Rock Creek (Columbia River trib.)
Steep Creek to Ryan-Allen Bridge
| Difficulty | II-IV(V) |
| Length | 5 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 84 fpm |
| Gauge | East Fork Lewis River Near Heisson, Wa |
| Flow Rate as of 53 minutes | 201 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | November 10, 2025 |
Projects
Washington’s legendary volcanoes – Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Adams – are the source of wild, free-flowing rivers and streams that cascade over big drops and through deep basalt canyons on their way to the Columbia River. Rivers like the Clear Fork of the Cowlitz, Cispus, Green, [...]Read More
River Description
This is a novel run in the Columbia Gorge that sees less attention than the classics, but is worth running. It's generally class 3-4 with two serious rapids that are easy to portage.
The first mile or two down to the Steep Creek bridge is mostly class III-IV with a couple notable exceptions. From the highest put-in by the road bridge the creek is generally shallow and usually has at least one log portage. For this reason, many people start the trip just below an island about 1/3 mile below the bridge where the road is close to the river. This starts the trip with some fun, small ledges before turning into boulder garden rapids. The boulder gardens end briefly at a short gorge containing a 7 foot ledge that can be a bit tricky to scout, but is worth at least looking at it from the road on the way to the put-in or from the river on the left. At medium and high flows catching an eddy above it can be tricky. Usually its run off the hump in the middle, erroring to the left as there is a unpleasant pocket on the right. The hole at the base is not generally any cause for pause.
A short distance downstream from the ledge the creek makes a distinct right turn at Heaven and Hell, Class 5. Scout these two waterfalls and the portage from the road or the river on the left. For those not up to these demanding drops, ortaging is easy and there are several options for returning to the river including an exciting slide down a small gully directly next to the second, biggest waterfall, a vertical seal launch further to the left and a narrow trail leading down to the river further to the left.
A short round of rapids continue down to the Steep Creek bridge, where Steep Creek itself cascades in from the right (this tributary falls has been run, but the pool has filled in with sediment and its no where near runnable as of 2015).
Below the bridge things ease off for awhile, with the occasional interesting rapid. Watch for wood, but its common to get down this r
...River Features
Put In
Heaven and Hell
Heaven and Hell consists of a 10' waterfall which lands in a short pool above a larger sloping waterfall that drops onto a rock in the center and right and has a large hole at the top guarding the left line.
3 Swim Falls
3 Swim Falls is preceded by a short Class 3 rapid. Recognizing this rapid can be stressful if you aren't familiar with the creek. Stay on your toes as the river picks up after some fairly quiet water. If you are vigilant you can catch a small eddy on the right at the top of the entrance rapid and scout your portage/scout eddy of 3 Swim Falls. There are multiple eddies on the left above 3 Swims but you can quickly run out of options at higher water.
Portage/scout along the shelf on the left. Portaging both 3 Swim Falls and the boulder garden below it requires following the shelf below a small waterfall to the pool below the boulder garden.
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportGauge under Ryan Allen Br was 9.75'- Upper Wind Gauge was 985cfs when we put on the river. EFL gauge said that this run should have been mid low runnable, but that's not what we found. Definitely on the low end and pretty scrapey through the first mile of class 3 boogey water.
One of the huge old nurse logs has collapsed into the river at the end of the lead in rapids above the first drop. Mandatory portage, and isn't viewable from the river so make sure you scout carefully. There also didn't look like there would be a good spot to eddy out near it and would be a nasty undercut at 10' or above.
After we scouted/portaged around the log on river right we ended up climbing out above the first drop on river left. Would be a really cool run with at least 10' of water
The foot gauge is under the Ryan Allen Rd bridge on the up-stream/river-left side. The readings stop at 10.10, but a yard stick has been added to extend the gage. The inches start at the 10.0' mark, so this part of the gage reads as inches + 10 feet. The top of the metal is at 22' or 11'10'.
10' was a nice low flow where the big drops were runnable class V, and the in-between was still enjoyable, but a little rocky. A previous trip around 11' was a medium/full. On both trips Three Swims was run, and at the higher flow Heaven and Hell was run too (the lower drop he paddled into the portage chute). I don't recall wood portages on either trip.
The creek can be run below 10', but some sections become tedius, especially at the beginning, and in the mile or so above Three Swims.
The portage around Heaven and Hell might even be more fun than the drop.
Rick Cooley slides down.