Tilton
2. Bremer to Ike Kinswa State Park (Lower)
| Difficulty | III-IV |
| Length | 8.9 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Tilton River Ab Bear Canyon Creek Near Cinebar, Wa |
| Flow Rate as of 45 minutes | 270 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | November 18, 2024 |
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
The Tilton River is a low elevation run highly dependent on winter rains that is often best after a good rain between late November and early April. The run featrures some good play spots, great scenery, and some beautiful rapids.
When many paddlers consider their first trip to the Tilton River, the class I/II paddle in and the flatwater paddle out on a reservoir, may cause some to have second thoughts. Once you've paddled the Tilton, however, you'll be back for more as the whitewater in the middle more than makes up for the lack of action at the beginning and end. You'll find some great drops and fun play spots, and the scenery in the gorge is outstanding. This run is remote and a hike out would be an epic adventure through the devil's club. Although the drops are relatively easy to scout and the pool-drop nature of the run provides good recovery stretches, some are very difficult if not impossible to portage due to the steep canyon walls. For the most part the run consists of a few class IV drops, particularly as flows increase, separated by intervening sections of class III whitewater. Use your judgement and consider a trip at the lower range of flows if you have limited class IV experience as once you are in the gorge you are committed to the run.
The run starts out with nearly two miles of paddling through swift water interrupted by a few easy class II rapids. It's not too bad though as there are some fun eddy lines and the current moves you along. Just as you're starting to wonder when the action will get started the bedrock canyon walls start to close in and you'll have a couple fun class III drops before reaching an an obvious horizon line at the start of the first gorge. You can get out to scout on the right, and the line winds down the center and then cuts to the left to avoid a big hole on the right about midway down. The next few rapids have some great playspots and are relatively easy to boat scout. There are some great waves along the ri
...River Features
State Route 508 Bridge Put-In
The access is on the upstream river left side of the bridge.
First Drop
The first significant drop on the run where the river funnels down through a bedrock chute. Look out for the hole on river right towards the bottom of the rapid.
Arcade
Lots of fun playspots on a series of waves where the river runs along the high bank on river left and bends around to the left.
Second Drop
After you're done playing the Arcade a fun section begins with a distinct horizon line.
Leap of Faith
Leap of Faith has changed a bit over the years. The leap of faith you had to take is now largely visible from a scout on river left. Head either left or right of the two boulders near the top and then avoid the boulders on river left at the bottom. Wood has been an issue in this rapid in recent years and it's always good to get a recent report. There is a good recovery section where the river enters a beautiful gorge at the end of the rapid.
Final Ledge
The final ledge drop has a couple options. You can run the right line but don't go too far right at higher water as the wall on river right is undercut. You can also run a line on river left that involves an S turn move.
Boulder Garden
Weave your way through the boulder field and then thread the holes at the bottom. This last major rapid is the longest drop on the run.
Ike Kinswa State Park Take-Out
A short paddle out on the reservoir takes you to an access on river left in Ike Kinswa State park just upstream of the Highway 122 Bridge.
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportKen's write up regarding the wood is spot on. Only thing to add is there is another little piece of wood sticking up about half way down leap of faith on the left route.
Adding pictures of the wood at first drop and leap of faith.
Had a great paddle on 2/14/26! 800cfs is a really fun level for little boats.
At a lovely medium low flow-- perfect for first time since the high water-- there is new wood in 1st drop and Leap of Faith. The wood in 1st drop is to the left of the main line in the swirly section on river left after the initial drop, and as long as you stay right wouldn't be an issue. However if you rolled or got pushed left....hard to tell what's going on beneath the surface so could be very consequential. The wood in Leap is in the normal right line near the top but is easily avoided and easy to see from the scout. The only other thing to note is how much wood is scattered along the banks from the put in on down. It's mostly pretty high up for now but doesn't look very stable so keep your eyes open....
We (the PDX crew) weren't the only ones out there on 12/8, with crews from Olympia and Seattle meeting every half hour or so all morning. We had all been watching, waiting for the gauge to bump, and when it went over 1,100cfs those in the know showed up. This run is truly a favorite with enough challenge to keep out the riffraff, magnificent scenery, and plenty of fun moves and play. We enjoyed being out there on rising water.
