Rapid
Road end to Beckler River
| Difficulty | IV |
| Length | 3.2 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 111 fpm |
| Gauge | South Fork Skykomish River at Skykomish, Wa |
| Flow Rate as of 24 minutes | 1370 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | May 25, 2025 |
Projects
The Skykomish River is one of the nation’s premier whitewater destinations. Rising in the high country of the North Cascades, the river and its tributaries attract paddlers from across the country and around the world. The Washington State legislature recognized the river’s outstanding qualities by designating the Skykomish as [...]Read More
River Description
This is a great run during the spring snowmelt. It is typicallly snowed in during the winter months. Within 100 yards of the put-in the river screams to life with a stairstep sequence of waterfalls that together rates V-. Individually the drops look fairly straightforward, but packed together in a small and tight canyon they become a bit more intimidating or exciting depending on you perspective. If these drops only wet your appetite you can continue upstream to more challenging whitewater as seen in the Twitch 2000 video. Most put in below the falls and run a challenging class IV+ rapid that tapers out to class III over a distance of a couple hundred yards. If you don't like the looks of any of the put-in rapids you might want to back track downstream to the alternate put-in.
Below the entrance rapids the river calms to class II with some class III for nearly a mile. Occasional log hazards demand your attention, but this section is otherwise straightforward.
Just about the time you're beginning to wonder how long the calmer stretch will last the river kicks to life with a sharp bend to the right as the FR 6530 bridge comes into view (the alternate put-in). At higher water the rapid just past the bridge packs a pretty good punch. The run is all too short from this point down, but it's continuous to the takeout with a lot of different routes to choose from. Log hazards are the main danger, but this run is otherwise a very user friendly class IV. There are no big huge drops or must-make slots, and only a couple boat munching holes. Individually the rapids might be class III+, but the continuous nature makes it solid class IV. Many boaters choose to lap this last mile and run it multiple times.
The best takeout is to continue under the Beckler Road bridge and onto the Beckler River where you can takeout on river left.
Access: To access the river, follow Highway 2 east to FR 65, the Beckler River Road (turnoff at mile 49.6 on Highway 2 just we
...River Features
Forest Road 6530 Mile 3 Put-In
Access at an informal camp site 3 miles up from the take-out. Select an option that is appropriate for your skill level and the challenge you are seeking.
Lower Access
Access at the third bridge on FR 6530 bridge up from the take-out providing put-in access to the best continuous 1 mile section of whitewater that is popular to lap.
Confluence with Beckler Take-Out
Follow Highway 2 east to FR 65, the Beckler River Road (turnoff at mile 49.6 on Highway 2 just west of the bridge across the South Fork Skykomish). Take the Beckler River Road 6.9 miles to a bridge across the Rapid River where the pavement ends (elevation 1340'). Parking for the takeout is available on river left on the upstream side of the bridge.
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportCaught the Rapid low and ran the last mile. Very roadside Eastern-style class 3+ at that level (see photos). S Fk Sky gauge was at 2200 cfs, all snow fed. Main Sky gauge was below 5k, a poor correlation. We put in below some wood below the bridge and then very quickly ran into a downed tree not visible from the road that could barely be snuck on the right. Not far above the Beckler Rd bridge there's a nasty tree jam on the right that's visible from the road with water pushing into it. We were able to slip over a tree across the entire channel, but it's worth a good pre-run scout. Keep 'er in the middle, hit some boofs and then go get more laps, no shuttle required!
Ran this on 1/13/2018. Rapid: 1000cfs (AW Virtual), Beckler: 2300cfs (AW virtual), SF Sky at Skykomish: 2500cfs and dropping. Skykomish at goldbar 11000cfs (Rain fed, not snow melt). This was certainly a below recommended level (especially at the top), but we were able to get down from 3rd bridge to the beckler with out too much boat abuse. There were 2 log jams on the outside of river bends that were avoidable if you were in control of your boat and stay out of the main channel. There was also one down tree that even at this low flow we were able to boat over. Given the low flow our group opted to skip a 2nd lap on the rapid and instead do a run down the beckler, which was a bit low as well, but not nearly as bad as the rapid. Small side note, we scouted the take out of the Miller and it seemed to have plenty of water compared to a run the previous spring (a medium flow if not high). A good alternative if you find yourself at the Rapid when it is too low to run.
A run down the Rapid River at the lower end of the range (but still fun).
I paddled the Rapid around 14,000 skykomish guage on June 3rd, the river was 'bankfull'. We heard it was clean of wood, however, we found we had to portage a riverwide log near the bottom of the 1st (biggest) rapid below the campground, the wood was not visible from the road and could pose a threat if someone didnt see it. We also found there to be a number of riverwide logs from after the 1st rapid to the 1st bridge you come to, most we could get over, barely, I suspect at lower flows you would be portaging. Scout your put-in carefully!
Post Flood Update: I got in a quick run on the lower section from the 3rd bridge down on 11/9. I didn't go past the 3rd bridge to check out the upper part of the run, but the lower, continuous section was good to go. There is some wood, but nothing that had to be portaged and you can see the wood from the road. Most of it is the same old wood from before with one exception. There is a big ol' log in the ledge on river right a few hundred yards upstream from the takeout. Easy to get around on the left. It's just a bummer because that slot is the most 'ledgy' spot in the lower part of the run and you need to miss it now.
Ran the rapid 6/3/06, the road is completely repaired and you can drive all the way to the put-in. There are two log portages, one near the beginning and the other about halfway through.
I made several runs this year on the Rapid both during winter rain and spring snowmelt. It seems that it takes a higher level on the Goldbar gage for rain than for snowmelt. During winter rain runs, we had medium water level at 12,000 and low water (but runnable) at 9,000. However, during snowmelt in June we had a medium level with 7,000 cfs at Goldbar. In fact, 7,000 snowmelt was about the same as 12,000 rain. You can get a good look at the level at the bridge over the Rapid at the mouth. If you don't like what you see, big deal... it's a short drive to the Foss, Miller, Tye and Money Crk.
As of spring 2004, there is a massive landslide/washout across the road about 2 miles up from the Beckler confluence. Looks like it has been there all winter and will be quite a project to repair. You can still put in just above the third bridge and run laps on that last mile+ section which is where most of the good stuff.
Willie, Charles, Mike, Taber, Chris, and myself had a fun run on the Rapid with the Skykmoish at Goldbar at 6600 cfs. This was really the lower limit on the Rapid, but it was still very enjoyable. We next ventured over to the Foss.
With the Skykomish at Goldbar at 9500 cfs, Russ and I had a great day with a run on the Rapid followed by the Foss.