Sol Duc

Sol Duc R. nr Quillayute Gauge: 18.9ft

Klahowya campground was closed. We parked off hwy-101 at the gated entrance to the campground, off to the side so as not to block any worker access. There is also potential for more parking across hwy-101 at the nearby Olympic discovery trail-head. A short hike on thru the campground leads to the rivers edge. After putting in our packrafts, the first major bend does have some downed trees, which can be avoided by staying river left. The first boulder garden is manageable. On the second half of this run- we often took river right for river splits. There are some sections with nice calm eddies, but there are also some straight sections with high banks, that can be challenging to find a place to pullover for snack/lunch. The second half of the run is characterized by more frequent whitewater sections, where the river narrows or splits, with large boulders and drops, and at this flow rate, they can be characterized as 2+, with one or two possible brief class 3. One rapid (48.05873, -124.19725) we passed thru on rvr left, looking back has the potential to be easily blocked by wood, and potentially challenging to scout. Otherwise this is a fun, mostly class 2-3 run, at this gauge level.

The take out is preceded by the presence of homes/cabins, but you should still be on the lookout for it, as the flow can be swift in front of the boat launch and it is slightly hidden from upriver view by a couple of large boulders. On the weekend there is typically fishing boats loading and unloading.

Access point for this run.

Photos from a trip on the downstream run where this access was used as the put-in.

PaddleTrails Canoe Club out on a Memorial Day weekend trip to the Sol Duc. Flow was 1900 cfs on the DOE gage.