There were two WOOD HAZARDS of note on 12/8/24. The first was in the small rapid below the rock island that was the site of a previous log jam. The new logjam is substantial and quite visible from above. It is an easy portage on the left. I got out on river right below the jam and climbed back upstream on the rock wall to determine that the narrow slot on far river right would have been runnable past the root ball. This slot could of course close off at any time, and being the first one through would be a gut check.
The second wood hazard was a riverwide log at river level at the top of a class 2 section about halfway down the run. It was hard to see until we were right on top of it. We all hopped over the top in kayaks, but at lower flows or in different craft this could cause trouble.
Leap of Faith and Scary Gary were clean. The surf wave above Leap of Faith was very fine.
The Olympia folks were launching at the Tree Farm, which is private property that gets you in the water just upstream from the gauge. They have cultivated a friendly relationship with the owner and had dropped off a gift basket on their way to launch. Launching there requires that you park in the correct spot (within sight of the owner's house) and avoid driving down the ungravelled section of road down to the water.
We will continue to launch at the bridge and float the 1.75 miles of easy water through the valley above the gorge, because it's lovely, and coming from PDX we only have time for one lap anyway.
We ran it on 5/8/24 at 1060 cfs. There is log that spans the river after First Drop, just past the big rocky island. We heard it arrived 1 month ago. We easily portaged it on the left side. There used to be a gravel bar portage on the right, but that recently washed away. There is a newly formed small channel on the right side that we saw a group come through, but it is hard to see if it is there from above, and I don't know if it would be there at all levels. There is also a new river wide log between the two main waterfalls. We were able to scootch over it on the right side at our flow, but it could be a problem at other flows, because it would be hard to portage there.
(Added by Teresa): Here's Kanako's video from the day. I wasn't there!
New wood on the Tilton, first there is a new tree in the rapid below the first drop as you head into the gorge. That tree is laying across the left side of the river, right is clear. Second, there is a piece of wood jammed in the middle slot of scary Gary.
Wood remains in right side of leap of faith.
A couple buddies and I ran the Tilton last Sunday (5/1/2022) at around 1250cfs. Our group consisted of five kayakers and one packrafter. We put in at the Christmas Tree Farm access which according to some locals cuts off a decent portion of the flatwater class I-II section leading in.
We didn't find any significant wood on the entire run. The only piece that was really in play was the far left channel of Scary Gary (called 'last ledge' or something in the AW description). Don't take the left chute, it wraps around and under a log that is very difficult to see from above. Leap of Faith was great and fast and didn't seem to pose much more of a technical challenge than the rest of the run, although a swim in the top would be a bit of an event. The rapids mostly consist of steep chutes and fun wave trains with some holes here and there, mostly pool and drop. There are some really beautiful mossy gorges on this run, with dozens of waterfalls dropping into the river pretty much the whole way down. Scary Gary was a fun little ledge. The final rapid, the one described as being long and continuous does end in some meaty holes that flush out well. We floated for maybe a half mile or so on class I gravel bars before the river backed up into the reservoir. From here it was about 30-45 minutes out on flatwater, I was absolutely miserable in my packraft but the steep rapids and the epic gorge was well worth the battle at the end.
There was a cave in a sand wall during the lower class I section, I briefly checked it out but it is very unstable and could collapse at any time so use caution if you choose to approach it.
As of Nov 8, 2020, the lower Tilton is clear of wood except for one log that presents a hazard around 1200 cfs and lower. This is not a new log, and has been there at least since spring 2020. After Leap of Faith, there are 2 tall waterfalls on the left. After these tall waterfalls, the next rapid has a house rock on the right. A log is just above this house rock, protruding about 4 ft from the right side of the river. It is difficult to see because it is submerged. Despite being submerged, don't assume you can make it over the log at 1200 cfs. My friend was caught in the torso by the log, his boat going under it. Fortunately, he managed to swim out. You can easily avoid it by running left or center on this drop.
As of 1/5/20 clear of wood, a major log at the end of first drop has been washed out. everything after leap of faith is also clear.
Yesterday Tilton was clean of wood. It should be noted that Final Ledge is very different than what is described. Left is a sieve with wood and the middle has a very big hole. Right is still fine but use caution and scout if you are considering a different line.
Log jam between rapids, plenty of time to get stopped on river left, we portaged carefully over the logs on river left with no problem. Location of log jam is near the beginning of the canyon (after the seond or third rapid).