars.

Pleasantly surprised by this section right in my backyard. I've lived in Yelm for 4 years and never even realized what a nice gem this section is. The online gauge read 1100 cfs today and I'm not sure how much water is diverted but it had enough water in it to be fun and eddy hop in out from around boulders in the rapids. This was the first time running and it was a lot more continuous II/III than I thought is was gonna be.....not too bad as far as flat water goes. Definitely will be hitting this up a lot more to practice rolling and keeping up on my skills. Seems like a good run for a beginner to step up and skill build. Any Yelm boaters can PM me on FB if you need a partner to run down it. Kevin Davidson

2/20/21, 2700 cfs, Mckenna Park to Yelm Hydro Plant, 2 hrs on the river. All wood was easily avoidable, fun eddies to play in

The cars have been moved to either bank. The photo is taken from river right looking at the car that used to be in the middle of the rapid. In the distance on the opposite bank is the other car. They will be covered at higher water. Use caution when eddying.

January 5, 2019 The river was at 1550cfs. The run was mostly clear of wood with a few logs in the river but easily avoidable.

8/17/2018 1050cfs One tree above kahuna on River left, but very easy to spot and avoid. Otherwise the run is clean and clear. A few minor pieces of wood that are not an issue easily spotted and avoided

Nisqually River Trip with Nisqually River Council, Washington State Parks, American Whitewater, National Park Service. This was a trip to evaluate the river access points and provide partners with a chance to experience the river from a river runners perspective.

Site tour to visit access sites.

Trip with Nisqually Watershed Council to visit access sites on the Nisqually River.

floated from McKenna to the hydro plant on Saturday April 26th. 2080cfs. The river is clear and runnable. All the wood is easily avoidable, lots of room to get around all of it. It was a great level with lots of fun staircase rapids. Make sure you can read and run, there are some holes to be avoided. See you on the river! The Budrow group

I floated 8/21/2012 on a tube. I wouldnt float this section with a tube unless your a really great swimmer, in perfect athletic shape, you can handle extreme cold, and you have a full wrap around vest life preserver to protect your ribs, with some sort of hard shell helmit. There are three major rapid sections that will throw you from your tube inevitably. The first one is about a quarter mile past the first trussel at the beginning of your float, there is a huge log jam on the left side, so you have to circle to the right to avoid that and then the river funnels at this point into the rapids. The rapids come out of total surprise because you have to circle from the right. It appears that you need to stay to the left side of these rapids to avoid hitting boulders just under the water level. Iv done it twice now and both times we all got tossed, its very very dangerous. The next couple hours there is no real danger. The portion of the river after the Nisqually Pines River park is the worst section. There are trees in the river in various spots usually avoided if you stay in the middle of the river. There are areas where the water level is too low to float unless your in a Kayak maybe, but everything else is going to get hung. And then there is two sections of rapids that are also very dangerous with boulders under the water surface that will beat you up like a rag doll. And in the middle of one of those rapids is a huge piece of car wreckage sort of on the corner of a major rapid section, its very hard to avoid. Very Very Very dangerous who knows what would happen if you hit that, and for that matter what else is under the water right there. You better really know what your doing before passing up the Nisqually Pines River park as your last point of getting out. Cause from there down, there is no getting out of the river, due to high dirt bank cliff walls, and fort lewis military property, your asking for a death sentence in this section the river. No one is going to be able to help you at this point! This comment is to for warn people that this section of the Nisqually is far more dangerous then it appears. You better have real river experience before floating this area. Its not a kick back and lay in your tube and drink your beer kind of area. You will be on your toes the entire time. The river is loaded with all sorts of logs, metal debri, and boulder sections that can turn dangerous at any time. The float time for me took 5hours and 40 minutes, the 40 minutes is the time taken for getting out of the river to warm up. So plan that into your float time. Or else your going to have people wondering what happened to you, when you show up at the destination late. Also if your in a large raft its probably going to take even longer due too a lot of confined boulder areas and some low spots in the river where your going to have to stand and walk it out. I wouldnt float this section unless your in a kayak!! and you no what your doing.

Ran the river on 03/24/11 at 2200 CFS. Almost immediately after the put-in, under the first railroad bridge, there is a log spanning across the left channel. This is very easy to avoid by taking the right side under the bridge. Also, at the second railroad bridge (which comes about a third of the way into the trip as the river makes a sharp left bend) there is a log spanning across the left channel. The log is elevated and you could easily go under it in an IK at this level, and probably also in a raft, but it's best to just run the right channel instead to be sure to avoid it. No other major hazards were seen on the river. Good level for an IK with a few decent sized waves and some good surf spots.

FYI- the tree at Kahuna has been cut, so things are pretty much good to go. There is however metal auto wreckage, river far left, at what I think is Little Kahuna, forming a small pour-over at levels about 900ish.

Finishing up the year with a paddling trip on the Nisqually River.