Skagit
2. Goodell Creek to Copper Creek
| Difficulty | II-III+ |
| Length | 8.5 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 15 fpm |
| Gauge | Skagit River at Newhalem, Wa |
| Flow Rate as of 14 minutes | 3470 cfsmedium runnable |
| Reach Info Last Updated | July 4, 2023 |
Beginning high in the North Cascades, the Skagit Wild and Scenic River winds down steep slopes, through forested hillsides and wide open valleys, eventually reaching Puget Sound. The rivers of this system – the Skagit, Sauk, Suiattle, and Cascade – flow through rugged wilderness, forestlands, rural communities, farmlands, and [...]Read More
Season
Throughout the year. Dam release modulates the annual hydrograph, but weekly hydrographs are closely tied to power demand. Seattle City Light works to operate their dams in a manner that is protective of the rich fishery resources of the Skagit River.
Fun Fact
Consistent dam release flows along a beautiful river
Description
In the 1970's Seattle City Light pushed for construction of a 108 MW hydropower project at Copper Creek that would have inundated this section of river. As opposition from environmental groups, fishermen, whitewater boaters, and tribes increased however the Seattle City Council decided to shelve the project in August 1981. This section remains free flowing but unlike the section just downstream it is not protected under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
The Skagit River is a great place for advanced beginners to go and learn from an experienced paddler. If you don't have a solid brace swims are just about always guaranteed, but the big wave trains in S-Bends (aka Shovel Spur Rapids) are fun and it's normally not too much trouble to pick up the yard sale at the end (the waves could be a fun surfing spot if you're not busy chasing swimmers).
The run starts at the putin with easy class II rapids. It's a good section for practice with strong eddy lines and ocassional wave trains. The excitement of the run comes with the S-Bends, a series of three distinct rapids separated by short stretches of flatwater in between. The big wave trains can be either exciting or terrorizing for first-time paddlers. They normally rate class III. They become bigger and faster with higher water levels (> 6000 cfs), but it would be hard to call them anything more difficult than III+. There is a hole that could cause trouble near the middle of the rapid, but otherwise they flush straight through. The S Bends can be scouted from the road between mile 114.1 (upstream end an
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A rapid in Diablo just downstream of the dam and before Gorge Reservoir at Gorge Lake Campground. The rapid is formed from the outwash of Stetattle Creek and provides a good site for training and instruction. This site is upstream of the actual run that is downstream of the Gorge Powerhouse.
This access is adjacent to the Goodell Creek Campground immediately downstream of the campground. A small beach and unload area provides a place for staging and is convenient for rafts. Ample parking is on the street adjacent to the launch area.
A straightforward splashy rapid immediately downstream of the put-in.
The most challenging whitewater on the Skagit is the S Bends a set of 3 rapids that form fun waves with a short break between each set.
The take-out on river right is administered by the National Park Service. Parking is limited (leave room for buses that access the site for outfitted trips) but the site provides a ramp and toilet.
Aug 29, 2025
We ran this in an open tandem canoe in late August on a beautiful blue sky day (before the Ross Lake fire) from Goodell Creek to Copper Creek (Goodell was open and busy). Flows were around 2750 cfs. We scouted the S-bends from the road first. A bike shuttle was done on HWY 20 before the paddle. Kind of tight in sections (no shoulder, guardrails), not the funnest shuttle. The float starts out with a long Class II without much warm up, so be alert. Stunning scenery, you're at 400 feet elevation on the river and glaciers and peaks above you at 7000 feet elevation. It's quite dramamtic, plus with the blue water. Banks were fairly pristine without much developement. We ended up running the first rapid of the S-bends, then scouting the second one and changed the line we planned to take (needed to bail anyway), and ran the rest. Overall, a great canoe run on a highly scenic section of the Skagit. Waves are much bigger down on the water vs scouting from the road!
Jul 8, 2023
Took 3 packrafts out on the Skagit for a couple of laps this weekend. Put in and pull out are easy. Commercial raft groups use the recommended put in at Goodell Creek Campground an the pull out at Copper Creek. We did a bike shuttle which was easy to do along highway 20. There's enough bike presence on the road it was easy to feel seen and safe despite the narrow shoulder. There's a rapid or two straight away from the put in that puts you in the groove for the day. The longer stretches of flat water are punctuated by turquoise waters and mountain peak lined corridors. Even when the river isn't at its most fun, it's absolutely beautiful. The most excitement comes in the S Bends. The first rapid was fun and a nice introduction to the series. It's any easy tongue on the right that you can follow all the way through the rapid. The second rapid in the series felt like the most fun! There's a similar tongue on the right but it dropped into a bigger set of waves. Crescendoing over the apex of those was exhilarating. The the last rapid had its moment to with a couple of lines to follow. The S bends were worth the hype and a good place to learn if you're looking to graduate from class 2 to class 3 rapids. You can read the rapids from the recommended pull of on Hwy 20. There's good spots to eddy out in between in each so you can scout if it's your first time. The rest of the run meanders through another turquoise corridor. If you catch the commercial groups, you might find some of them cliff jumping from one of the larger boulders protruding over the river. There's a single inverted log in the middle of the river below the S bends, two boulders past that is a small shore and a boulder that you can climb up and jump off. It's a great way to cool off on a hot day! The pull out was easy.
