| Difficulty | IV-V |
| Length | 1.8 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 360 fpm |
| Gauge | Sf Snoqualmie River Ab Alice Creek Near Garcia, Wa |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 31 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | August 22, 2023 |
FUN FACT: Convenient creek run to Seattle
SEASON: Spring snow melt
ACCESS: From eastbound I-90 take exit 52 (West Summit for Alpental Ski Center). Turn left at the bottom of the off-ramp and head back under both lanes of I-90. Within a couple hundred yards there is a place to pull out and Forest Service Road 58 parrallels the river along river left (the road itself may be snowed in early in the season). The run starts with Fall in the Wall which is just beyond the point where this road crosses under the westbound lane of I-90. It's about 0.4 mile downstream to a takeout above Franklin Falls. If there's snow you'll have to hike your boat back.
DESCRIPTION:
This is a fun class IV/V run that can be easily run once or even several times after work. This run is often used as an intro to creeking for members of the Seattle boating community but if it is your first time be sure to head down with someone willing to guide you. Experienced creekers shouldn't have any problems unless running it at high flows at which point things get interesting. Deep snow can also be an issue in early spring. Most of the drops on the Fall in the Wall Section individually rate IV+, but there are a few spots that are a bit continuous and the final drop on the run has some serious consequences if you're not in control. The entire run can be scouted along the Forest Service Road (with some scrambling through the brush) that parrallels the run. You start out with a 23 foot drop called Fall in the Wall that is visible from a pullout along a rock retaining wall on the downstream side of the I-90 overpass. The waterfall cascades into a short pool backed up by a bedrock wall with an open channel exiting to river left. Avoid getting stuffed into the cave on river right, and if you do you'll want someone ready with a rope.
After the waterfall the river snakes around a bit through a narrow gorge and you'll want to portage the narrow constriction at Double Undercut before
...Runnable waterfall at the put-in. Some run it but others put in downstream. Most everyone stops to view the falls and get the 'cupdate,' a small rock cup in the pool at the base of the falls used to assess flows. The river is low runnable when the top rim of the cups is exposed and it is just below the point where water would flow through the cup. The river is medium to medium high when water is flowing through the cup but not reaching the rim of the cup.
Access on river left just below the west bound lanes of I-90.
151' high unrunnable waterfall. Be sure to portage or take out before this hazard.
Take out in the campground on river left.
Jun 27, 2017
'the cup' visual gauge