May 4, 2022
A small group of us ran the Skagit from Newhalem down to the bottom of the last S bends rapid. We had two kayakers and one packraft. We typically do not use the Goodell Creek access for the put in, we have found that there is a small turnout in Newhalem off of Ladder Creek Ln just downstream of the footbridge that crosses to the powerhouse. The rapid that drains from the powerhouse is runnable but not really worth it, there are no real waves, bushwhacking up to get into it would suck, and the rapid leads into the left wall which you'd want to avoid. We put in just below this for the series of fun class II+ rapids in this section. The first of which has changed a little since the flood, more of the channel now goes left into the wall, but both sides of the river go. The next rapid was the most significant change we saw on the whole river. Where flows used to take the river right channel only, there were two big holes on the river left side of this channel that created some fun waves. These holes are completely gone and there are no longer any features on the river right side. A new channel that takes roughly half of the river volume has cut its way through the huge boulders on the left and has created an awesome playground for eddy hopping, surfing, splat rocks, small boofs.. it's really a fun rapid, try not to blow through it too fast! After this, the large midstream boulder that used to create the 'ocean wave' is still in play thankfully. The Goodell Creek rapid seems to have changed a little bit, the river right side feeling like it's cleaned up a tad with less rocks and holes. Unfortunately the floods totally wrecked the awesome eddy at the Goodell access point and now the mystical tree filled eddy is just a giant beach.
As for the flatwater section, there are a few notable changes. The river right channel (where the crashed boat is on the river left bank) has a nasty nasty strainer that most of the flow leads into. The massive rootball a couple turns down has disappeared, and it appears the new channel cutting though the trees on river left has gotten a bit larger. The corner wave has changed a little bit and is no longer creating that fun double surf wave, much of the channel here now flows over the cobble bar to the right. Prior to the flood, there was a nasty jagged steel cable pointed upstream in the cobble bar near the corner wave, I was unable to locate this again so tread lightly in the area. There is a new logjam on the river left a little ways down from here that is easy to avoid but is definitely new.
The S Bends have changed, in an unfortunate way in my groups opinion. The first rapid seems to have lost all of its waves, and now features characteristics more like a chute, rather than a big wave train. The rapid no longer has the drop into the big V wave followed by a few haystacks depending on the flows. The second S Bends rapid seems to feel a bit bigger, not sure if this is because the first one is so mellow now but it felt big and fun still. The massive boulder just below the second rapid has been washed out, no longer creating that big fun hole. We were sad but pleasantly surprised to see that a few new rocks fell into place here and instead of one big hole, they create somewhat of a new rapid, though it's not as big as the others. We called it 'S Bends 2.5'. The third rapid seems to be pretty much the same, with the best line being to hit the hole in the center on approach and then ferry left to hit the fun ledge wave next to the big boulder. We took out on the beach on river right just below the last S bends because the flatwater section afterwards.. ain't nobody got time for that!
All in all, the Skagit has become a lot more chill besides the new wood here and there, but it's not really much more of an issue than it used to be. The rapids are easier, but the flatwater section felt more exciting than before, faster eddylines, little waves etc. Really wish the Skagit saw more of the natural flood cycle to keep the riverbed naturally dynamic, it's not like the three reservoirs upstream are running out of water anytime soon..
Apr 19, 2021
Did this section yesterday on packrafts; yesterday flow gage said 4370; today it says 4130; either way, it was easily floatable the whole way with no pull-overs. We did stop to scout the S-bends before hitting them, as the wave train looked pretty significant, but there was an easy line to take and we had no troubles. Even if one wanted to ram the wave train, the whole river seems super safe (albeit COOLLLDDD), so I wouldn't even worry about just gunning it for fun. There was no wood we had to be concerned about the whole run.
May 30, 2020
He means a diagonal wave, sometimes called a 'lateral,' at a 45° angle from the bank as opposed to 90°. The crux seems to be the lateral wave that sits just below the tongue leading into the wave train on the first S-Bend drop, trying to flip you back and left. Just power through it.
